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DFD Over Flowcharts
DFD Over Flowcharts
3.
Start
Fill
water
can
Is plant
soil
moist?
Yes
Done
No
Is plant
a
succulent
No
Yes
Add
some
water
Add lots
of water
customer
city
account no.
balance
street
date
SSN
customer
account
CustAcc
Paycheck
D1 Bill payable
A1
Prepare
bank
deposit
Bank
Deposit
Deposit
amount
A2
Update
check
book
Bill
details
A3
Process
The process is the manipulation or work that transforms
data, performing computations, making decisions (logic
flow), or directing data flows based on business rules. In
other words, a process receives input and generates
some output. Process names (simple verbs and dataflow
names, such as Submit Payment or Get Invoice)
usually describe the transformation, which can be
performed by people or machines. Processes can be
drawn as circles or a segmented rectangle on a DFD, and
include a process name and process number.
Data Store
A data store is where a process stores data between
processes for later retrieval by that same process or
another one. Files and tables are considered data stores.
Data store names (plural) are simple but meaningful,
such as customers, orders, and products. Data
stores are usually drawn as a rectangle with the righthand side missing and labeled by the name of the data
storage area it represents, though different notations do
exist.
Data Flow
Data flow is the movement of data between the entity,
the process, and the data store. Data flow portrays the
interface between the components of the DFD. The flow
of data in a DFD is named to reflect the nature of the
data used (these names should also be unique within a
specific DFD). Data flow is represented by an arrow,
where the arrow is annotated with the data name.
These DFD components are illustrated in Figure 4.
Pay
bills
Check
details
Entity
Faculty
Data Flow
New Student
Record
D2 Check Register
Entity
An entity is the source or destination of data. The source
in a DFD represents these entities that are outside the
context of the system. Entities either provide data to the
system (referred to as a source) or receive data from it
(referred to as a sink). Entities are often represented as
rectangles (a diagonal line across the right-hand corner
means that this entity is represented somewhere else in
ID
ID
2.1
Process
(could be
drawn as
a circle)
Create
Student
Record
Data Store
B2 Student Record
External
Entity
This process
bubble could
be drawn as
a rectangle
with round
corners
External
Entity
ComputerBased
System
External
Entity
External
Entity
Digital
Mixer
Mixer
Sound
Commands
Link
Mixer Sound
Data Link
Music
Output
DR5
Band in
a Box
Studio
Speakers
Music
Output
DR5 Settings
MIDI Sound
Commands
External
MIDI
Device
MIDI
Amplifier
MIDI
Sound
Data
Status
Display
Monitor
Display
Source
Destination
Needs Analysis
Account Executive
Project Manager
ROI Study
Pre-Sales Support
Proposal Manager
outputs and outputs, and use one process for each source
or destination from the DFD.
Music Output
MIDI Sound
Commands
MIDI Sound
Data
Digital
Sound
Wizard
MIDI Sound
Commands
Mixer Sound
Data Link
Record
Data
Playback
Data
Sound
Waveform
Registration form
Student
Subject
Registered
Class
Rolls
Register
1
Degree/
Transcripts
Student Record
Grades
Exam
2
Faculty
OMT Modeling
The output of OMT is a three-dimensional view (from three
different models) of the system that stays the same during
the transition from analysis to design.
The Object Model describes the static system components
and is modeled using object diagrams. The Dynamic Model
describes the dynamic system components that change over
time and are modeled using state diagrams. The Functional
Model describes operations performed on data in a system
and uses data flow diagrams.
Disadvantages
DFDs for large systems can become cumbersome,
difficult to translate and read, and be time consuming in
their construction. Data flow can become confusing to
programmers, but DFDs are useless without the
prerequisite detail: a Catch-22 situation. Different DFD
models employ different symbols (circles and rectangles,
for example, for entities).
Object X Interface
Object Z Interface
CalculateCost
DisplayCost
FormatInvoice
CalculateCost
DisplayCost
FormatInvoice
Customer Object
REFERENCES
(1) Perry, Greg. Sams Teach Yourself Beginning
Programming in 24 Hours, Sams Publishing, 1998.
492 pages.
(2) Le Vie, Jr., Donald. An eCommerce Primer for
Technical Communicators, STC Proceedings of
the 47th Annual Conference, 2000.
Vendor Object
CONCLUSION
Data flow diagramming is a highly effective technique
for showing the flow of information through a system.
DFDs are used in the preliminary stages of systems
analysis to help understand the current system and to
represent a required system. The DFDs themselves
represent external entities sending and receiving
information (entities), the processes that change
information (processes), the information flows
themselves (data flows), and where information is stored