Swimlanes

Swimlanes, also known as functional bands, multi-column charts, or Rummler-Brache diagrams, illustrate how processes that are performed by multiple people or organizations progress through their various chronological stages.

In a swimlane diagram, processes are split into distinct channels (or lanes in a swimming pool) according to whose responsibility they are. This allows each person (or group of people, such as a business department) to quickly and easily see what they’re required to accomplish. Because the lanes are arranged side-by-side, you can organize events in the process in sequence and connect them with arrows so that multiple processes come together to form a whole.

Most often, multi-department organizations use swimlane diagrams to illustrate cooperative business processes. For example, the diagram below is organized in four horizontal lanes.