Tools of Structured Analysis

• Data Flow Diagram

• Data Dictionary
• Structured English
• Decision Tables
• Decision Trees
 Process Modeling
• Graphically represent 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
• 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
• Deliverables and outcomes (continued)
– Context data flow diagram (DFD)
• Scope of system
– DFDs of current system
• Enables analysts to understand current system
– DFDs of new logical system
• Technology independent
• Show data flows, structure and functional
requirements of new system
 Process Modeling
• Deliverables and outcomes (continued)
– Project dictionary and CASE repository
• Data flow diagramming mechanics
– Four symbols are used
• See Figure 5-2
– 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
• Data Store
– Depicts data at rest
– May represent data in:
• File folder
• Computer-based file
• Notebook
– Drawn as a rectangle with the right hand vertical line
missing
– Label includes name of the store as well as the number
 Data Flow Diagramming
Mechanics
• Process
– Depicts work or action 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
• 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 (DFD) 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 diagrams (DFD) 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 5-4) contains no
data stores
 Developing DFDs: An Example
• Next step is to expand the context diagram
to show the breakdown of processes (Figure
5-5)
 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
• Process • Data Store
A. No process can have D. Data cannot be moved
only outputs (a from one store to another
miracle) E. Data cannot move from an
outside source to a data
B. No process can have store
only inputs (black F. Data cannot move directly
hole) from a data store to a data
sink
C. A process has a verb
G. Data store has a noun
phrase label
phrase label
 Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Source/Sink • Data Flow
H. Data cannot move J. A data flow has only
directly from a source one direction of flow
to a sink between symbols
I. A source/sink has a K. A fork means that
noun phrase label exactly the same data
go from a common
location to two or
more processes, data
stores or sources/sinks
 Data Flow Diagramming Rules
• Data Flow (Continued)
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 5-4, notice that there is one input to the system,
the customer order
– Three outputs:
• Customer receipt
• Food order
• Management reports
 Balancing DFDs
• Example (Continued)
– Notice Figure 5-5. 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
 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
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
5. Primitive DFDs
– Lowest logical level of decomposition
– Decision has to be made when to stop
decomposition
 Guidelines for Drawing DFDs
• 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
• 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 required six
days before Business
Process Reengineering
(see Fig 5-12)
Using DFDs in Business Process
Reengineering
• 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
• Two methods
– Structured English
– Decision Tables
 Modeling Logic with Structured
English
• Modified form of English used to specify
the logic of information processes
• Uses a subset of English
– Action verbs
– Noun phrases
– No adjectives or adverbs
• No specific standards
 Modeling Logic with Structured
English
• Similar to programming language
– If conditions
– Case statements
• Figure 5-15 shows Structured English
representation for Hoosier Burger
 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
• 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
• 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 condition and values each condition can
assume
– Name all possible actions that can occur
– List all rules
– Define the actions for each rule (See Figure 5-18)
– Simplify the table (See Figure 5-19)