Abstract: A method for processing data. Meta-data descriptors (15, 18) are defined to describe the data either by the user (17) or automatically using a meta-data connector (16). A meta-data descriptor describes the structure of data including field names (1, 4). A meta-data connector describes how to access the data. Different types of meta-data connectors (10, 11, 12) exist for different types of data such as JDBC and XML. An interactive user application (23) is utilised to facilitate the definition of a process. A process consists of certain operations (7) in relation to meta-data descriptors (2, 5) such as transformation of data from one field name to another. A component (8, 26) is provided to process data in accordance with the defined process. A computer system and software for implementing the method is also disclosed.