Data Flow Diagrams

Faculty:
Gayathri Ranjit Assistant Professor TKM Institute of Management

Data Flow Diagrams

 Used to depict functional requirements  Illustrate the flow of data and its transformation  Through decomposition, greater detail is revealed and documented in layers of DFDs  A numbering system is used to hierarchically relate the process layers  A diagram that consists principally of 4 symbols the process, the data store, the external entity and the data flow.

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Data Flow Diagrams (Gane and Sarson)

1. Process
1.0

3. Data Flows
Customer details Goods Data flow

Market products

2. External entity (source/sink)

4. Data Stores

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Data Flow Diagram

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Data Flow Diagrams - Tips

 The process is the main building block of DFDs.  For a process to be complete, it needs to have both an input and an output (shown by data flows going into and coming out of it)  If a process has no input then it has generated data for itself, something that is not allowed  If a process has no output then it has no use and exists only for itself  As with processes, data stores should both receive information for storing and provide it for further processing  Direct flows of information between two data stores are not possible

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Decomposing Data Flow Diagrams

 Any process on a DFD may be broken up into several subprocesses which, when viewed collectively, make up that process.  Decomposition of a DFD into lower level DFDs is known as levelling  DFD that shows the entire system is known as top level or level1 DFD  DFDs that contain more detailed view of level 1 processes make up level 2 DFDs  Any level 2 process that is further decomposed give rise to a level 3 DFD and so on  A process that is decomposed is known as the parent whose children are the diagrams derived from it

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Rules for using DFDs

 Data flow that connects
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
YES NO

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Data Flow Diagramming Definitions

 Context Diagram
 A DFD of the scope of an organisational system that shows the system boundaries, external entities that interact with the system and the major information flows between the entities and the system

 Level-0 Diagram
 A DFD that represents a systems major processes, data flows and data stores at a high level of detail

3-Jan-12

TKM Institute of Management

Context Diagram
(Hoosier Burgers Food Ordering System)

Level-0 DFD
(Hoosier Burgers Food Ordering System)