Patent US 6,947,951

A data structure and software systems for modeling a business are disclosed. The data structure is formed of a constellation of data structures termed Business Execution and Analysis Models (BEAMs). Each of these BEAMs is formed of one or more hierarchies and/or dimensions that express a collection of business scenarios. Each hierarchy has a name and includes two or more levels. A lineage relationship exists between the levels in the hierarchy, wherein the hierarchy has a tree-like structure. One or more cross-link relationships may be provided between levels of two hierarchies, wherein each cross-link relationship defines a business rule or a business constraint. Each BEAM may include one or more dimensions which have one or more cross-link relationships between the hierarchies. One or more business perspectives may be provided, wherein the business perspective is a template of a multidimensional query into the data.