2.

4 STRUCTURED ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Data Flow Diagram (DFD)

A DFD is a graphical tool that describes the flow of data through a system and the
functions performed by the system. It shows the processes that receive input, perform a series
of transformations, and produce the desired outcomes. It does not show the control
information (time) at which processes are executed. DFD is also called a bubble chart or
process model or information flow model.

Symbols used for constructing DFDs

1. Function symbol:

Process

A function is represented using a circle. This symbol is called a process or a bubble. These
are annotated with the names of the corresponding functions.
2. External entity symbol:

External entity

The external entities are essentially those physical entities external to the software system
which interact with the system by inputting data to the system or by consuming data
produced by the system.
 1. Data flow symbol:

Data flow

A data flow symbol represents the data flow occurring between two processes or between an
external entity and a process in the direction of the data flow arrow. Data flow symbols are
usually annotated with the corresponding data names.
2. Data store symbol:

Data store OR data store

It represents a logical file. That is, a data store symbol can represent either a data structureor
a physical file on disk. Each data store is connected to a process by means of a data flow
symbol. The direction of the data flow arrow shows whether data is being read from or
written into a data store.
3. Output symbol:

Output

The output symbol is used when a hard copy is produced.

The DFD model of a system is constructed by using a heirarchy of DFDs. The top level DFD
is called the level 0 DFD or the context diagram. Subsequently, the lower level DFDs like
level 1, level 2, level 3, etc are developed. At each successive lower level DFDs more and
more details are gradually introduced, processes are decomposed into their sub-processes and
the data flow among these subprocesses are identified.`
Context Diagram :

It is the most abstract (highest level) data flow representation of a system. It represents the
entire system as a single bubble, which is annotated with the name of the software system
being developed.