Building effective swimlanes

Swimlanes organize different layers horizontally across your journey map, creating parallel tracks of information. Common swimlanes include user actions, thoughts and feelings, touchpoints, opportunities, and pain points. Each swimlane should have a distinct purpose and clear visual separation from others.

The order of swimlanes matters significantly for comprehension. Group the most relevant information first for your audience, for example, user actions at the top since they drive the narrative, followed by emotional states, then system touchpoints. Supporting information like opportunities or metrics can occupy lower swimlanes. This hierarchy helps readers follow the story naturally.

Use subtle background colors or borders to distinguish between swimlanes. Label each swimlane clearly on the left side and ensure content aligns vertically across all lanes. This alignment reveals connections between actions, emotions, and touchpoints at each journey stage.