Kanban Swimlanes  boards are a visual way to represent the flow of work in your organization. Kanban boards can be used for any type of process, but they are most popular with software development teams and IT departments.
Kanban boards show what is being worked on (in progress), what is waiting, and what has been completed. This article will explore Kanban Board Swimslanes.
What are Kanban Swimmelanes?
Kanban Board Swimmelanes are Kanban boards that include Swimlanes to further classify the work items. Swimlane boxes are added onto Kanban Boards to group work items based on certain characteristics.
Kanban Boards are a visual way to represent the flow of work in your organization. Kanbans can be used for any type of process, but they are most popular with software development teams and IT departments.
Kanban Boards come in different shapes and sizes, each with its own unique name. Kanban Swimmelanes are Kanbans  Swimlanes that represent different functions or disciplines (for example, Development, QA, Business Analysts).
Use of Kanban Board Swimlanes:
Swimlanes are used to illustrate how the process works and can also help you visualize bottlenecks in the process. Kanban Swimmelanes are used as Kanban Tools to depict different workflows and organize Swimlane boxes based on the Kanban Board Process which is described as:
-In progress (work in progress or WIP)
-Work waiting to be processed
-Completed, Kanban Swimmelanes act as Kanban Board Kanban Cards with card colour representing different Kanban metrics. It can also be used to “see” through different Kanban lenses, including:
-Prioritization (Business Value)
-Effort (Work Items in Progress or WIP)
-Lead Time (Time that work spends in Kanban Swimmelanes) Kanban Swimmelanes can be used to visualize a whole process, a single flow through a Kanban Board, or a subset of Kanban Boards. Kanban Swimmelanes can be drawn as swimlanes on the same Kanban board or different Kanban boards depending on your Kanbanking needs.
Most Popular Kanban Swimlane Use Cases:
-Development Kanban Swimmelanes: This is one of the most popular Kanban Swimmelane Kanban Board uses. Here a Kanban board with Swimlanes is used to show the development workflow from To Do, In Progress, and Done.
-Test & QA Kanban Swimmelanes: Another popular Kanban Swimlane Kanban Board use is for Kanban Software Testing. Kanban Swimmelanes are used here to show the workflow from To Do, In Progress, and Done.
-Business Analysis Kanban Swimmelanes: Kanban Boards with Swimlanes are also used in business analysis processes Kanbans. Here a Kanban board with Swimlanes Kanban cards is used to show the Kanban workflow from To Do, In Progress, and Done.
-Release Kanban Swimmelanes: Kanban Boards with Swimlanes are also often used in releasing Kanbans. Here a Kanban board with Swimlanes Kanban cards is used to Kanban process Kanban workflow from To Do, In Progress, and Done.
Conclusion:
Kanban Boards Swimlanes are used in software development and analysis process Kanbans, but their use is not limited to that. They can be used for any type of process. The main idea behind Swimlanes is that they group work items together based on certain criteria (for example developers, testers, etc.). This allows you to see the process from the perspective of certain roles and gives you a better understanding of how workflows through your organization.
