Swimlane Processes
Create swimlane process diagrams showing activities across roles, departments, or systems with handoffs between lanes.
Swimlane diagrams show processes that span multiple participants, clearly indicating who is responsible for each activity. They are ideal for cross-functional processes.
Swimlane Structure
A swimlane diagram consists of:
Creating Swimlane Diagrams
Swimlane Properties
Configure swimlane containers:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| orientation | Vertical (lanes side by side) or horizontal (lanes stacked) |
| lanes | Array of lane definitions |
| headerHeight | Size of the header area |
Each lane has:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| id | Unique identifier |
| name | Display label |
| width/height | Lane size |
Swimlane Operations
Available operations on swimlanes:
BPMN-Style Processes
Create business process diagrams with BPMN-like notation:
| Element | Shape |
|---|---|
| Events | Circle shapes for start, intermediate, end |
| Activities | Rectangles for tasks |
| Gateways | Diamonds for decisions and parallel splits |
| Flows | Arrows for sequence flow |
Common Lane Types
By Role
Customer, Sales, Finance, Support.
By Department
Marketing, Engineering, Operations.
By System
CRM, ERP, Website.
By Location
Office, Warehouse, Field.
Best Practices
Clear Lane Names
Use recognisable roles or departments.
Show Handoffs Explicitly
Arrows crossing lanes indicate responsibility transfer.
Limit Lanes
3-6 lanes for readability.
Consistent Flow Direction
Left to right or top to bottom.
Include Waiting/Delay
Show where work sits between handoffs.
Add Annotations
Document SLAs or key metrics.