Patent ID: 7131107

Claim:
A method for mapping business and engineering processes, comprising the steps of: giving users access to a system for generating an emergent model, the emergent model including one or more models having computer instructions and data the describe behavior of a system being modeled and/or evaluate the system being modeled; independently publishing, using a computing device, inputs and/or outputs of data objects and/or function objects generated by the users, at least some of the data objects and/or function objects being model inputs and/or model outputs, at least some of the function objects defining interdependencies within the one or more models by providing solvable expressions that relate data objects and/or function objects; independently subscribing to the published inputs and/or outputs of data objects and/or function objects generated by the users from at least one computing device on a computer network through the system for generating an emergent model, thereby creating a network of linked inputs and/or outputs of data objects and/or function objects without a predefined or global definition of the emergent model; analyzing and displaying, using a computing device, the network of linked inputs and/or outputs, resulting in a map of the business and engineering processes; wherein the network of linked inputs and/or outputs of data objects and/or function objects is created in a manner free of a central coordinating computing device and in a manner free of a predefined or global definition of the emergent model; and wherein the data objects and/or function objects generated are used in business and engineering processes.