By Cyndi Hernandez

We have all seen process flow diagrams that seem a little too simple to be true.

In the world of Lean, there are usually more detailed value stream maps.

This is still fairly linear, and great in theory, especially if your process is an assembly line. However, what if each of these steps must be done by a different department, or group? How does one show that on a process map? This is a challenge facing many public sector or service organizations.

A swim lane process flow is one tool utilized to understand or define the role of multiple departments within one process. This takes a process flow and separates it into horizontal “swim lanes” that represent each department or group.

This visualization can be helpful by itself, but here are three things you can do with a swim lane process flow to drive the design of an effective and efficient process.
Some time ago while working with a state government agency, I defined the process for a new program. Some general steps and requirements were laid out, but the process design team needed to get down to the nuts and bolts: who does what, when and how.

The first swim lane process flow looked something like this:

It is easy to see what departments are involved in the process and at what point. Before we called this a finished product, the design team worked through three steps.

Minimize Interfaces: Every place the process flow crosses a line into another swim lane indicates an interface. At every interface, a connection must be made - not just between steps of the process under development, but between departments. Sometimes an interface leads outside of the organization to an outside partner or vendor.

Interfaces are necessary, but also create complexity and opportunities for mistakes or delays (also known as “waste”). Keep it simple whenever possible. Examine the swim lane map and see if there are opportunities to eliminate steps or group steps that are done within the same group. 

In this example, an office coordinator receives a paper file, stamping and dating it. This is the only task the office coordinator has for the entire process. Perhaps it can be done by the person who will analyze the file, or perhaps this becomes unnecessary when an electronic file is implemented.

Design Interfaces:  For the interfaces that remain, form and function must be defined, and they must be compatible on both sides of the interface. What may seem obvious is not enough to confirm the processes and find efficiencies in the details.

When you are installing a new printer, it’s not enough to require that the printer connects to a computer. Is it a wireless or cable connection? What drivers or protocol are needed for the information to transfer properly?

In the example above, it is not enough to draw a line from step A, done by the analyst, to step B, done by the external agent. The form and content of that communication must be specified.
Maybe the form is a secure email in which the content is a name, an account number and an amount for payment.  In this case, compatibility may require that both the sender and the receiver have access to the same secure email system.

Define Roles & Responsibilities: At this point, the swim lane process flow has captured what happens, in what order, and who is responsible for each step. In a public sector organization (and many others), accountability and transparency are important issues in the environment of a process.

In my example, the development team also created a RACI chart like the one below to define not only who is responsible (R ) for each task, but who is accountable (A) (or approves), who should be consulted (C), and who is informed (I) about the step or the results. 

By completing these three steps, the process design team developed not only a process and visual representation, but clear definition of how multiple groups would interact and exchange information in conducting the process. Each group reviewed and agreed to the process, and RACI.

When the new process was implemented, things went smoothly. By initiating this project with a clear process, another success was born.

These three steps are equally valuable when you are applying Lean continuous improvement to an existing process. They help eliminate waste and keep work flowing. Try adding them to your Lean tool box.