Swimlanes (BPM)

Go Up to Business Process Modeling Elements

You can group primary modeling elements by using swimlanes which consist of pools and lanes. A Pool represents a participant in a process. It also acts as a graphical container for partitioning a set of activities from other Pools, usually in the context of Business-to-Business (B2B) situations. A Lane is a subpartition within a Pool and extends the entire length of the Pool. Lanes are used to organize and categorize activities.

The table below describes the types accessible from the Business Process Objects Palette:

Swimlanes	Palette Icon	Description
Pools (Horizontal)		Horizontal Pool: This pool is drawn as a rectangular region placed horizontally. A lane is a subpartition within a pool and extends the entire length of the pool. A pool represents an organization, function, application, class, or an entity. Vertical Pool: This pool is drawn as a rectangular region placed vertically. It has the same characteristics as the horizontal pool.
Lanes		Lanes organize and categorize activities. When you place a process in a pool or lane you specify who is doing what. If you place an event in a lane you specify where that event occurs. When you place a gateway in a lane you specify where a decision is made or who makes it.
Nested Lane		You can insert lanes within lanes.