Lane

A Lane is a horizontal or vertical subdivision within a Pool that organizes activities by role, department, or system. It shows who or what is responsible for activities within that partition.

Category
swimlanes
BPMN Spec
Section 9.3.2
Icon Class
bpmn-icon-lane

What is a Lane?

A Lane partitions a Pool to show responsibility or organizational structure. Activities placed in a lane indicate who performs them-a role, department, system, or any other categorization.

Visual Representation

A Lane displays as a horizontal or vertical band within a Pool. It has a label (usually on the left or top) identifying the responsible party.

Key Characteristics

  • Responsibility assignment: Shows who owns activities
  • Pool subdivision: Lanes exist only within Pools
  • Flexible categorization: Can represent roles, departments, systems, phases
  • Sequence flows cross: Flows can cross lanes to show handoffs

Common Use Cases

Department Assignment

Organize activities by Sales, Processing, and Fulfillment departments to show workflow handoffs.

Role Visualization

Partition a Pool into Manager, Employee, and System lanes to clarify responsibilities.

System Segregation

Separate activities performed by different IT systems to show integration points.

Frequently Asked Questions

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