Swimlanes in process modelling

Swim lanes are an essential part of process documentation and help to visualize the responsibilities within a business process. They are used to illustrating different process steps or activities that run in parallel or sequentially and clearly assign responsibilities – whether to individuals, roles, departments, or even specific groups within departments. Swimlanes show at which point in the process tasks are passed on, to whom they are handed over and at what point.

Representation and benefits of swim lanes:

• Graphical representation: Swimlanes are typically represented as horizontal or vertical lanes separated by lines.
• Assignment of responsibilities: Each swim lane is assigned to a specific responsibility that is responsible for the activities contained within it.
• Improved overview: The use of swim lanes can improve the overview of a complex process and visually represent the relationships between the individual steps and the responsibility.
• Simplified analysis: The visual representation makes it easier to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and potential for improvement in the process.
• Promoting collaboration: Swimlanes can improve collaboration between different teams or departments as they clearly define responsibilities and interfaces.