Process Modeling/

Data Flow Diagram

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 References
Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H. Roth, R.M. (2012) Systems Analysis and Design. Chichester:
Wiley.

Shelly, G.B. and Rosenblatt, H.J. (2012) System Analysis and Design 9th Ed. Shelly
Cashman Series.
Pg 209, shelly

www.salimarfaoui.com/Com288Assignments/ProcessModeling.ppt

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 Outline
 Data flow diagrams.
- Reading data flow diagrams
- Elements of data flow diagrams
- Using data flow diagrams to define business processes
- Process descriptions
 Creating data flow diagrams.

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 INTRODUCTION
 A process model can be used to further clarify the
requirements definition and use cases.

 Graphical way of representing how a business system should

operate.

 Used to document the as-is system or the to-be system,

whether computerized or not.

 Data flow diagramming(DFD) is a technique that diagrams

the business processes and the data that pass among them.

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 Elements of Data Flow Diagrams
 Process – A process is an activity or a function performed for some
specific business reason.

 Data Flow – A data flow is a single piece of data, or a logical

collection of several pieces of information.

 Data Store – A data store is a collection of data that is stored in

some way.

 External Entity – An external entity is a person, organization,

organization unit, or system that is external to the system, but
interacts with it.

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(cont’d)

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 A. Process

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 A. Process

 symbol - a rectangle with rounded corners.

 Name of the process appears inside the rectangle.
 Process name identifies a specific function and
 consists of a VERB (and an adjective, if necessary) followed by a
singular NOUN.
Eg: Apply Rent Payment,
Calculate Commission,
Assign Final Grade,
Verify Order, And
Fill Order,
Verify Login

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 B. Data Flow
• A data flow is a path for data to move from one part of information system to
another.

• A data flow represents one or more data items.

• A data flow could consist of

– a single data item eg: a student ID or Username
– a set of data (such as a class attendance sheet with student ID, names, and
lecture dates for a specific class) or Logindetails (usrnm, pswd)

• data flow names : bar code, invoice payment, student grade, order, and
commission, amount, bill, prescription, userid, password

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 B. Data Flow

• Symbol - line with a single or double arrowhead.

• data flow name appears above, below, or alongside the line.

• A data flow name consists of a singular noun and an adjective, if needed.

• data flow names : bar code, invoice payment, student grade, order, and
commission, amount, bill, prescription, userid, password

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Process & Data Flow

16
 B. Data Flow
AVOID:
• Spontaneous generation.
The Apply Insurance Premium process, for instance, produces output, but has no
input data flow. Because it has no input, the process is called a spontaneous
generation process.

• Black hole.
The Calculate Gross Pay is called a black hole process, which is a process that
has input, but produces no output.

• Gray hole.
A gray hole is a process that has at least one input and one output, but the input
obviously is insufficient to generate the output shown. For example, a date of
birth input is not sufficient to produce a final grade output in the Calculate Grade
process.

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 AVOID

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 C. Data Store

• Represent data that the system stores

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 C. Data Store

• Represent data that the system stores because one or more processes need
to use the data at a later time.
Example,
• instructors need to store student scores on tests and assignments during the
semester so they can assign final grades at the end of the term.
• a company stores employee salary and deduction data during the year in
order to print W-2 forms with total earnings and deductions at the end of
the year.

• A DFD does not show the detailed contents of a data store.

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 C. Data Store

• Symbol: a flat rectangle

open on the right side and closed on the left side.
• Name of the data store appears between the lines and identifies the data
it contains.

• A data store name is a plural name consisting of a NOUN and

adjectives, if needed.
• Ex : Student Details, Accounts Receivable, Products, Daily Payments,
Purchase Orders, Outstanding Checks, Insurance Policies, And
Employees.

• A data store must be connected to a process with a data flow.

• the data store has at least one incoming and one outgoing data flow
and is connected to a process symbol with a data flow.

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 D. Entity
• Symbol entity -a rectangle.
• Name of the entity appears inside the symbol.

• Represents External entities that

 provide data to the system or
 receive output from the system.

• A DFD shows the boundaries of the system and how the system interfaces with the
outside world.
• Example, a customer entity submits an order to an order processing system.
• a patient who supplies data to a medical records system,
a homeowner who receives a bill from a city property tax system, or
an accounts payable system that receives data from the company’s purchasing system.

