Hello, @EvgeniosE - Can you provide any guidance here for @WaynePayton? 

Hello @WaynePayton - Unfortunately, placing swim-lanes within a sub-process is not something that is possible right now. The BPMN 2.0 web modeller (bpmn.io) we are using is not allowing for a swim-lane to be added within a sub-process. I am not aware of any plan to change this limitation.

While I couldn’t find a definitive BPMN reference about it, I am aware that swimlanes are not typically used within sub-processes in BPMN 2.0 for a few key reasons:

• Role Representation: Roles and participants are typically represented at the main process level. This allows for a clear distinction of responsibilities across the entire process. Within sub-processes, the focus is on the sequence and flow of activities rather than on who performs them.
• Encapsulation: Sub-processes are designed to encapsulate a set of tasks/activities, providing a higher-level view of a complex process. Including swimlanes within sub-processes would break this encapsulation by introducing additional layers of complexity.
• Clarity and Simplicity: BPMN aims to keep process diagrams clear and easy to understand. Adding swimlanes within sub-processes has the potential to make diagrams more cluttered and harder to read, defeating the purpose of using sub-processes to simplify complex processes.

If you need to show different roles within a sub-process, it’s often better to detail these roles at the higher level and keep the sub-process focused on the task/activities themselves.

The above being said, if this is a hard requirement for you, the bpmn.io web modeller has been designed to be extendable, so you can either request for that capability to be added to the web modeller via their forum (non-Nintex) which can then be inherited by Process Manager or raise this as an idea on Nintex Ideas for the Nintex team to develop that, assuming it gathers interest.

Hello EvgeniosE,

Thanks for that detailed information.  

For what I was trying to do, I was using the primary map, which I’m not using swim-lanes for, as a very high-level model.  Each of the subprocesses having more detail, that is not specific to just one role.

I liked being about to use a collapsed subprocess, to keep the high level not as busy, so I could place the full process inside it as such, which would have the Swim-lanes.

It would be a way to do end to end processes, in a tidy way, if I did this in one model, then I would have many swim-lanes.  If I do it in multiple, then there is no way to link models to each other.

So, I’m more trying to have less mess.  If I was doing this with Process Maps for example, I’d use a Process Group, with linked processes for my end-to-end high level, so can navigate the detail easily (along with the inputs and outputs linking to the other processes in the chain.

That there is a limitation within the Process Modelling is fine, it was me just wanting to minimise complex models.  I have had a play and could use groups to represent the different roles that are doing specific tasks within the Subprocesses.

Thanks again for the detailed and quick response, much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Wayne

Hello @WaynePayton - overnight I thought of another approach that I believe will fit your needs: Using Call Activities. As you can see from the screenshot, if you convert a task to a “Call Activity”, the BPMN element takes the notation of a sub-process with a thicker border. There is a functionality allowing you to link another Process Model (not Procedures) from the Properties side panel.

How is this different to the sub-process element:

• To access the linked Process Model you have to navigate there via the Properties side-panel, not from the Canvas
• The Call Activity does not have an expanded/collapsed state
• You cannot expand the Call Activity element on the same Canvas, even if it looks like similar to the sub-process

Hopefully this helps :) 

Hello,

Thanks for that, I’ve had a play with it and yes, that provides what I want, also allows for some easier navigation and editing of the “subprocesses” as such, but when I go to present people can see the whole picture.

Thanks for that much appreciated.  I had not specifically noticed that features.

Kind Regards

Wayne