How to come with a expediting structure

An expediting structure with swimlanes in Visio is best built as a cross-functional flowchart. Swimlanes represent who or what is responsible for each step (for example: Team, Role, or Priority such as “Expedite”), and the process steps are placed inside the appropriate lane.

A simple approach:

1. Create the base diagram
   • Start Visio.
   • In Categories, select Flowchart.
   • Choose Cross Functional Flowchart, then Create.
   • When prompted, choose Horizontal or Vertical orientation for the swimlanes.
   • The template opens with swimlanes already on the page.
2. Define swimlanes for expediting
   • Use each swimlane to represent a function or priority, for example:
     • Normal Work
     • Expedite
     • Review/Approval
     • Completed
   • To add more swimlanes (Windows):
     • Right-click an existing swimlane header and choose Insert ‘Swimlane’ Before or Insert ‘Swimlane’ After, or
     • On the Cross-functional Flowchart tab, in the Insert group, select Swimlane, or
     • From the Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes stencil, drag a Swimlane shape and drop it where it should appear.
   • To add swimlanes on the web, use the same options: right-click header → Insert ‘Swimlane’ Before/After, the Swimlane button on the Cross-functional Flowchart tab, or drag a swimlane from the stencil.
3. Build the expediting process
   • From the Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes stencil, drag process step shapes (e.g., Start/End, Process, Decision) into the appropriate swimlane.
   • When a shape is correctly contained in a swimlane, the lane shows a green highlight; contained shapes move automatically with the lane.
   • Use connectors between shapes to show the flow: normal path in the “Normal Work” lane, and the fast-track path in the “Expedite” lane.
   • If needed, use Separator lines (web) from the Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes stencil to indicate phases such as “Intake,” “Expedite Decision,” “Implementation,” and “Done.”
4. Label and format for clarity
   • Click or double-click placeholder text in the diagram and swimlane headers to type labels such as “Expedite,” “Triage,” “Approval,” etc.
   • To reposition labels (Windows), use Home → Tools → Text Block, then drag the label.
   • To change label orientation (Windows), use Cross-functional Flowchart → Design → Rotate Lane Label.
   • On the web, adjust text alignment via Home → Align Text.
5. Adjust structure as the process evolves
   • Resize lanes by dragging separator lines or end lines to fit more or fewer steps.
   • Reorder lanes by dragging a lane (after clicking its label bar so the lane is highlighted) to a new position.
   • Deleting a swimlane removes all shapes it contains, so only delete lanes when sure the contained steps are no longer needed.

Summary of the expediting structure:

• Use a Cross Functional Flowchart template.
• Create swimlanes for normal vs. expedite paths (and any key roles or phases).
• Place each process step in the lane that owns or executes it.
• Use connectors and separators to show the expedited path clearly from intake to completion.

References:

• Create a cross-functional flowchart
• Add swimlanes to a flowchart
• Expedite work using swimlanes