Making process descriptions - swim lane diagram

Hi @Karin de Beer,

I’m the Templates & Miroverse Coordinator @ Miro, and I’m happy to share with you that we do have a Miro swimlanes template you can use to build processes: 

  Swimlanes Diagram Template 

I also recommend to check out this great Miroverse template submitted by a fellow Mironeer. 

Let me know what you think!

Mariam

Hi @Mariam Danielian  - I’m also struggling with there being no process swimlane templates in Miro.

I’ve checked your two suggestions but the problem is that as a process is documented, its design tends to ‘unfold’ as you learn more about the domain you’re modelling. This means you usually need to verticlally expand a swimlane to accommodate more elements and in doing so the items in the swimlane(s) below should all shuffle down accordingly to make room (as if each swimlane is an active container of the elements it holds). Likewise, if I find a new actor in a process requiring their own swimlane (e.g. a  newly-discovered department involved in the process) I want to be able to just insert the new swimlane into the diagram rather than tack them on the bottom of the diagram, and everything should make room for that new swimlane.

This is all fairly standard functionality in other similar tools like Visio, and drawio. Miro is much better IMO at collaboration and ease of use etc but the templates offered are really just passive mockups of what a diagram might look like; we need something which will react intelligently as above before we can use it for drawing process flows for real. Just to clarity, I tend to uncover the detail in a process by iteratively  appending detail as I uncover it through user meetings and reviews. I rarely (if ever) have all the info I need before I sit and try and draw the process. I need something which allows me to make structural adjustments (new swmlanes, perhaps moving a swimlane to the top or bottom etc) as the story unfolds, and having the ability to move a swimlane (and have all its contents move with it) is a make/break feature for me.

@Matthew Bellamy -

The grid object would likely be a good fit for creating process maps in conjunction with other basic Miro shapes. The benefit of the grid is that you could expand or contract cells as needed, add rows for more roles and columns for additional horizontal space.

Kiron

Hi @Kiron Bondale - thanks, that’s a good suggestion and it works up to a point in that I can extend a swimlane (grid element) vertically. I can’t however move its order in the grid - correct?- but that’s less of an issue and probably something I could work around.

Oddly though, the great feature where - when I add a connector to an element, it asks if I want to create a new element to connect to - is missing. If I try this outside of a grid it works fine, but when I work within the grid it doesn’t work.

Is there a reason for that do you know / is there a workaround to enable it? It makes it far easier to use when working with an iPad / Apple Pencil.

update: I found the ‘move’ feature!! :) Just that other feature now (the auto-create next)

@Matthew Bellamy -

Objects do behave differently when dropped into grid cells so that’s likely the reason why the auto-create next is not working…

Kiron

HI, I am looking for a decent Swimlane Template , or just the ability to create them to have the similar functionality as described by @Matthew Bellamy 

@Mariam Danielian , do we have any progress on MITRO providing similar Swimlane capability as we can find in MS Visio (as an example)?

I have tried the Swimlanes Diagram Template but it look like just a table with icons.
E.g, when I use the BPMN diagramming shapes within this template, i cannot lock (obviously because items cannot be locked in table).

I agree with the above. The lack of a robust Visio-style process tool is a big gap with Miro.