Enterprise SOA Enabled by New OMG Standard Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN); New Data Modeling Standard Adoption Begun at Object Management Group Meeting in Burlingame, CA, USA, December 5-9, 2005.

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Members of the Object Management Group(TM) (OMG(TM)) met in Burlingame, California, USA during the week of December 5-9, 2005, co-sponsored by RTI (www.rti.com) and Telelogic (www.telelogic.com). At this meeting, the Business Process Modeling Notation(TM) (BPMN(TM)), a key element in the design and implementation of enterprise Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), started the sequence of votes that will conclude OMG's fast track adoption process. In addition to standards work, members viewed demonstrations of products implementing OMG specifications, and attended tutorials and a co-located meeting of the W3C working group on Business Rule Interchange Format.

Business Modeling Standards Activity

The BPMN entered the final phase of its fast-track adoption at this meeting. One of two early results from the June 2005 merger of OMG and BPMI.org, the BPM Notation enables portability of business process descriptions among the many tools that already support it, and enables enterprise-wide SOA implementation based on business process standards. The Business Motivation Model (BMM), the other contribution from the merger, is undergoing final adoption votes at the same time. OMG's ongoing process to enable interoperability between BPM tools, the Business Process Definition Metamodel, now invites organizations to become involved in the process; letters declaring intent to participate have a deadline of February 6, 2006. For more information, email [e-mail].

Additional Domain Specifications Work

Taking advantage of the Model Driven Architecture(R) (MDA(R)), OMG members adopt specifications in many vertical industries. In Burlingame, the Life Science Research DTF initiated work on a standard DNA Variation and Phenotype Data Model by issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) listing the requirements for the new specification. Members also chartered the Robotics DTF to focus standards work in this growing industry.

Responding to emerging use of TCP/IP over satellite communications, the Space DTF issued a Request for Information (RFI) on CORBA(R)-based Space Standards as a first step in standards-setting in this area. Any person or company may submit information or comments to OMG in response to an RFI; the CORBA-based Space Standards RFI may be downloaded from http://www.omg.org/space-rfi.

Information Management Metamodel (IMM) Specification Work Starts

At this meeting, OMG members initiated an adoption process to update the widely used data modeling specification, the Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM(TM)). Renamed the Information Management Metamodel (IMM) in recognition of its broader applicability, the new specification will define profiles for Relational, Logical (Entity-Relationship), XML, Record, and "Information Engineering" Data Modeling.

Any interested company may join OMG and submit a draft for consideration by members in response to the Request for Proposals (RFP) that states requirements and deadlines for a new specification; for information, send an email to [e-mail].

CORBA Component Model Extended with Quality of Service Interfaces

A specification extending the CORBA Component Model (CCM) with interfaces to control real-time Quality of Service (QoS) completed its member evaluation and started the sequence of votes leading to formal adoption. Coordinated with the UML Profile for QoS, this supports platform-independent design and CCM implementation of Real-Time applications in OMG's Model Driven Architecture.

Formal Adoptions Completed

A vote by OMG's Board of Directors concludes the sequence that creates a new OMG specification. Following the meeting in Burlingame, OMG's Board voted to adopt five new specifications: Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules, Chemical Structure Access & Representation, MOF(TM) 2.0 Queries/Views/Transformations, UML(R) Profile for Voice-based Applications, and UML Extension Profile for a System-on-a-Chip. Following a brief editing process, these specifications will be available for free download on OMG's website.

Meeting Sponsor Presentations

Gordon Hunt and Dr. Gerardo Pardo-Castellote of RTI spoke to members on "DDS - Enabling Global Data." Jan Popkin of Telelogic spoke on "OMG, Technology, and the Future."

Tutorials and Software Demonstrations

During the meeting week, OMG members presented six, half-day tutorials on the group's various specifications. A daylong seminar covered IT Standards and Regulatory Compliance. Six member companies demonstrated software products implementing OMG specifications.

Next Meeting; Links to Additional Information

OMG members will meet next in Tampa, Florida, USA, during the week of February 13-17, 2006. Interested non-members may attend as observers; for an invitation see http://www.omg.org/tcguest. Members may register for the meeting at http://www.omg.org/registration. OMG's home page is http://www.omg.org. Information about the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is collected at http://www.omg.org/mda. All OMG specifications may be downloaded free of charge from http://www.omg.org/specifications.

About The OMG

With well-established standards covering software from design and development, through deployment and maintenance, and extending to evolution to future platforms, the Object Management Group (OMG) supports a full-lifecycle approach to enterprise integration which maximizes ROI, the key to successful IT. OMG's Modeling standards, the basis for the MDA(R), include the Unified Modeling Language(TM) (UML(R)) and Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM(TM)). CORBA(R), the Common Object Request Broker Architecture, is OMG's standard open platform with hundreds of millions of deployments running today. Headquartered in Needham, MA, USA, the Object Management Group is an international, open membership, not-for-profit computer industry specifications consortium. More information about OMG can be found at www.omg.org.

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