Swim Lane: Headed for Extinction?
Swim lane flowcharting was once touted as the best way to document processes. While this methodology certainly does capture some aspects of a process, there are plenty of issues to think about if you are considering this approach. The weakest feature of swim lanes is the creation of boundaries–something to avoid like the plague. What kind of boundaries? Take your pick: between people, between functional areas (engineering vs. production) between locations (West Coast vs. East Coast offices) and between companies (you vs. your suppliers.)
In addition, there can be discrepancies between what is captured and what is actually being done. They also often fail to capture details and critical information: when? where? who? and how? Finally, this approach does not highlight opportunities for improvement, which is where you will realize cost savings and other benefits. Bottom line: the goal of mapping your processes should be to improve the process, not just document it.
Tags: , Process Mapping, swim lane. document processes
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December 13, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Another point to mention is that while flowcharting tends to be a more individual creation, or not within a team environment, Process Mapping gains “buy in” from all parties affected and therefore has a higher success rate in seeing the final product succeed. I truely believe people have the natural tendency to want to see something succeed, when they carry a stake in the final product.
December 20, 2007 at 10:34 am
Our folks have gained a whole new way to look at process mapping as opposed to the swimlane approach. Process mapping tells a story with all the characters, action and consequences. It helps them see the process as a whole. They then can make improvements to the process because they now have a greater understanding of what is happening with the process. This mapping process is so cool.