Bpmn collaborations shared lanes

Question: how can I use RASCI and other Characteristics on Tasks and Activities in Lanes of a BPMN Collaboration

Answer: The BPMN standard does not specify RA(S)CI; nor any other form of specializing tasks and actions based on certain responsibilities (roles) assigned to the related performer (Lane) of a Task or Activity.

For BPMN Collaborations; a specific Task/Activity is carried out by only 1 function or department; business unit; etc. (i.e. Lane).
However; being able to subdivide the related function/officer/department etc. into tasks; actions; etc.; with a certain role/characteristic such as RA(S)CI; etc.; is valuable to show in Mavim Matrices; Reports etc.
To make use of the BPMN schema technique as well as the advantages of something like RA(S)CI and similar characteristics; one is able to selectively define in Mavim which role or roles for the various tasks/activities; gateways; etc. should or should not be shown in a certain BPMN Collaboration.
For this 2 functions have been developed for BPMN Collaborations by Mavim (as of V10.13):

• • “Characteristics Range”: To determine which Characteristic(s) should be displayed for a particular Process (Pool) and

  • “Show in one Lane”: To be able to indicate per Lane in which Lane a specific Task/Activity should only be shown.

Situation (1)

It is possible that a (1) particular Task/Activity; Event or Gateway in a BPMN Collaboration is plotted in multiple Lanes because multiple Who relations have been made on it. Consider relationships based on; for example; the well-known RA(S)CI or other characteristics (such as Responsible; Accountable; etc.); where; for example; 1 specific Task is related to a certain Function (Lane) with the characteristic “Responsible” and the same Task with another Lane and other characteristc such as “Informed”.
In that case; that one Task will be shown in 2 Lanes in a BPMN Collaboration.
For example; we see below that Task-A is executed by Function/Lane F1; with the characteristic “Accountable” and the same Task-A by F2; with the characteristic “Responsible”.

Situation (2)

And below we see that Task-C is executed by both Lanes (functions) F2 and F3 with characteristic “Responsible”; a different situation than the previous situation; but here too this Task is plotted in 2 Lanes: 

Characteristics Range

When you select the desired Process Pool in BPMN Collaboration (after all; a BPMN Collaboration can contain 1 or more Process Pools); and then activate the context menu (= right-mouse menu); a list of functions; including the function is visible; as shown below; and allows you to select which characteristics should be displayed for the Lanes of this Process (Pool).

Below we see that the “Characteristics Range” has been chosen to only show “Responsible” as a Characteristic.
The display of the used Characteristics per subject/Shape in the chart (such as “Responsible; Accountable” etc. below) is only visible during this action to clearly see what you are doing/selecting.


Note: “blank” is also a Characteristic value and to selectively show/not show a particular shape (task/activity) that is plotted in more than 1 Lane and has blank characteristics applied to the relationships; the function “Show in one Lane” (and not the “Characteristics Range” function) should be used.
After selection of which characteristics to be shown; Task-A will then only be shown in Lane F2 (and therefore no longer in Lane F1) because the “Responsible” characteristic has been used for the relationship with F2; see below:

Show in One Lane

Finally; we see that Task-C is depicted in 2 Lanes; because the “Responsible” characteristic was/was chosen for both the relationship with Lane F2 and F3.
There are two options to solve this:

• • by choosing an Attribute other than “Responsible” for one of these relationships (Note: Blank is also an Attribute) or

  • by selecting the Shape of Task-C in the desired Lane and then using the context menu (right-mouse menu) on the shape; choosing the 2nd function: “Show in one Lane”.

Because we have chosen to show the shape of Task C (only) in Lane F3; the result below will be:

Steps to follow

It is advisable to follow the order/method outlined here.
So first apply the new function “Characteristics Range” to determine which Characteristic(s) should be selected for a particular Process (Pool) and if that does not yet give the desired result fully; only then (per Shape /Lane) to apply the function: “Show in One Lane”.