<s>
A	O
swimlane	B-Application
(	O
as	O
in	O
swimlane	B-Application
diagram	O
)	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
process	O
flow	O
diagrams	O
,	O
or	O
flowcharts	B-Language
,	O
that	O
visually	O
distinguishes	O
job	O
sharing	O
and	O
responsibilities	O
for	O
sub-processes	O
of	O
a	O
business	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swimlanes	B-Application
may	O
be	O
arranged	O
either	O
horizontally	O
or	O
vertically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
swimlane	B-Application
flowchart	B-Language
differs	O
from	O
other	O
flowcharts	B-Language
in	O
that	O
processes	O
and	O
decisions	O
are	O
grouped	O
visually	O
by	O
placing	O
them	O
in	O
lanes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
standard	O
symbols	O
enables	O
clear	O
linkage	O
to	O
be	O
shown	O
between	O
related	O
flow	B-Language
charts	I-Language
when	O
charting	O
flows	O
with	O
complex	O
relationships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
used	O
to	O
diagram	O
a	O
business	O
process	O
that	O
involves	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
department	O
,	O
swimlanes	B-Application
often	O
serve	O
to	O
clarify	O
not	O
only	O
the	O
steps	O
and	O
who	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
each	O
one	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
how	O
delays	O
,	O
mistakes	O
or	O
cheating	O
are	O
most	O
likely	O
to	O
occur	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
process	O
modeling	O
methodologies	O
utilize	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
swimlanes	B-Application
,	O
as	O
a	O
mechanism	O
to	O
organize	O
activities	O
into	O
separate	O
visual	O
categories	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
illustrate	O
different	O
functional	O
capabilities	O
or	O
responsibilities	O
(	O
organisational	O
roles	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swimlanes	B-Application
are	O
used	O
in	O
Business	B-Architecture
Process	I-Architecture
Modeling	I-Architecture
Notation	I-Architecture
(	O
BPMN	B-Architecture
)	O
and	O
Unified	B-Language
Modeling	I-Language
Language	I-Language
activity	O
diagram	O
modeling	O
methodologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Swimlane	B-Application
was	O
first	O
introduced	O
to	O
computer-based	O
Process	O
Modeling	O
by	O
IGrafx	O
in	O
1993	O
and	O
trademarked	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
functional	O
band	O
(	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Visio	I-Application
2007	O
)	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
,	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
cross	O
functional	O
flowchart	B-Language
to	O
map	O
a	O
process	O
within	O
the	O
functional	O
units	O
of	O
a	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
functional	O
band	O
came	O
after	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
swimlane	B-Application
and	O
is	O
seemingly	O
in	O
decline	O
as	O
the	O
acceptable	O
term	O
as	O
BPMN	B-Architecture
has	O
been	O
more	O
widely	O
accepted	O
as	O
a	O
modeling	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
term	O
used	O
is	O
"	O
Functional	O
Flowchart	B-Language
"	O
useful	O
for	O
productivity	O
improvement	O
and	O
systems	O
design	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
establishing	O
the	O
'	O
as	O
is	O
 '	O
workflow	B-Operating_System
and	O
systems	O
interfaces	O
,	O
work	O
steps	O
are	O
simplified	O
to	O
automate	O
processes	O
whenever	O
practical	O
and	O
transfer	O
steps	O
to	O
subsequent	O
work	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swimlane	B-Application
diagrams	O
first	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
1940s	O
as	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
the	O
flow	O
process	O
chart	O
called	O
multi-column	O
charts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
called	O
Swim	B-Application
Lane	I-Application
diagrams	I-Application
by	O
Geary	O
Rummler	O
and	O
Alan	O
Brache	O
in	O
their	O
book	O
Improving	O
Performance	O
(	O
1990	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swimlanes	B-Application
are	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Rummler-Brache	O
Diagrams	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
possible	O
origin	O
of	O
the	O
term	O
swimlane	B-Application
is	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
JBoss	O
jBPM	O
jPDL	O
(	O
Process	O
Definition	O
Language	O
)	O
graphical	O
process	O
designer	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
JBoss	O
jBPM	O
framework	O
for	O
process	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Swimlane	B-Application
presentation	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
by	O
Prof	O
.	O
Dr.-Ing.	O
</s>
