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49 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Process Modeling
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A technique used to organize and document a system's processes
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Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
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A process model used to depict the flow of data through a system and the work or processing performed by the system
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Synonyms are “bubble chart,” “transformation graph,” and “process model”
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External Agent
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An outside person, organization unit, system, or organization that interacts with a system
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Also known as “external entity”
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Examples of External Agents
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Office/Department/Individual within company that interacts with the system; Outside organization/agency/individual that interacts with the system; Another business or information system with which the system must interact; End users or managers
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Data Store
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Stored data intended for later use; an “inventory” of data
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Synonyms are “file” and “database”
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“Things” a Data Store Can Describe
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Persons, Places, Objects, Events, and Concepts
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Generally, nouns
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Relationship between Data Store and an Entity
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A data store represents ALL occurrences of an entity
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The data store represents the synchronization of a system's process model with its data model
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Oldest and Simplest of All System Models
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The system IS a process
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Process
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Work performed by a system in response to incoming data flows or conditions
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Synonym is “transform”
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Decomposition Diagram
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A tool used to depict the decomposition of a system
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Also known as a “hierarchy chart”
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Rules for Decomposition Diagrams
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1. Each process is a parent, a child, or both.
2. A parent MUST have two or more children. 3. A child may have only one parent 4. A child may have its own children |
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Function
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A set of related and ongoing activities of a business
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Examples: production planning, production scheduling, materials management, production control, inventory control
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Event
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A logical set of work that must be completed as a whole
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Also known as a “transaction”
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Convention of Naming Event Processes
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Process ; Respond to ; Generate
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= name of the event or corresponding input
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Elementary Process
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Discrete, detailed activity or task required to complete the response to an event
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Also known as “primitive process”
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Logical Tasks of Elementary Processes
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Perform Computations; Make Decisions; Sort/Filter/Summarize Data; Organize Data/Create Reports; Trigger Other Processes; Create/Read/Update/Delete a Record
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Logical process models omit any processes that do nothing but simply move data
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Common Mechanical Errors with Data Flow Diagrams
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Black Holes, Miracles, Gray Holes
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Black Hole
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Data is inputted into a process, but there is no output
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One of the three common errors with data flow diagrams
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Miracle
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Data is outputted from a process, but there is no input
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One of the three common errors with data flow diagrams
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Gray Hole
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Data inputted and data outputted is completely unrelated
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One of the three common errors with data flow diagrams
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Data Flow
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Data that is input to or output from a process
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Data in motion
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Composite Data Flow
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A data flow that consists of other data flows
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Control Flow
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A condition or nondata event that triggers a process
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A condition to be monitored while the system works
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Legal Data Flows
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All data flows must begin or end at a process because data flows are the inputs and outputs of processes
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Data flows cannot be from agent to agent or from data store to data store
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Data Conservation
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The practice of ensuring that a data flow contains only data that is needed by the receiving process
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Sometimes called “starving the processes”
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Data Attribute
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The smallest piece of data that has meaning to the users and the business
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Also applies to “attributes” in data modeling
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Data Structure
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A specific arrangement of data attributes that define a single instance of a data flow
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“A single instance of contains . . .”
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Algebraic Notation: =
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Means “consists of” or “is composed of”
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Algebraic Notation: +
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Means “and” and designates sequence
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Algebraic Notation: [ . . . ]
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Means “only one of these attributes may be present; designates selection
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Algebraic Notation: { . . . }
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Means “these attributes may occur many times for one instance”; designates repetition
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Algebraic Notation: ( . . . )
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Means “these attributes are optional for some instances”
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Diverging Data Flow
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A data flow that splits into multiple data flows
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Indicates that all/parts of the data are routed to different destinations
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Converging Data Flow
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The merger of multiple data flows into a single data flow
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Indicates that data flows from different sources must come together as a single packet for subsequent processing
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Event Partitioning
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A structured analysis strategy in which a system is factored into subsystems based on business events and responses to those events
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Creating multiple process model diagrams out of a single system
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Context Data Flow Diagram
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A diagram that shows the system as a “black box” and its main interfaces with the environment
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First stage in event partitioning; shows the system as a whole; also called “environmental model”
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Functional Decomposition Diagram
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A diagram that partitions the system into logical subsystems and/or functions
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Second stage in event partitioning; divides the whole system
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Event-Response List
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A list of the business events to which the system must provide a response
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Third stage in event partitioning; similar to a use-case list
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Event Handler
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A process that handles a given event in the event-response list
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Fourth stage in event partitioning; looks at individual events
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Event Diagram
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A data flow diagram for a single event handler and the agents and data stores that provide inputs and receive outputs
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Fifth stage in event partitioning; optional, to show events in more detail
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System Diagram
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A data flow diagram that merges event diagrams for the entire system or part of the system
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Sixth stage in event partitioning; shows the “big picture” of the system
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Primitive Diagram
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A data flow diagram that depicts the elementary processes, data stores, and data flows for a single event
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Seventh stage in event partitioning; optional, except for events that require additional details
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Types of Events
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External Events; Temporal Events; State Events
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Balancing
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A concept that requires that data flow diagrams at different levels of detail reflect consistency and completeness
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Include the same data flows and data stores between parent and child
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Structured English
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A language syntax for specifying the logic of a process
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Combination of normal English and pseudocode
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Decision Table
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A tabular form of presentation that specifies a set of conditions and their corresponding actions
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Very useful for illustrating complex policies and decision-making rules
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Data Flow Notation: AND |
Alternative: A + B + C |
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Data Flow Notation: EXCLUSIVE OR |
Alternative: A * B * C |
Exclusive Or = Only one of the data flows may be inputted/outputted |
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Data Flow Notation: INCLUSIVE OR |
In the absence of a converging / diverging data flow |
Inclusive Or = Any or all of the data flows may be inputted/outputted |
