Structuring System Requirements:

Process Modeling

ACM 213 Information Analysis & System Design

 Learning Objectives
 Explain process modeling
 Discuss data-flow diagramming mechanics,
definitions, and rules
 Discuss balancing data-flow diagrams
 Discuss the use of data-flow diagrams as
analysis tools
 Examine decision tables used to represent
process logic
 Process Modeling
• Graphically represents the processes that
capture, manipulate, store, and distribute
data between a system and its environment
and among system components
• Data-flow Diagrams (DFD)
– Graphically illustrate movement of data between
external entities and the processes and data
stores within a system
 Process Modeling (continued)
• Modeling a System’s Process
– Utilize information gathered during requirements
determination
– Structure of the data is also modeled in addition
to the processes
• Deliverables and Outcomes
– Set of coherent, interrelated data-flow diagrams
 Process Modeling (continued)
• Deliverables and Outcomes (continued)
– Context data-flow diagram (DFD)
• Scope of system
– DFDs of current system
• Enable analysts to understand current system
– DFDs of new logical system
• Technology independent
• Show data flows, structure and functional
requirements of new system
 Process Modeling (continued)
• Deliverables and Outcomes (continued)
– Project dictionary and CASE repository
• Data-flow Diagramming Mechanics
– Four symbols are used
• See Figure 6-2
– Developed by 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
(continued)
• Data Store
– Depicts data at rest
– May represent data in
• File folder
• Computer-based file
• Notebook
– Drawn as a rectangle with the right vertical line missing
– Label includes name of the store as well as the number
 Data-Flow Diagramming Mechanics
(continued)
• Process
– Depicts work or actions performed on data so that
they are transformed, stored, or distributed
– Drawn as a rectangle with rounded corners
– Number of process as well as name are recorded
 Data-Flow Diagramming Mechanics
(continued)
• Source/Sink
– Depicts the origin and/or destination of the data
– Sometimes referred to as an external entity
– Drawn as a square symbol
– Name states what the external agent is
– Because they are external, many characteristics
are not of interest to us
 Data-Flow Diagramming Definitions
• Context Diagram
– A data-flow diagram 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-O Diagram
– A data-flow diagram that represents a system’s major
processes, data flows, and data stores at a higher level
 Developing DFDs:
An Example
• Hoosier Burger’s Automated Food Ordering
System
• Context Diagram (Figure 6-4) contains no data
stores
 Developing DFDs:
An Example (continued)
• Next step is to expand the context diagram to
show the breakdown of processes (Figure 6-5)
 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 uncluttered, you can
repeat data stores and data flows on a diagram
Data-Flow Diagramming Rules (continued)
• Process • Data Store Source/Sink
A. No process can D. Data cannot be H. Data cannot
have only outputs moved from one move directly
(a miracle) store to another
B. from a source
No process can E. Data cannot
have only inputs move from an to a sink
(black hole) outside source to I. A source/sink
C. A process has a a data store has a noun
verb phrase label F. Data cannot phrase label
move directly
from a data store
to a data sink
G. Data store has a
noun phrase
label
Data-Flow Diagramming Rules (continued)
• Data Flow
J. A data flow has only one direction of flow between symbols
K. A fork means that exactly the same data go from a common
location to two or more processes, data stores, or sources/sinks
L. A join means that exactly the same data come 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
– Act of going from one single system to many component
processes
– Repetitive procedure
– Lowest level is called a primitive DFD
• Level-n Diagrams
– A DFD that is the result of n nested decompositions of a
series of subprocesses from a process on a level-0 diagram
 Balancing DFDs
• When decomposing a DFD, you must conserve inputs
to and outputs from a process at the next level of
decomposition
– This is called balancing
• Example: Hoosier Burgers
– In Figure 6-4, notice that there is one input to the system,
the customer order
– Three outputs:
• Customer receipt
• Food order
• Management reports
 Balancing DFDs (continued)
• Example (Continued)
– Notice Figure 6-5. We have the same inputs and
outputs
– No new inputs or outputs have been introduced
– We can say that the context diagram and level-0
DFD are balanced
 Balancing DFDs
An Unbalanced Example
– In context diagram, we
have one input to the
system, A and one
output, B
– Level-0 diagram has
one additional data
flow, C
– These DFDs are not
balanced
 Balancing DFDs
• We can split a data flow into separate data
flows on a lower level diagram
 Balancing DFDs
Four Additional Advanced Rules
 Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
1. Completeness
– DFD must include all components necessary for
system
– Each component must be fully described in the
project dictionary or CASE repository
2. 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
(continued)
3. Timing
– Time is not represented well on DFDs
– Best to draw DFDs as if the system has never
started and will never stop
4. Iterative Development
– Analyst should expect to redraw diagram several
times before reaching the closest approximation
to the system being modeled
 Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(continued)
5. Primitive DFDs
– Lowest logical level of decomposition
– Decision has to be made when to stop
decomposition
 Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
(continued)
• 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
(continued)
• 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
 Using DFDs as Analysis Tools
• Gap Analysis
– The process of discovering discrepancies between
two or more sets of data-flow diagrams or
discrepancies within a single DFD
• Inefficiencies in a system can often be
identified through DFDs
Using DFDs in Business Process
Reengineering
• Example: IBM Credit
• Credit approval
process is required six
days before Business
Process Reengineering
(see Fig 6-12)
Using DFDs in Business Process
Reengineering (continued)
• After Business
Reprocess
Engineering, IBM was
able to process 100
times the number of
transactions in the
same amount of time
 Logic Modeling
• Data-flow diagrams do not show the logic
inside the processes
• Logic modeling involves representing internal
structure and functionality of processes
depicted on a DFD
• Utilizes Decision Tables
 Modeling Logic with
Decision Tables
• A matrix representation of the logic of a
decision
• Specifies the possible conditions and the
resulting actions
• Best used for complicated decision logic
 Modeling Logic with
Decision Tables (continued)
• Consists of three parts:
– Condition stubs
• Lists condition relevant to decision
– Action stubs
• Actions that result for a given set of conditions
– Rules
• Specify which actions are to be followed for a given set
of conditions
 Modeling Logic with
Decision Tables (continued)
• Indifferent Condition
– Condition whose value does not affect which action is
taken for two or more rules
• Standard procedure for creating decision tables:
– Name the conditions and values each condition can
assume
– Name all possible actions that can occur
– List all possible rules
– Define the actions for each rule (See Figure 6-16)
– Simplify the decision table (See Figure 6-17)
 Process Modeling for
Electronic Commerce Application
• Process modeling for electronic commerce
projects is no different than other projects
• See Pine Valley Furniture example; Table 6-4
 Summary
• Data-flow Diagrams (DFD)
– Symbols
– Rules for creating
– Decomposition
– Balancing
• DFDs for Analysis
• DFDs for Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
• Logic Modeling
– Decision Tables
• Process Modeling for the Internet