Software Engineering

SE

Chapter 6- Data Flow Diagram

by Dr. Laiali Almazaydeh

1
Modern Systems Analysis and Design

Structuring System Process

Requirements

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Learning Objectives
 Understand logical process modeling via data
flow diagrams (DFDs).
 Draw DFDs of well structured process models.
 Decompose DFDs into lower-level diagrams.
 Balance high-level and low-level DFDs.
 Use DFDs for analyzing information systems.

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Process Modeling
Graphically represent the processes that
capture, manipulate, store, and distribute
data between a system and its environment
and among system components
Utilize information gathered during
requirements determination
Processes and data structures are modeled

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Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
A picture of the movement of data
between external entities and the
processes and data stores within a
system
Difference from system flowcharts:
 DFDs depict logical data flow independent
of technology
 Flowcharts depict details of physical
systems
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DFD Symbols

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DFD Symbols (cont.)
Process: work or actions performed on data
(inside the system)
Data store: data at rest (inside the system)
Source/sink: external entity that is origin or
destination of data (outside the system)
Data flow: arrows depicting movement of data

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Process

No process can have

only outputs or only
inputs…processes
must have both
outputs and inputs.

Process labels should be verb phrases.

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Data Store

All flows to or from a data store must

move through a process.

Data store labels should be noun phrases.

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Source/Sink

No data moves directly between external entities

without going through a process.

Interactions between external entities without

intervening processes are outside the system and
therefore not represented in the DFD.

Source and sink labels should be noun phrases.

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Data Flow
Bidirectional flow
between process
and data store is
represented by two
separate arrows.

Forked data flow

must refer to exact
same data item (not
different data items)
from a common
location to multiple
destinations.

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Data Flow (cont.)
Joined data flow
must refer to exact
same data item (not
different data items)
from multiple
sources to a
common location.

Data flow cannot

go directly from a
process to itself,
must go through
intervening
processes.

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DFD Diagramming Rules
Data Flow (cont.)

Data flow from a process to a data store

means update (insert, delete or
change).
Data flow from a data store to a process
means retrieve or use.
Data flow labels should be noun
phrases.

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Functional Decomposition
An iterative process of breaking a
system description down into finer and
finer detail
High-level processes described in terms
of lower-level sub-processes
DFD charts created for each level of
detail

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DFD Levels
Context DFD
 Overview of the organizational system
Level-0 DFD
 Representation of system’s major processes at
high level of abstraction
Level-1 DFD
 Results from decomposition of Level 0 diagram
Level-n DFD
 Results from decomposition of Level n-1 diagram

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Context Diagram
Context diagram
shows the
system
boundaries,
external entities
that interact with
the system, and
major
information flows
between entities
and the system.

NOTE: only one process symbol, and no

data stores shown.
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Level-0 DFD

Level-0 DFD
shows the
system’s major
processes, data
flows, and data
stores at a high
level of
abstraction.

Processes are labeled 1.0, 2.0, etc. These will be decomposed into
more primitive (lower-level) DFDs.
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Level-1 DFD

Level-1 DFD shows

the sub-processes
of one of the
processes in the
Level-0 DFD.

This is a Level-1
DFD for Process
4.0.

Processes are labeled 4.1, 4.2, etc. These can be further

decomposed in more primitive (lower-level) DFDs if necessary.
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Level-n DFD

Level-n DFD shows

the sub-processes
of one of the
processes in the
Level n-1 DFD.

This is a Level-2
DFD for Process
4.3.

Processes are labeled 4.3.1, 4.3.2, etc. If this is the

lowest level of the hierarchy, it is called a primitive DFD.

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DFD Balancing
The conservation of inputs and outputs to a
data flow 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

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Unbalanced DFD

1 input This is
1 output unbalanced
because the
process of the
context diagram
has only one
input but the
Level-0 diagram
2 inputs
has two inputs.
1 output

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Balanced DFD
1 input
2 outputs

These are balanced because the

numbers of inputs and outputs of
context diagram process equal the
number of inputs and outputs of
Level-0 diagram.

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Balanced DFD (cont.)
These are balanced because the
numbers of inputs and outputs to
Process 1.0 of the Level-0 diagram
equals the number of inputs and
outputs to the Level-1 diagram.

1 input
4 outputs

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Data Flow Splitting

A composite data flow at

a higher level may be
split if different parts go
to different processes in
the lower level DFD.

This remains balanced because the same data is involved, but

split into two parts.
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More DFD Rules

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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.

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Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(cont.)
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.

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Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(cont.)

Primitive DFDs
 Lowest logical level of decomposition
 Decision has to be made when to stop
decomposition

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Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(cont.)

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

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Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(cont.)
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, online 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

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Summary
In this chapter you learned how to:
 Understand logical process modeling via data flow
diagrams (DFDs).
 Draw DFDs of well structured process models.
 Decompose DFDs into lower-level diagrams.
 Balance high-level and low-level DFDs.
 Use DFDs for analyzing information systems.

7-32 © 2005 by Prentice Hall