Swimlanes: An Interview with Yvonne Shek

This interview is a transcript of a discussion between Nathan Curtis, creator of EightShapes Unify, and Yvonne Shek, a user experience designer at nForm. Yvonne agreed to integrate her 2008 IA Summit Wall of Deliverables winning Scenario Description Swimlane page pattern into the EightShapes Unify collection.

Download the Scenario Description Swimlane page pattern

Yvonne Shek

NC: What is your “Swimlane” diagram?

YS: To be more specific, I’d call it something like a “Scenario Description Swimlane.” The diagram has a number of lanes, which align to describe a story or flow of events. Each lane describes a different element of that story:

• The top lane is the storyboard lane. It can include comic strips, photos, drawings or sketches to describe the story in a visual way.
• The next lane is the user experience lane. It is a description of the story above, in the form of boxes and arrows.
• The third lane is the business process lane. It is the business flow that matches the top two lanes.
• The fourth lane is the tools and systems lane. This lane includes technical systems, such as servers, databases, spreadsheets, etc. – that support the business process lane above it.
• The last 2 lanes are optional and could be used to include use cases and features.

The goal or differentiating factor of this diagram is to tell a story from multiple perspective, in a comprehensive and holistic way.

NC: When is it appropriate to use a Swimlane diagram?

YS: It is most appropriate when the various aspects of the experience needs to be dissected, understood, aligned, and put back together again. It is most helpful to see the various aspects and roles, such as the user experience, business, and technology – come together to complete the picture. This is done prior to Design.

NC: What part of a swimlane diagram ends up being the most important?

YS: The beauty of it is the different aspects coming together. So in that sense, no one part is more important than the next. That said, the order of developing the diagram is important. We normally like to start with the user experience lane (second lane).

NC: Do I have to be a good illustrator to make attractive comics or visuals in order for my swimlane to work well?

YS: You don’t need to, but we were lucky to have had that person on the team. You can use photos or rough sketches for that first lane.

NC: Have you ever used a swimlane diagram in a project that’s ended up working really well? Why did it work well?

Yes, we worked with Alberta Education (Canada) and the application LearnAlberta.ca was designed based on the 12 swimlane diagrams that we built. It worked well because the diagrams communicated to the project sponsors, project team, new team members joining throughout, and for our own design team. The project was understood quickly by new members. It was also a good reminder of what we were building for those on the team throughout the (long) project.

NC: Have you ever ended up wasting too much time on a swimlane diagram?

YS: That is a concern and a risk. We did take too much time, even on the Alberta Education project. However, the time we took was not wasted when we entered into the Design Phase. In a sense, the time invested was made up later on in the project. The other thing to keep in mind is that the storyboards do not have to be “perfect”.

NC: Alas, and there’s the key. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s a pattern you can use, interpret, and integrate into your own design communications in your own way. Thanks so much for spending this time with us, and sharing your great ideas!