The diagram ‘Lead Monitor – divided by topic’ shows an expanded version of the Lead Monitor, in which the process steps are additionally organised by topic or area of responsibility (swimlanes). The cards continue to progress through the familiar phases from idea to completion, but are simultaneously assigned to a specialist area or business unit. This allows several strands of work to be managed in parallel without losing sight of the bigger picture.
This structure is particularly suitable for larger groups or coordination bodies that deal with topics from different areas – such as IT, marketing or HR – simultaneously. It makes it easier to find one’s way around, highlights workloads and bottlenecks, and supports the management of complex organisational units. On the other hand, this approach involves greater maintenance effort and carries the risk that members may focus too heavily on their own subject area. Furthermore, cross-functional issues cannot always be clearly assigned to a single line. The thematic structure thus creates greater transparency and clarity, but requires disciplined facilitation and a sufficiently mature form of self-organisation.
Source: See here