SEM Module 2

Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)

Faculty Name: Dr. Rajbala Simon

Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)
◼ Data flow diagram CUSTOMER
Order In-Stock Request
WAREHOUSE

(DFD) is a picture of Status

Message
1.0

the movement of Status Data

Check
Status
Shipping
Order

data between Shipping

2.0
Order
Data
3.0
Pending
external entities and Confirmation Issue
Status
Messages
D1 Orders
Generate
Shipping
the processes and Order Data Order

Payment
data stores within a Invoice
4.0
Order Data
Manage

system Accounts
Receivable
5.0
Accounting Data Accounts Receivable Data

Produce
Accounts Reports
D2 Receivable
Inventory
Reports

ACCOUNTING
Why DFD?
◼ A graphical tool, useful for communicating with users,
managers, and other IS personnel.
◼ Used to perform structured analysis to determine logical
requirements.
◼ Useful for analyzing existing as well as proposed
systems.
◼ Focus on the movement of data between external entities
and processes, and between processes and data stores.
◼ A relatively simple technique to learn and use.
DFD Symbols

Process(Internal Entity)

Data Flow

Data Store

Source/Sink (External Entity)

Process
1.0
Grade Detail Grade Report
Produce
Grade
Report

◼ Work or actions performed on data (inside the

system)
◼ Labels should be verb phrases
◼ Receives input data and produces output
Rule 1: Process
◼ Can have more than one outgoing data flow
or more than one incoming data flow

1.0
Graded Work
Submitted Work Grade
Student Student Grade
Work

3.0
Hours Worked
Gross Pay
Calculated
Pay Rate
Gross
Pay
Rule 2: Process
◼ Can connect to any other symbol (including
another process symbol)

1.0 2.0 Inventory

Order Accepted Order Change

Verify Assemble
Order Order
Process: Correct/Incorrect?
5.0
Services Perfomed Invoice

Create
Invoice

Policy Number Payment Amount

Apply
Insurance
Premium

2.1
Hours Worked Pay Rate
Calculate
Gross
Pay
Data Flow
Deposit

◼ Is a path for data to move from one part of the

IS to another
◼ Arrows depicting movement of data
◼ Can represent flow between process and data
store by two separate arrows
2.1
Payment Detail

D1 Accounts
Invoice Detail
Post Receivable
Payment
Data Flow: Correct/Incorrect?
5.0

Post
Payment

Courses

Customer
Payment

Class
List D2 Daily Payments

Daily
Payment
Students

6.0

Prepare
Deposit
Data Store
D1 Students

◼ Is used in a DFD to represent data that the

system stores
◼ Labels should be noun phrases
Rule: Data Store
◼ Must have at least one incoming and one
outgoing data flow

Customer Payment

D1 Daily
Payments

Daily Payment
Data Store: Correct/Incorrect?

2.0 D2 Accounts
Receivable

Book
Flight
Invoice
Payment
Detail
Detail

Fight
Request

3.0

Post
Passengers
Payment
Source/Sink (External Entity)
1.0
Order

CUSTOMER Invoice
Verify
Order

◼ External entity that is origin or destination of

data (outside the system)
◼ Is the singular form of a department, outside
organisation, other IS, or person
◼ Labels should be noun phrases
◼ Source – Entity that supplies data to the
system
◼ Sink – Entity that receives data from the
system
Rule: Source/Sink
◼ Must be connected to a process by a data flow

BANK

Bank
Deposit

2.0

Prepare
Deposit
Source/Sink: Correct/Incorrect?

PAYROLL
CUSTOMER CUSTOMER
DEPARTMENT

Paycheck
Payment Payment

EMPLOYEE 3.0
Accounts
Receivable
Apply
Payment
Rules for Using DFD Symbols
◼ Data Flow That Connects
YES NO
A process to another process

