– Back to Lean Glossary –

Swim Lane Flow Chart: What Is It?

A Swim Lane Flow Chart is a method of mapping out a process or value stream so it can be seen at a glance.

Departments, touch points or stations are noted vertically on the left, and the process steps are noted from left to right.  In this way, we see the process move up and down as it moves between departments, and across the page as it moves toward the end customer.

It is customary to include rework percentages for any of the steps, timing of process steps underneath the chart, and queues between steps.

Some people also include Value Stream Map or other process map symbols as necessary, such as system cylinders, emails or decision steps.

By David McLachlan

– Back to Lean Glossary –