Creating a Data Flow Diagram (DFD)

Exercise 1:
The Accommodation Office in the University helps students to find accommodation. Interested students
register their interest with the Accommodation Office. Owners of rental properties provide the
Accommodation Office with their contact information and information about the rental property they have
available (e.g. location, number of bedrooms, monthly rent), which are entered into a database. Students can
then search this database via the Internet to find a property that meets their needs (e.g. a2-bed apartment for
€800 per month in Newcastle). The student then contacts the owner of the rental property by sending an
email through the system to arrange a viewing. The student meets the property owner to view the property.
Once a property is rented the owner of the property calls the Accommodation Office and asks them to delete
the listing.
(a)Create a context diagram by identifying the relevant process, data flows, and external entities for the
proposed system as detailed in the scenario above.
(b)Decompose this context diagram to a context level-0 diagram by:
1. Identifying the processes that represent the major functions of the system
2. Assigning a number to each process, ending in .0, which corresponds to the level number of the DFD?
3. Identifying the data stores and including them in the Context Level-0diagram
4. Identifying any additional data flows between the processes and the data stores

 
Exercise 2

Pizza Express wants to install a new software system to record orders for take-away pizza. When regular
customers call Pizza Express on the phone, they are asked their phone number. When the phone number is
typed into the software system, the name, address, and last order date is automatically displayed on the
screen. Once the order is taken the total cost (including delivery and any applicable discount) is calculated. A
receipt is printed. The order is then given to the chef to make the pizza. Occasionally, special offers
(coupons) are printed so that the customer can get a discount. Drivers who make deliveries of the pizza give
customers a copy of the receipt and a coupon (if any). Weekly totals are kept for comparison with last year’s
performance.

Your task is as follows.

(a)Create a context diagram by identifying the relevant process, data flows, and external entities for the
proposed system as detailed in the scenario above.
(b)Decompose this context diagram to a level-0 diagram by:
• Identifying the processes that represent the major functions of the system
• Assigning a number to each process, ending in .0, which corresponds to the level number of the DFD?
• Identifying the data stores and including them in the Context Level-0diagram