Abstract: In one aspect, a computer-based method is disclosed for managing iterations and branching in a design evolution. The method includes creating a module that corresponds to a component in response to a user command and storing at least a first iteration and a second iteration of a design for the component in the module. Each of the first and second iterations contains one or more content objects. Moreover, each content object is an entity (e.g., a businessobject) or a relation (e.g., a connector), is identified by a content identifier, and is part of a single unit of content that represents all evolutions of the entity or relation and is associated with a corresponding physical object.