Data Flow Diagram
Data flow diagram is a well known approach to visualize the data processing in business analysis field. A data flow diagram is strong in illustrating the relationship of processes, data stores and external entities in business information system.
Creating Data Flow Diagram
To create a Data Flow Diagram, right-click on the
Data Flow Diagram node from the
Diagram Navigator and select
New Data Flow Diagram from the popup menu.
Alternatively, click on the
New Data Flow Diagram button on the toolbar.
Drawing Data Flow Diagram
Process
To create a Process, click once on the
Process button on the palette and then click on the diagram.
To provide the Process a name, double-click on it and enter the name.
To specify the location of the process, right-click on the Process and select
Open Specification... from the popup menu. In the
Process Specification, enter the
Location.
You can also enter an ID for the process
Click
OK to confirm the change. You will see the Process shape is updated to show the location and ID.
External Entity
To create an External Entity, click once on the
External Entity button on the palette and then click on the diagram.
To provide the External Entity a name, double-click on it and enter the name.
Data Store
To create a Data Source, click once on the
Data Source button on the palette and then click on the diagram.
To provide the Data Source a name, double-click on it and enter the name.
By default, the type of the Data Store is Computerized data. There are several other types such as Manual, Transient data file and Transient manual. To set the type, right-click on the Data Store and select
Open Specification... from the popup menu. In the
Data Store Specification, select the
Type from the drop-down menu.
Click
OK to confirm the change. The selection of type will affects the appearance of the Data Store shape. The result of selecting different types are shown below:
Data Flow
To create a Data Flow, click once on the
Data Flow button on the palette and then click and drag from the source element to the target element.
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