All I wanted to know is 'what the hell is bpnm' but apparently that's a question that never gets asked.

Business Process Modelling Notation - a formal notation for describing steps/rules/roles etc in business processes, e.g. order processing.

It's both a documentation notation that can be used by analysts and managers, and (at least in later versions) an executable language that can be used for running those processes.

Technically, that name was the pre-2.0 name; BPMN 2.0 changed the name to "Business Process Model and Notation".

If you scroll down to the bottom and click on "About" you'll be taken to a page that sheds a little light:

> An important part of our BPM vision is BPMN 2.0, an established global standard for modelling [sic] business processes. First of all, it allows you to visualize business processes, thus making it easier to capture, discuss and change them. Then again, it also defines a standardized file format that makes it possible to exchange modeled diagrams freely across compliant modelling tools.

I guess BPM must mean "business process modeling", then.

You're right - they should probably start with an explanation of what BPM and BPMN are.

I wondered too, but it was the first hit on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Process_Model_and_Not...

The license starts off with the typical 'without restriction', then promptly adds badgeware restrictions.

Shame.

Has anyone evaluated or started a new project incorporating a BPM process/execution engine recently?

With so many super old tools available, it seems like it could be hard to tell which projects have kept up with modern expectations for ease of configuration and use. That and digging past all the buzzword marketing talk aimed at non-technicals.

I'm currently in the beginning phases of one. I've been looking at jBPM and Activiti. This is the first I've heard of Camunda...added to the list to research.

Any non-trivial application contains dozens, probably even hundreds, of workflows, esp. applications disregarded as CRUD. How do you model workflows for these applications? How do you avoid burying all business logic inextricably in code? How do you keep graphical representations and code in sync over time? Over a long time?

This is pretty sweet. I should really try and understand BPMN better. I'm assuming you work on this project in some capacity: if so, you might be interested in looking at my software (http://kite9.com) which does automatic orthogonal layouts.

This is really great. Works even on mobile quite good (except a few minor rendering issues in the bottom toolbar): http://i.imgur.com/WAqAgmq.png