LOGICAL AND PHYSICAL

DATA FLOW DIAGRAM

Adrian O. Salomon
BSIT-3
 PHYSICAL DIAGRAM

Physical Diagrams. A physical data diagram provides

a graphical view of your database structure, and helps
you analyze its tables (including their columns, indexes,
and triggers), views, and procedures, and the references
between them.
 LOGICAL PROCESS

A logical level process model is used to model

the detailed requirements of an application system.
During analysis, the conceptual process model
evolves into the detailed functional requirements,
or logical process model. It describes the
behaviour of processes and their interactions.
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LOGICAL DFD
AND A PHYSICAL DFD
A logical DFD focuses on the business and business activities, while a
physical DFD looks at how a system is implemented. So while any data
flow diagram maps out the flow of information for a process or system,
the logical diagram provides the “what” and the physical provides the
“how.” They are two different perspectives on the same data flow, each
designed to visualize and improve the system. The logical DFD
describes the business events that take place and the data required for
each event. It provides a solid basis for the physical DFD, which
depicts how the data system will work, such as the hardware, software,
paper files and people involved. In tandem, the logical and physical
can fully visualize the current state and model the new state to be
considered and then implemented.
DFD levels are numbered 0, 1 or 2, and occasionally go to even
Level 3 or beyond. The necessary level of detail depends on
the scope of what you are trying to accomplish. DFD Level 0 is
also called a Context Diagram. It’s a basic overview of the
whole system or process being analyzed or modeled. DFD
Level 1 provides a more detailed breakout of pieces of the
Context Level Diagram. You will highlight the main functions
carried out by the system, as you break down the high-level
process of the Context Diagram into its subprocesses. DFD
Level 2 then goes one step deeper into parts of Level 1. It may
require more text to reach the necessary level of detail about
the system’s functioning.
HOW THEY ARE USED IN DIFFERENT FIELDS

Logical and physical DFDS in software engineering: DFDs

originated in software engineering and development. A logical
DFD can capture current and necessary activities required for
a process. A new logical DFD models a new set of activities and
functions. A current physical DFD depicts the current software,
hardware, databases and people to carry out the activities, and
new physical DFD models a new system implementation. This
analysis can provide a better way to get to the actual code that
fuels the requirements.
In business analysis: A logical DFD can help to reveal
business requirements that might otherwise go unstated
until late in the process, causing delays and rework. It also
serves as a clear communication tool with non-technical
people involved in the business activities, both for the
current flow of information and the proposed new way. The
physical DFD then provides the system “how” to drive the
requirements.
In structured analysis: In classical, top-down structured
analysis, a logical DFD is drawn of a current system to describe
its current state, and then an improved system is modeled in a
new logical DFD. The top-down physical DFDs are then drawn
to show the targeted physical solution of software, devices and
other system pieces. In event-driven, bottom-up structured
analysis, a context DFD (Level 0) establishes the project’s
scope, and subsequent levels break it down into subprocesses.
Then we specify system events that require a response, and
event DFDs are drawn to depict how each event is handled.
These event DFDs can then be merged in a system diagram.
In office and administrative: A logical DFD is used to
depict the business actions that take place for an office to
function. The new logical DFD can then model better
functionality with the office’s data, such as personnel data
or customer data and orders. It forms the basis for figuring
out how to accomplish that, shown in a physical DFD
depicting how to implement new software, devices, data
files or databases and people.
In health care: A current physical DFD can depict the
current system of data flow, such as patient information.
That can be used to draw a current logical DFD, showing
the data functions with the “how” removed. Those DFDs
help to form a clear understanding of the shortcomings
and requirements for a new system. That in turn forms the
basis for a new logical DFD and then a new physical DFD
depicting the new software, devices, databases and other
physical items.
 CONTRASTING ELEMENTS OF LOGICAL VS.
PHYSICAL DFDS
Data flow diagrams are composed of four elements: external
entities, processes, data stores and data flows. But the elements
represent different perspectives in logical DFDs than in physical
DFDs.
For example, in logical DFDs, the processes are business
activities; in physical DFDs, the processes are software programs,
manual procedures or other ways information is processed. In
logical DFDs, the data stores are collections of information,
regardless of how they’re stored; in physical DFDs, data stores are
databases, computer files and paper files.
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