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 D. Entity
• DFD entities also are called TERMINATORS,
because they are data origins or final destinations.

 Source- entity that supplies data to the system, and

 Sink- entity that receives data from the system.

• An entity name is the singular form of a

department, outside organization, other information system, or person.

• An external entity can be a source or a sink or both,

• But each entity must be connected to a process by a data flow.

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 Context Diagram
 The first DFD in every business process is the
CONTEXT DIAGRAM.

 It shows the ENTIRE SYSTEM in context/relation with its

environment.

 shows the overall business process as just ONE process

 and shows the data flows to and from external entities.

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 Creating the Context Diagram
 The context diagram defines how the business process or computer
system interacts with its environment.

 Draw one process symbol for the business process or system being
modeled (numbered 0 and named for the process or system).

 Add all inputs and outputs as data flows.

 Draw in external entities as the source or destination of the data flows.
 No data stores are included in the context diagram.
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 Using DFDs to Define Business
Processes
 Business processes are too complex to be explained in one DFD.
 Decomposition of the business process into a series of DFDs,
each representing a lower level of detail.

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 LEVELS
 When the analyst wishes to show additional levels of detail,
 he or she can zoom in on a process symbol and
 create a more in-depth DFD that shows
the process’s internal workings –
which might reveal even more processes, data flows, and data
stores.

 In this manner, the information system can be modeled as a

series of increasingly detailed pictures.

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(cont’d)
Decomposition

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Level 0 Diagram

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 Level 1 Diagrams
 Each process on the level 0 DFD can be decomposed into a more
explicit DFD called level 1 diagram (or level 1 DFD).

 The set of children and the parent are identical;

they are simply different ways of looking at the same thing.

 It is important to ensure that level 0 and level 1 DFDs are balanced.

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(cont’d)
 All process models have as many level 1 diagrams as there are
processes on the level 0 diagram.

 The parent process and the children processes are numbered

consistently.

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 Creating Level 1 Data Flow Diagrams
(and Below)
 Level 1 DFD – lower-level DFDs for each process in the level 0
DFD.
 Each SUBTASK of the Each of the MAJOR functions of Level 0
DFD becomes a process on the level 1 DFD, with the inputs and
outputs becoming the input and output data flows.
 Level 1 DFDs include the sources and destinations of data flows for
data stores and data flows to processes.
 Including external entities in level 1 and lower DFDs can simplify the
readability of DFDs.

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 Level 2 Diagrams
 The next level of decomposition: a level 2 diagram, or level 2 DFD.
 A level 2 DFD shows all processes, data flows, and data stores that
comprise a single process on the level 1 diagram.

 It is important to ensure that level 1 and level 2 DFDs are balanced.

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 CREATING DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS
1. Build the context diagram.
2. Decompose the Context Diagram into level 0 diagram
(MAIN FUNCTIONS)
3. Develop level 1 DFDs (SUBTASKS of Main Functions) for
each Process of Level 0 DFD.
4. In some cases, these level 1 DFDs are further decomposed into
level 2 DFDs, level 3 DFDs., and so son.
5. Validate the set of DFDs to make sure that they are complete
and correct.

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 Validating the DFD (cont’d)
There two fundamental types of errors in DFDs:
1.Syntax errors – can be thought of as grammatical errors that
violate the rules of the DFD language.

2. Semantics errors – can be thought of as misunderstandings by

the analyst in collecting, analyzing, and reporting information
about the system.

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 SUMMARY
 Data Flow Diagram Syntax – four symbols are used
on data flow diagrams (processes, data flows, data
stores, and external entities).
 Creating Data Flow Diagrams
- Every set of DFDs starts with a context diagram.
- Main Features are specified in level 0 DFD.
- Level 1 DFDs are the decomposed version of Level 0.
- The set of DFDs are validated to make sure that they
are complete and correct and contain no syntax or
semantics errors.

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 Process Descriptions
 Purpose of the process descriptions is
 to explain what the process does and provide additional information
that the DFD does not provide.

 Three techniques are commonly used to describe more complex

processing logic:
– Structured English
– Decision trees
– Decision tables

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