swimlane

Swimlane is a diagramming technique used to visualize a process by dividing the steps into horizontal or vertical lanes. Each lane represents a party that performs activities within the process, such as a department, role, team, or information system. The process steps are shown as boxes connected by arrows, and the workflow is followed from left to right or top to bottom as appropriate. By placing related activities in the same lane, the diagram makes responsibilities and handoffs explicit across organizational boundaries.

Swimlane diagrams are common in business process modeling and are closely associated with the BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) approach. In BPMN, a pool can contain multiple lanes, and each lane can be assigned to a participant. This structure clarifies who is accountable for each task and helps identify delays caused by handoffs or dependencies between units.

Benefits include improved readability, explicit accountability, and easier discussion among stakeholders. They are simple to construct with basic drawing tools, and can accommodate iterative refinement during process improvement initiatives.

Limitations: for highly complex processes, swimlane diagrams can become cluttered; maintaining consistent lane ownership is essential; they convey sequencing and responsibility but may lack the detailed semantics of more formal process models.