![]() ![]() To communicate and highlight which process steps or sub-processes are assigned to a particular actor within an organization, thus helping everyone involved know who is doing what. To outline a certain process from start to finish by dividing it into specific sections. Providing an easy-to-read representation of responsibilities within a process, a swimlane diagram can serve the following purposes: What Is the Purpose of a Swimlane Diagram? Input or Output – referring to any information that is entered or produced from the process flow, these items are rendered through parallelograms.ĭocument – it represents any document needed in the process flow and is shaped like a rectangle with a wavy line at the bottom side.Ĭonnector – indicating whether the diagram is connected to another flowchart, it comes in the form of a small circle. Start/end points – signaling the beginning and end, respectively, of a process flow, these items are characterized by a rectangle with rounded corners.ĭecision shape – visually represented by a diamond, it marks a question or decision that needs to be made.Īctivity shape – a rectangle portraying an action or task. A swimlane diagram not only spells out processes designated to a specific actor, it also shows how different actors interact to keep a process rolling efficiently.Ī typical swimlane diagram usually relies on a series of standard shapes and symbols. They introduce parallel (vertical or horizontal) lines to group process steps by actor (which can be a department, work group, employee or even an information system). Swimlanes (also written as “swim lanes”) represent a valuable element in process flow diagrams (PFDs), as well as in what’s called the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and its software design counterpart – Unified Modeling Language (UML). The two built on the already existing multi-column process charts (a variation of the early flow process charts that appeared in the 1940s) to spell out processes which involve more than one unit or department. In 1990, Geary Rummler and Alan Brache documented the concept of swimlane diagrams in their work “ Improved Processes”. This kind of flowchart is also known as a cross-functional diagram (with swimlanes being called “functional bands”) or a Rummler-Brache diagram, after the authors who developed the first model. Highlighting connections and communications between these lanes, it can serve as an indicator of waste, redundancy, and inefficiency in a process. Based on the analogy of lanes in a pool, a swimlane diagram places process steps within the horizontal or vertical “swimlanes” of a particular department, work group or employee, thus ensuring clarity and accountability. A swimlane diagram is a type of flowchart that outlines who does what in a given process.
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