A process to an external entity

A process to a data store

An external entity to another external entity

An external entity to a data store

A data store to another data store

List the errors of this DFD

DF2
E1 1.0

DF5 P2

DF1 DS1
DF3

DF6

2.0
DF4

DF2 P1

E1
Levels of DFD
◼ Context diagram
◼ Level-0 diagram (System diagram)
◼ Level-n diagram – Detail of one process from next highest
level
◼ Primitive Diagram (Lowest level DFD)
Strategies for Developing DFDs
◼ Top-down strategy
 Create the high-level diagrams (Context Diagram), then low-
level diagrams (Level-0 diagram), and so on
◼ Bottom-up strategy
 Create the low-level diagrams, then higher-level diagrams
Context Diagram
◼ Top-level view of IS
◼ Shows the system boundaries, external entities that interact with the
system, and major information flows between entities and the system.
◼ Example: Order system that a company uses to enter orders and apply
payments against a customer’s balance
Context Diagram
DFD for University Admission System

Student Information
0

Student University Staff

Admission
System

Admission Approval Report

or Rejection
Level-0 DFD
◼ Shows the system’s major processes, data flows, and data stores at a
high level of abstraction
◼ When the Context Diagram is expanded into DFD level-0, all the
connections that flow into and out of process 0 needs to be retained.
Level-0 DFD
Student Report Request
Information Student
Name & ID Data Item
1 3
Prompt
Admission Approval Perform Generate
Student Staff
or Rejection Intake Reports Data
Procedure Data Items
Query
Prior
Report
Approved Application Data
Application Data
D1 Student Data
Verified
Approved
2 Application
Maintain
Student Other Student Data
Information
Request for Student
Information Maintenance
Lower-Level Diagrams
◼ Functional Decomposition
 An iterative process of breaking a system description down into finer and
finer detail
 Uses a series of increasingly detailed DFDs to describe an IS
◼ Balancing
 The conservation of inputs and outputs to a data flow process when that
process is decomposed to a lower level
 Ensures that the input and output data flows of the parent DFD are
maintained on the child DFD
Level-1 DFD
◼ Each use case is turned into its own DFD.
◼ Take the steps listed on the use case and depict each as
a process on the level 1 DFD.
◼ Inputs and outputs listed on use case become data flows
on DFD.
◼ Include sources and destinations of data flows to
processes and stores within the DFD.
◼ May also include external entities for clarity.
Level-1 DFD

Student
Information
Admission Application
1.1 1.2
Student Receive Verify
Admission Student Admission
Application Name and ID Application

Verified
Prior Admission
Application D1 Student Data Application
Data
Application
Application Data
Request
Application Approval 1.3
or Rejection Approved Application
Review
Admission
Application
Exercise:
Precision Tools sells a line of high-quality woodworking
tools. When customers place orders on the company’s
Web site, the system checks to see if the items are in
stock, issues a status message to the customer, and
generates a shipping order to the warehouse, which fills the
order. When the order is shipped, the customer is billed.
The system also produces various reports.
◼ Draw a context diagram for the order system
◼ Draw DFD diagram 0 for the order system
Identify Entities,Process,Data Stores & Data Flow
◼ Entities ◼ Data Flows
 Customer  Order
 Warehouse  In-Stock Request
1.0
 Accounting  Order Data
◼ Processes  Status Data
2.0
 1.0 Check Status  Status Message
 2.0 Issue Status Messages  Shipping Order
3.0
 3.0 Generate Shipping Order  Order Data
 4.0 Manage Accounts  Invoice
Receivable  Shipping Confirmation
4.0
 5.0 Produce Reports  Payment
◼ Data Stores  Accounting Data
 D1 Pending Orders  Accounts Receivable Data
 D2 Accounts Receivable  Order Data 5.0
 Inventory Reports
 Order
CUSTOMER In-Stock WAREHOUSE
Payment Request

Status 0 Shipping
Message Order

Order
Invoice System Shipping Confirmation

Inventory
Reports

ACCOUNTING
Context
Diagram of
Order
System
 Order In-Stock Request
CUSTOMER WAREHOUSE

1.0
Status
Message
Check Shipping
Status Data Status Order

Order
2.0 Data
Shipping 3.0
Confirmation Pending
Issue D1 Orders
Status
Messages Generate
Shipping
Order Data Order

Payment 4.0
Order Data
Invoice
Manage
Accounts
Receivable
5.0
Accounting Data Accounts Receivable Data

Produce
Accounts Reports
D2 Receivable
Inventory
Reports
Level-0 of
Order
System ACCOUNTING
Any Questions?