1. A computer-implemented method comprising the following operations performed with at least one processor: creating a network of costed entities based on an input from a user, the network including edges linking the costed entities in a value chain, the costed entities having attributes and associated with costs relating to business activities, the attributes affecting the costs; receiving, from the user, a change in at least one attribute associated with at least one of the costed entities; analyzing the costs associated with the costed entities by evaluating the attributes, including the change in the at least one attribute received from the user, using formulas associated with the costed entities along the value chain; determining a difference in costs resulting from the change in the at least one attribute; and outputting a result of at least one of the analyzing the costs or the determining the difference to the user, wherein the formulas are defined by functional metadata.