Plugin as a Visual workflow designer/editor for IntelliJ

Hello all,

I'm considering developing a multi-platform graphical workflow editor as a plugin for IntelliJ. The editor would work in a way similar to tools such as Visio/OmniGraffle/Activiti Designer/FuseIDE. It would allow the developers to drag and drop components from a toolbox, connect them using the mouse (or would-be-cool touch), and even run simulation of the workflow (highlighting component by component and show their corresponding value).

Some more important features include:

1- It should enable the developers to go back and forth between their code (Java/Scala) and the workflow editor.

2- It should be able to connect to a web application which displays the model on a browser (if possible in real-time).

Basically, the final product would look something like that depicted in the picture below.

I have browsed this forum but did not see any similar thread about development of such plugin. The documentation in http://confluence.jetbrains.net/display/IDEADEV/PluginDevelopment also did not give me any other insight.

Can you provide me a few hints on how to start building my plugin? How is IntelliJ's support for such interactive editor? A few references would be more than enough. I'd really appreciate your help.