Good explanation. Howerver, "swimlane diagram" is not a commonly phrase. Swimlanes are shown in UML Activity Diagrams or BPMN diagrams.

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When swimlane diagrams are used and in which document we will use this?

Swimlane diagrams are used whenever you need to show activities, tasks, or process steps which are being performed by different actors/roles.

You can use swimlanes to group activities in an activity diagram or process flow by any category what you need: by role, by system, by department, etc.

As to which document should include a swimlane diagram or activity diagram, that depends on your need. For example, if you are using the diagram to show a target state process at the high level then you may include the diagram in a project's charter or vision document. If the diagram is more detailed then the swimlane diagram might be part of your requirements document.

@ Putchavn

we can call swimlane diagrams as partition in the business use cases which denotes, different actors involved involved in particular process in achieving single goal.

Hi,
Can anyone tell me when to use Horizontal and Vertical swimlane in diagrams??

Mrs. Ellen Gottesdeiner, in her work The Software Requirements Memory Jogger, indicates that a Flowchart or Process Map are drawn sideways, rather than top to bottom (p. 175). These are alternatives techniques to an Activity Diagram (top to bottom).

She provides that alternative names for the process map are: Swimlane Diagram, Cross-Functional Process Map, and Line of Visibility Model (LOVEM), p. 122.

Barbara Carkenord, in her work Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis, calls these Workflow Diagrams and also displays an example with a left-to-right (sideways) orientation. "A workflow diagram can be divided into sections to show departments or divisions within an organization. These sections are referred to as swim lanes. The UML shapes vary a bit from ANSI for use in the UML activity diagram" (2009, p. 193).

I found the following helpful. Dianne Galloway, in Mapping Work Processes, posits that "Flowcharts may run either vertically or horizontally. Make this vertical/horizontal choice based on the amount and nature of the wall or table space available to you." (1994, p. 36). All her examples in the book have a north-south orientation. That is, with the actors/roles/organizations portrayed at the top.

The Second Edition of this same book provides a simpler perspective: "Select a graphical presentation format that suits your purpose. Basic flowcharts can be formatted in many different ways; they do not have to look like the example in Figure 6.3 [north-south orientation]. The main idea behind a basic flowchart is to make it simple as you can a slong as the map is constructed in a way that support your purpose." (2008, p. 52). The four authors of this work clearly prefer the vertical swim lanes, as illustrated in all their examples.

It's clear that published authors have varying opinions as to which orientation should be used. Thus, I would recommend that we revisit the purpose of these diagrams, and that is to simply come to a common understanding of the process and/or requirements. As long as the provider and customer derive the same meaning from these diagrams, use whatever orientation best meets that objective. I would offer that there's no pat industry standard for the direction used and even if there were, it means nothing if you or your customer don't inherently know that. This is much the same as which objects are used in diagrams. You don't look smarter with your team or customers by adding each UML/BPMN object under the sun. Rather, it merely promotes confusion.