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A swimlane (as in swimlane diagram) is used in process flow diagrams, or flowcharts, that visually distinguishes job sharing and responsibilities for sub-processes of a business process. Swimlanes may be arranged either horizontally or vertically.
The swimlane flowchart differs from other flowcharts in that processes and decisions are grouped visually by placing them in lanes. Parallel lines divide the chart into lanes, with one lane for each person, group or sub process. Lanes are labelled to show how the chart is organized.
In the accompanying example, the vertical direction represents the sequence of events in the overall process, while the horizontal divisions depict what sub-process is performing that step. Arrows between the lanes represent how information or material is passed between the sub processes.
Alternately, the flow can be rotated so that the sequence reads horizontally from left to right, with the roles involved being shown at the left edge. This can be easier to read and design, since computer screens are typically wider than they are tall, which gives an improved view of the flow.
Use of standard symbols enables clear linkage to be shown between related flow charts when charting flows with complex relationships.
When used to diagram a business process that involves more than one department, swimlanes often serve to clarify not only the steps and who is responsible for each one, but also how delays, mistakes or cheating are most likely to occur.
Many process modeling methodologies utilize the concept of swimlanes, as a mechanism to organize activities into separate visual categories in order to illustrate different functional capabilities or responsibilities (organisational roles). Swimlanes are used in Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) and Unified Modeling Language (UML) activity diagram modeling methodologies.
A Swimlane was first introduced to computer-based Process Modeling by IGrafx in 1993 and trademarked in 1996. It may also be referred to as a functional band (as it is in Microsoft Visio 2007) and is used in the same way, to create a cross functional flowchart to map a process within the functional units of a business. [1] The term functional band came after the use of swimlane and is seemingly in decline as the acceptable term as BPMN has been more widely accepted as a modeling standard.
Another term used is "Functional Flowchart" useful for productivity improvement and systems design projects. After establishing the 'as is' workflow and systems interfaces, work steps are simplified to automate processes whenever practical and transfer steps to subsequent work processes. A 'to be' model is then created for human processes and a related systems design document developed for those that are automated. Typically over 30% productivity gains are accomplished even for processes that remain manual.
Swimlane diagrams first appeared in the 1940s as a variation of the flow process chart called multi-column charts. [2] They were called Swim Lane diagrams by Geary Rummler and Alan Brache in their book Improving Performance (1990). They were first introduced to computer-based diagramming by iGrafx. Swimlanes are also known as "Rummler-Brache Diagrams". Another possible origin of the term swimlane is as part of the JBoss jBPM jPDL (Process Definition Language) graphical process designer a part of the JBoss jBPM framework for process languages. [3]
The Swimlane presentation was developed in the early 1980s by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Binner as part of his doctoral thesis on the requirements of the IT and CIM concept at the Institute for Factory Facilities at Prof. Wiendahl at TU-Har.
A process model was developed in which the role-based process analysis and modeling was the starting point for the IT-based IT solution or, in the case, the CIM solution with which the development of an IT-CIM concept was possible.
A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks performed by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product for a particular customer or customers. Business processes occur at all organizational levels and may or may not be visible to the customers. A business process may often be visualized (modeled) as a flowchart of a sequence of activities with interleaving decision points or as a process matrix of a sequence of activities with relevance rules based on data in the process. The benefits of using business processes include improved customer satisfaction and improved agility for reacting to rapid market change. Process-oriented organizations break down the barriers of structural departments and try to avoid functional silos.
A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task.
Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current business processes may be analyzed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modeling discipline; by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes being modeled; or more commonly by a team comprising both. Alternatively, the process model can be derived directly from events' logs using process mining tools.
Flow diagram is a collective term for a diagram representing a flow or set of dynamic relationships in a system. The term flow diagram is also used as a synonym for flowchart, and sometimes as a counterpart of the flowchart.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a graphical representation for specifying business processes in a business process model.
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is a Microsoft technology that provides an API, an in-process workflow engine, and a rehostable designer to implement long-running processes as workflows within .NET applications. The latest version of WF was released as part of the .NET Framework version 4.5 and is referred to as (WF45).
The XML Process Definition Language (XPDL) is a format standardized by the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) to interchange business process definitions between different workflow products, i.e. between different modeling tools and management suites. XPDL defines an XML schema for specifying the declarative part of workflow / business process.
Business process mapping refers to activities involved in defining what a business entity does, who is responsible, to what standard a business process should be completed, and how the success of a business process can be determined.
Business diagram may refer to:
Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) was a consortium formed to define standards for the interoperability of workflow management systems. The coalition was disbanded in 2019 and no longer exists.
A workflow application is a software application that automates, to at least some degree, a process or processes. The processes are usually business-related but can be any process that requires a series of steps to be automated via software. Some steps of the process may require human intervention, such as approval or the development of custom text, but functions that can be automated should be handled by the application. Advanced applications allow users to introduce new components into the operation.
jBPM is an open-source workflow engine written in Java that can execute business processes described in BPMN 2.0. jBPM is a toolkit for building business applications to help automate business processes and decisions. It's sponsored by Red Hat, part of the JBoss community and closely related to the Drools and OptaPlanner projects in the KIE group. It is released under the ASL by the JBoss company.
In systems engineering, software engineering, and computer science, a function model or functional model is a structured representation of the functions within the modeled system or subject area.
Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company's business processes is BPM. Processes can be structured and repeatable or unstructured and variable. Though not required, enabling technologies are often used with BPM.
ARIS Express is a free-of-charge modeling tool for business process analysis and management. It supports different modeling notations such as BPMN 2, Event-driven Process Chains (EPC), Organizational charts, process landscapes, whiteboards, etc. ARIS Express was initially developed by IDS Scheer, which was bought by Software AG in December 2010. The tool is provided as freeware on the ARIS Community webpage. ARIS Express is notable - having been mentioned in research published by Schumm, Garcia, Krumnow and Greenwood amongst others.
Bizagi is a privately owned software company established in 1989 with headquarters in the US, and offices in UK, Spain, Germany & Latin America. Its name is a portmanteau of "business" and "agility".
Activiti is an open-source workflow engine written in Java that can execute business processes described in BPMN 2.0. Activiti is the foundation for Alfresco's Alfresco Process Services (APS) and Alfresco is the Activiti project's leading sponsor.
IBM Blueworks Live is a business process modeller, belonging under the set of IBM SmartCloud applications. The application is designed to help organizations discover and document their business processes, business decisions and policies in a collaborative manner. It is designed to be simple and intuitive to use, while still having the capabilities to implement more complex models. Blueworks Live adheres to the BPMN 2.0 standard developed and maintained by BPMN.org.
Imixs Workflow is an Open-Source-Project, providing technologies for building Business Process Management solutions. The project focus on human based workflows used to execute and control workflows in organisations and enterprises. In difference to task-oriented workflow engines, which focus on automated program flow control (tasks), Imixs Workflow is a representative of an event-based workflow engine. Here, the engine controls the status of a process instance within a defined state-diagram. By entering an event, the state of a process instance can be abandoned or changed. In human-centric workflow engines, events usually occur by an interaction of the actor with the system, for example by approving or rejecting a business transaction. They can also be triggered by scheduled events. An example of this is an escalation of an unfinished task.
Flowable is an open-source workflow engine written in Java that can execute business processes described in BPMN 2.0. It is an actively maintained fork of Activiti (software).