Now that BPMN is being developed by the OMG, the idea of merging process modeling with object modeling is getting some traction. Traditionally, UML modeling has been very data centric, and the most widely used UML diagram is the class diagram, which is just an other way to model advanced data structures. UML activity diagrams are much more process oriented, but they’ve proven too limited to really be used by process analysts, which was the reason why BPMI.org developed BPMN at the first place. Today, one could implement the BPMN 2.0 specification on top of the MOF, using Eclipe’s EMF for example, and use UML 2.0 class diagrams to design custom data objects that could be transparently deployed into a relational database through an object/relational persistence layer such as Hibernate. This would provide a zero-code, one-click deploy solution that encompasses both process and data, while UML profiles could be used to define how BPMN and class diagrams are used in concert. This is something that Intalio is starting to look at, and you should expect more from us on this particular subject in the coming months.