ITU/CSU07102: Systems Analysis
and Design
Process Modeling
Learning Objectives
Understand the logical modeling of processes through studying data
flow diagrams
How to draw data flow diagrams using rules and guidelines
How to decompose data flow diagrams into lower-level diagrams
Balancing of data flow diagrams
Discuss the use of data flow diagrams as analysis tools
Process Modeling
Process Modeling
• Graphically represent the processes that capture, manipulate, store
and distribute data between a system and its environment and
among system components.
• Data flow diagrams (DFD)
• Graphically show movement of data between external entities and the
processes and data stores within a system.
• Logical process models describe processes without
suggesting how they are conducted.
• Physical process models provide information that is
needed to build the system
Process Modeling
• Modeling a system’s process
• Utilize information gathered during requirements
determination and organized it into meaningful
representation.
• In addition you must also model the process logic and
timing.
• And structure of data within the system.
Deliverables for Process Modeling
• Deliverables and Outcomes
• Set of logical, interrelated data flow diagrams, such diagrams are:
- Context data flow diagram (DFD)
• Scope of system
- DFDs of current system
• Enables analysts to understand current system
• it shows what data processing functions performed by the current system
- DFDs of new logical system
• Show data flows, structure and functional requirements of new system
- Description of each DFD component, entries for all of the objects included
in all diagrams (in data dictionary or CASE repository)
Definitions and Symbols
Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics
• Four symbols are used in DFD
• process as an rectangle with round corners.
• data store as a rectangle with one open end
• source/sink as s rectangle
• data flow as an arrow
• Two different standard sets can be used
• DeMarco and Yourdan
• Gane and Sarson
Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics
• Data Flow
• Depicts data that are in motion and moving as a unit from one place to
another in the system.
• Drawn as an arrow
• Select a meaningful name to represent the data
Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics
• Data Store
• Depicts data at rest
• May represent data in
• File folder
• Computer-based file
• Notebook
• The name of the store as well as the number are recorded in between lines
Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics
• Process
• Depicts work or action performed on data so that they are transformed,
stored or distributed
• Number of process as well as name are recorded
Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics
• External entity (Source/Sink)
• Depicts the origin and/or destination of the data
• Sometimes referred to as an external entity
• Drawn as a square symbols
Data Flow Diagramming Definitions
• Context Diagram
• A data flow diagram (DFD) of the scope of an
organizational 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 data flow diagram (DFD) that represents a system’s
major processes, data flows and data stores at a high level
of detail
Developing DFDs
• 1. Build the context diagram.
• 2. Create DFD fragments for each use case.
• 3. Organize the DFD fragments into level 0 diagram.
• 4. Develop level 1 DFDs based on the steps with each use
case. 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.
Developing DFDs: An Example
• Automated food ordering system
• Context Diagram contains one process, no data stores, four data flows, and
three sources/sinks
• Next step is to expand the context diagram to show the breakdown of
processes level-0 DFD
Context diagram of the
food ordering system
Level-0 DFD of the food ordering system
Level-1 DFD
Level-n DFD
Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Basic rules that apply to all DFDs
• Inputs to a process are always different than outputs
• Objects always have a unique name
• In order to keep the diagram organized, you can repeat data stores and sources/sinks on
a diagram
• Every process has a unique name.
Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Process • Data Store
• No process can have only • Data cannot be moved directly
from one store to another
outputs (a miracle)
• Data cannot move directly
• No process can have only from an outside source to a
inputs (black hole) data store
• A process has a verb • Data cannot move directly
phrase label from a data store to a data
sink
• Data store has a noun phrase
label
Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Source/Sink • Data Flow
• Data cannot move • A data flow has only one
direction of flow between
directly from a source to symbols
a sink • A fork means that exactly the
• A source/sink has a noun same data goes from a
phrase label common location to two or
more processes, data stores
or sources/sinks
Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Data Flow (Continued)
L. A join means that exactly the same data comes from
any two or more different processes, data stores or
sources/sinks to a common location
M. A data flow cannot go directly back to the same
process it leaves
N. A data flow to a data store means update
O. A data flow from a data store means retrieve or use
P. A data flow has a noun phrase label
Decomposition of DFDs
• Functional decomposition, Is an iterative process
of breaking a system description down into finer
and finer detail.
• Creates a set of charts in which one process on a given
chart is explained in greater detail on another chart.
• Continues until no sub-process can logically be broken
down any further.
• Lowest level is called a primitive DFD
• Level-N Diagrams
• A DFD that is the result of n nested decompositions of a
series of sub processes from a process on a level-0
diagram
Balancing DFDs
• Conservation Principle: conserve inputs and outputs to a
process at the next level of decomposition.
• Balancing: conservation of inputs and outputs to a data flow
diagram process when that process is decomposed to a
lower level.
• Balanced means:
• Number of inputs to lower level DFD equals number of inputs to
associated process of higher-level DFD
• Number of outputs to lower level DFD equals number of outputs to
associated process of higher-level DFD
Balancing DFDs
Balancing DFDs
•Data flow splitting is when a composite data flow at a
higher level is split and different parts go to different processes in the lower
level DFD.
• The DFD remains balanced because the same data is involved, but split into two
parts.
Balancing DFDs
Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• Completeness
• DFD must include all components necessary for system
• Each component must be fully described in the project dictionary or CASE
repository
• Consistency
• The extent to which information contained on one level of a set of nested
DFDs is also included on other levels
Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• Timing
• Time is not represented well on DFDs
• Best to draw DFDs as if the system has never started and will never stop.
• Iterative Development
• Analyst should expect to redraw diagram several times before reaching the
closest approximation to the system being modeled (How many?)
Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• Primitive DFDs
• Lowest logical level of decomposition
• Decision has to be made when to stop decomposition
Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• Rules for stopping decomposition
• When each process has been reduced to a single decision, calculation or
database operation
• When each data store represents data about a single entity
• When the system user does not care to see any more detail
Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• Rules for stopping decomposition (continued)
• When every data flow does not need to be split further
to show that data are handled in various ways
• When you believe that you have shown each business
form or transaction, on-line display and report as a
single data flow
• When you believe that there is a separate process for
each choice on all lowest-level menu options
Using DFDs as Analysis Tools
• Gap Analysis is the process of discovering differences between two
or more sets of data flow diagrams or differences within a single DFD.
• Inefficiencies in a system can often be identified through DFDs,
such inefficiency is a violation of DFD drawing rules, such an
outdated data are captured but not used any where in the system .
Process descriptions
•The 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
