If you’re looking for swim lane diagram examples, you may have some questions about how to use the elements in your process flows.
In this post, we’ll revise the use of pools and lanes in BPMN process diagrams and provide 5 ready to edit and use swim lane diagram examples, register on our platform for free.
Using pools and lanes in BPMN diagrams
Lanes are elements of BPMN notation you use to group tasks of a process that an actor (employee, team or system) performs.
But it’s important to note that this actor is not a specific person, so they shouldn’t be identified by their name, but by the role they perform, for example “marketing analyst” or “HR manager.”
In fact, an actor is not always a person, it can be a group of them, as a department, or even a system like ERP or CRM.
Pools are used to group a set of lanes and often a process has a single pool with multiple lanes.
In other cases, the process may have more than one pool, but when this occurs, the connectors between elements from one pool to another should be dotted.
See more details about swim lane diagram examples, in addition to other elements in these posts:
- BPMN Swim Lanes and Pool Lanes: Immerse yourself in these tips!
- Unveil the mystery of process flowchart symbols
5 swim lane diagram examples
1- ITIL change management BPMN diagram
In this case there are 6 lanes, because many agents participate in the process, with a lane for each of them: Change indicator, Emergency Change Advisory Board, Change Advisory Board, Change Manager, Change Builder and the implementor. Check it out:
Access this post for more detail: ITIL change management: employ best practices
2- Sales Process BPMN diagram
With just 2 lanes, Sales development support and Account executive, this example BPMN diagram follows the 4 traditional sales steps:
- Lead Identification
- Lead Qualification
- Proposed solution and proof of concept
- Negotiation
For each of them, you specify and define the procedures and decisions in the documentation, see the flow:
Check out more information: Sales Process Flowchart: Close More Business!
3- BPMN material request diagram
This is one of the examples of BPMN Diagrams with Pools and Lanes that deserves more attention.
It contains 2 pools, one of them referring to the buying process, which we will analyze next, and another specific to the request for materials, through 2 pools, warehouse and initiator:
Read the full description of the process in this post: Material request: Check out all the steps of this flow
4- Example of Purchasing Process BPMN Diagram
The purchasing process must meet a number of requirements and specifications, in addition to authorizations. It involves several actors, divided into 5 lanes, as shown in the figure below:
See all the details in this post: Purchasing process flowchart: economy and transparency
5- BPMN diagram of continuous improvement
The last of our swim lane diagram examples refers to continuous improvement, one of the most important BPM processes.
It has 4 lanes: IT, Change Manager, Process Analyst and Everyone (anyone in the company can start an improvement process). It’s one of the bases of BPM, as it allows a company to evolve continuously towards efficiency and productivity.
Notice its details:
Here are more detailed explanations: Check diagram for continuous process improvement
To access each of these swim lane diagram examples, in addition to many others, simply register for our free BPMN process editor and select the desired diagram template.
Register now: Free BPMN Process Editor
All these processes were modeled using HEFLO, a BPMN tool that’s free and intuitive, which you access via the cloud.
To fully master the use of pools and lanes and many other BPMN tools, visit our YouTube channel, We are HEFLO, and watch videos like this: