Swimlanes are the horizontal counterparts to the columns on a board. Unlike columns, which are always mapped to issue statuses, you can base your swimlanes on several criteria:

• Queries: These are Jira search queries constructed with JQL. With this option, each swimlane will only show results from its own query. For example, you can create a query for each priority value, so you can group your issues based on their importance.
• Stories: Each swimlane will be mapped to a story. All subtasks that fall under the story will be displayed in the swimlane.
• Assignees: Each swimlane will be mapped based on the issue's assignee.
• Epics: Each swimlane will be mapped to an epic. All issues that fall under the epic will be displayed in the swimlane.
• Projects: Each swimlane will be mapped to a project. If there is only one project, there will be only one swimlane.

Using swimlanes is a great way to group and categorize your issues on your Scrum board. For example, with the Assignees option, you can easily get an idea of each team member's workload by just looking at the board.

The following screenshot shows a Scrum board with three swimlanes based on issue priority, using the queries option: