CAPE

Information Technology –
UNIT 1
Module 3: Objectives 06
• Describe data flow diagrams (DFD);
Introducing DFDs
• A Data flow diagram (DFD) is graphical representation of the flow of
data in an information system.
• Data flow diagrams (DFDs) reveal relationships among and between
the various components in a program or system. They are capable of
depicting incoming data flow, outgoing data flow and stored data.
• DFDs are an important technique for modelling a system’s high-level
detail. It does not show any program logic or processing steps.

DFDs show only what the system does,

not how it does it.
Components of DFDs
DFDs comprise of four basic components:
• Entities - Entities provide data to the system (i.e. source) or receive
output from the system (i.e. sink).
 DFDs show only external entities, i.e. who are not directly involved within the
process / system e.g. a department, outside organisation, other information
system or person.

• Processes - A process receives input data and produces output that

has a different content, form or both.
 Processes contain the business logic, also called business rules, that transform
the data and produce the required results.
 For instance: the process for calculating pay uses two inputs (i.e. pay rate and
hours worked) to produce one output (total pay).
Components of DFDs
DFDs comprise of four basic components:
• Data Stores –A data store is where a process stores data between
processes for later retrieval by that same process or another one.
 Data stores are repositories where data is held temporary or permanently.
 They correspond to a filing cabinet, cardbox, computer file, etc. Files and tables
are also considered data stores.

• Data Flows - A 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 symbols used to depict how these components interact in a system

are simple and easy to understand.
 COMPONENT Example

Symbols for
DFD
Components
 Patient Customer
DFD Symbols – Entity
• The symbol for an entity can be a rectangle or an oval.
• The name of the entity appears inside the symbol.
• An external entity must be connected by a data flow to a process, and not
directly to a data store or to another external entity.
• Systems analysts call an entity that supplies data to the system a source, and an
entity that receives data from the system a sink.
• DFD entities are also called agents or terminators, because they are data origins or
final destinations.

• Examples of entities: Customer - submits an order to an order processing

system; Student - supplies data to a student registration system;
Homeowner - receives a bill from a property tax system; Accounts
Payable System - receives data from a company's purchasing system.
 1
ASSIGN FINAL
DFD Symbols - Process GRADE VERIFY ORDER

• A process can be represented by a rectangle with rounded corners, with the

name of the process appearing inside the rectangle; OR a process can be
represented by a rounded-edge rectangle with two sections:
• Top section indicates the reference number of the process (to accommodate referencing
for lower level DFDs.
• Bottom-centre indicates the name of the process.

• The process name identifies a specific function and consists of a verb (and an
adjective, if necessary) followed by a singular noun.
• Examples: Apply Rent Payment, Calculate Commission, Assign Final Grade, Verify Order,
Fill Order.

• Processing details are not shown in DFD.

• E.g. you might have a process named Deposit Payment. The process symbol does not
reveal the business logic for the Deposit Payment process. To document the logic, you
create a process description.
 Quotation

DFD Symbols – Data Flow Course Details

• A data flow (also referred to as a data pipeline) is represented by a line with an

arrow at the end of the flowline, showing the direction of flow.

• It should be named using words that are understood within the organisation or
department describing the data.

• No alteration to data can take place within a flowline.

• The data that leaves one process is exactly what arrives at the next process.

• Branching data flows can exist when a particular process carries out some work
and produces a data output which is copied to two or more processes.

• This could be shown by a single data flow leaving one symbol, and splitting to
arrive at two other symbols. In such a case, both lines after the split must be
identified by appropriate labelling (e.g. original; copy).
DFD Symbols – Data Store M1 Purchase Orders

• Data stores are represented as a flat rectangle that is closed on the left side
and open on the right side.
• The 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.
• Examples: Students, Accounts Receivable, Products, Daily Payments, Purchas
Orders, Outstanding Checks, Insurance Policies, Employees.

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

• Each data store must have at least one incoming and one outgoing data
flow.
• Violation: Two data stores cannot be connected by a data flow without an
intervening process.
 DFDs Exist In a Hierarchy
• Most business processes are too complex to be explained in
one DFD. Therefore, a system is in most cases represented
by a set of DFDs.
 The first DFD provides a summary of the overall system, with
additional DFDs providing more and more detail about each
part of the overall business process.

• Thus, one important principle in process modelling with DFDs

is the decomposition of business processes into a hierarchy
of DFDs, with each level down the hierarchy consisting of
diagrams with less scope but more detail.
 DFDs Exist In a Hierarchy
• Data flow diagrams are expressed as a series of levels, showing
different amounts of detail.
• A top-level DFD shows the least amount of detail and is known as a
Level 0 DFD or context diagram.
 This DFD is concerned with how the system interacts with the
outside world. It shows the entire system as a single process,
with only the inputs and outputs flowing to or from external
entities.
• A Level 1 DFD will split up that single process into subsystems and
show more detail about the data flows and data stores.
• A Level 2 DFD may decompose a single subsystem even further.
 DFDs Exist In a Hierarchy

Context Level 0

1st
Level 1
Decomposition

2nd
Level 2 Level 2 Level 2
Decomposition
Level 0 DFD – Context Diagram

• The top-level DFD of every system, whether manual or a

computerised, is the context diagram; outlining its boundaries
and scope.
• As its name suggests, the context diagram shows the entire
system in context with its environment.
• It shows the overall business process as a single process (i.e.,
the system itself) and shows the data flows to and from external
entities.
• Data stores are not included in a context diagram.
Illustration of a Context Diagram (Level 0)
Example of a Context Diagram (Level 0)
Level 1 DFD

• The Level 1 DFD decomposes the system that is

described by a context diagram, such that it now
focus on the detail about what the system does.
• It outlines the main processes of the system, and
now includes the data stores.
Illustration of a Level 1 DFD
Example
of a
Level 1
DFD
Case Study #1
A systems analyst proposes that Victory Publishing should calculate
authors' royalties as follows:
• Note: royalties refers to the amount they receive from the sale of books they have
written.

• Details of each book (i.e. title, author, cover price, rate of royalty as a
percentage of the cover price, etc.) are held on file. Each time a book
is sold, the sale is recorded on a file in the Sales Department.
• At the end of each month a summary of the total sales of each book is
procedure, and this is used to calculate the royalty earned by each
author that month.
• This data is stored on the Royalties file.
• At the end of each 6-month period the total royalty is calculated and a
statement and cheque sent to each author.
The context diagram for Case Study #1

• Remember, the Level 0 DFD will show the system as a single process
box with the relevant inputs and outputs.
• In this case, the input to the Royalties system comes from the Sales
Department, and the royalty goes to the author. These are the external
entities.
• And of course, no data stores are shown in a Level 0 DFD.
Case Study #2 – Part A
• A customer places an order with the JanSport Co. for some backpacks. The
order is accepted by the Sales Order Processing Department. The stock file
is checked and if there is sufficient stock, an invoice is printed and sent to
the customer. A picking list is sent to the warehouse (this is a list giving the
total of each item to be despatched to aid the warehouse staff in picking
stock off the shelves and assembling the order). If there is insufficient stock
to fill the whole order, the customer is invoiced for any part of the order that
can be filled, and the rest of the order is held in the system until stock is
replenished. If any part of the order cannot be filled, an 'out of stock' notice is
sent to the customer.
• Instead of an invoice, a customer may receive an order-rejection notice.
Rejection may be for a number of reasons such as a bad credit rating,
customer on 'stop' because of an unpaid overdue invoice, or a product
ordered that is no longer available. This system doe not handle backorders
separately - they are simply helf on the system until they can be processed
when the required stock is received in the warehouse.
Brain Challenge:
1. What would you name the main process of the context
diagram for the Sales Order Processing (SOP) system
described in Case Study #2 – Part A?

2. What are the external entities you have identified should be

included in the context diagram?

3. What main data flows can you identify between the external
entities and the main process?

4. Draw what you feel the context diagram should look like.
The context diagram for Case Study #2

• The Level 0 DFD for this SOP system accepts customer orders and
produces invoices sent to customer.
• It also prints a picking list which is sent to the warehouse.
Case Study No. 2 – Part B
Suppose the analyst has established the following facts:
1. The customer order is received and the customer's credit rating is checked. New
customers or those on 'stop' are put in a suspense file and referred to the Credit
Control Manager. If the order is rejected, an order-rejection notice is printed and
sent to the customer.
2. For orders which are accepted, stock availability is checked. Stock is allocated
where possible and the stock file updated. The order is priced using the price held
on the stock file.
3. If the order cannot be filled (there is insufficient stock to allocate the order), it is
left on the Orders file as an unfilled order. An out-of-stock notice is sent to the
customer.
4. For completed orders, a picking list is produced and sent to the warehouse. This
shows the location (Bin number) and quantity of each product needed to fill the
batch of orders.
5. An invoice is produced and sent to the customer.
Creating the Level 1 DFD - Step 2:
Level 1 DFD, decomposes the overall system into main processes of the
system are outlined, and now we’ve now added in the data stores and more
detail of what happens, for example, when there is insufficient stock to fill the
order.
Case Study #3:
A customer places an order with KPHouse Publishing for some books.
The order is accepted by the Sales Order Processing Department. An
invoice is printed and sent to the customer. A despatch note is printed
and sent to the warehouse. The goods and the despatch note are sent to
the customer from the warehouse. A second copy of the invoice is sent
to the Accounts Department.

Brain Challenge:
Look at the Level 1 DFD that follows, which an inexperienced
trainee analyst has drawn to represent the system described.
1. What is wrong with it?
2. Redraw it correctly.
Case Study #5 (Cont’d):
MEGA BRAIN CHALLENGE!!
Case #4:
A student can register by mail for a college course by submitting a registration
form with their name, ID number and the numbers of the courses they wish to
take. The system verifies that the course is not full and enrols the student on
each course for which a place is still free. The course file and student master
files are updated and a confirmation letter is sent to the student to notify them
of their acceptance or rejection for each requested course.

Try Your Hand at It…

Draw a Level 0 and a Level 1 DFD for the above system.