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Object Management Group Begins Building New Specifications for Business Process Management
Open requests for proposals for new specs to enable interoperability, ease software development, and enhance trustworthiness of BPM applications
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 28, 2021 – Today, international technology standards organization Object Management Group® (OMG®) issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for new standards that will become part of the Business Process Management+ (BPM+) family of specifications. The new specifications will improve the interoperability of BPM+ languages, ease software development, and enhance the trustworthiness of BPM+ applications.
The new specifications beginning development are:
- BPM+ Knowledge Package Model and Notation (BKPMN) - the wrapper that contains models developed through other BPM+ standards and artifacts.
- Shared Data Model and Notation (SDMN) – which creates a library of data elements that can be created and updated in a single location. This library is the fourth pillar of the BPM+ Knowledge Package Model and Notation.
The current set of BPM+ standards − Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN), and Decision Model and Notation (DMN) − are often used together to model real-world business situations since they provide a good separation of concerns of process, case, and decision. The three languages are often spoken and written about in this context and referred to as BPM+. The idea of BPM+ has since expanded to be a conceptual modeling language stack that will gain new standards, which will be languages that can interact with at least one of the other BPM+ languages.
BPM+ Knowledge Package Model and Notation
A knowledge package is the wrapper that contains models developed through standards and artifacts. It comprises six major components: processes, cases, decisions, data, the wrapper that combines them, and provenance and pedigree. Processes, cases, decisions, and data are considered the four pillars of a knowledge package. The current set of BPM+ standards, BPMN, CMMN, and DMN, form the first three pillars of a BPM+ Knowledge Package.
"The need for a BPM+ knowledge package originated with the BPM+ Health Community and their work using current BPM+ standards for the development healthcare clinical guidelines, but it has relevancy across many industries," said Dr. Stephen White, BPM Advantage Consulting, Co-chair, Methodology Working Group, BPM+ Health. "BPM+ is a conceptual modeling language stack comprised of languages that interact with each other. A concrete model or structure such as a knowledge package will allow developers to create, discover, and distribute healthcare clinical practice guidelines (CPG), for example."
Robert Lario, Co-chair, Methodology Working Group, BPM+ Health, said, "This specification provides the means to define the manifest for a family of collaborative knowledge models. The machine interpretable manifest not only provides information on what is in the package but surfaces the intended goals and potential effects if the models were actuated. This ability is fundamental to intelligently ranking, selecting, and planning across multiple CPGs. For example, this underpins the identification and selection of multiple CPGs for a patient with co-morbidities and identifying contradictions."
Responses to the RFP must define a specification, metamodel, and XSD that satisfy the mandatory requirements listed in the proposal.
Situational Data Model and Notation
A shared data model will create a library of data elements that can be created and updated in a single location. Modeling tools that support this library and the other BPM+ models will be able to reference the data elements in the library and apply updates.
"When languages are used together to define the behaviors of complex topic such as a clinical guideline, data elements are used across multiple models and are updated many times," said Dr. White. "This makes maintaining and synchronizing data elements a burden for developers." A shared data model will dramatically reduce this burden. "It promotes the ability to define a canonical and semantically bound data model once, independent of how an organization curates its data," said Mr. Lario.
The OMG SDMN seeks to define the content and structure of a shared data model, the fourth pillar of the BPM Knowledge Package Model and Notation.
The deadline for the initial submission is August 30, 2021 for both the BKPMN and SDMN RFPs. The RFPs are open to the public. Any organization may respond but must submit a letter of intent by August 30, 2021.
About OMG
The Object Management Group® (OMG®) is an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium with representation from government, industry and academia. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies and an even wider range of industries. OMG's modeling standards enable powerful visual design, execution and maintenance of software and other processes. Visit www.omg.org for more information.
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