Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)

This solution contains 7 samples and 3 libraries containing 49 vector graphics and icons, to allow you to create professional looking documents.

Design Elements — Data Flow Diagrams

Design Elements — Yourdon and Coad Notation

Design Elements — Gane-Sarson Notation

Related News:

CS Odessa Announces New Software Engineering Solutions in ConceptDraw Solution Park

Examples

There are a few samples that you see on this page which were created in the ConceptDraw DIAGRAM application by using the Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) solution. Some of the solution's capabilities as well as the professional results which you can achieve are all demonstrated here on this page.

All source documents are vector graphic documents which are always available for modifying, reviewing and/or converting to many different formats, such as MS PowerPoint, PDF file, MS Visio, and many other graphic ones from the ConceptDraw Solution Park or ConceptDraw STORE. The Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) solution is available to all ConceptDraw DIAGRAM users to get installed and used while working in the ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and drawing software.

Example 1: DFD — Model of Small Traditional Production Enterprise

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the Data Flow Diagrams library from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 10 minutes creating this sample.

This Data Flow Diagram example shows a production process in a traditional small enterprise. DFD diagrams are useful for visualizing a system and decomposing it into smaller parts. They allow one to depict what the system is going to perform, to represent the data flow through the system, as well as the interactions between external objects and the system. In this diagram, you can observe two external interactors: Consumer and Provider, which are represented in rectangles according to the Yourdon and Coad notation and are the sources and receivers of system data. The processes are presented as ovals in DFD diagrams, they display a set of logically related operations performed in the system, and their main purpose is to convert input streams to output in accordance with the indicated actions. Data flows are indicated by arrows with the indicated headers. You can also find data storage in this diagram from which data is taken and where it is entered.

Example 2: DFD — Process of Account Receivable

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the Yourdon and Coad Notation library from the Data Flow Diagrams Solution. An experienced user spent 10 minutes creating this sample.

This example shows a Data Flow Diagram that describes the process in the account receivable department. This diagram is executed with Yourdon and Coad notation and lets one observe how the ordering process is realized step-by-step. One can note that the process includes a lot of steps, among which there are making the order by the customer, an invoice creation, its verification and payment, assembling requisition to a warehouse, shipment the order to the customer, and some intermediate steps. The DFDs are useful as on the stage of system's design as its analysis, so it is the best tool for the designers and analysts. These diagrams provide a unique ability to visualize in a simple way how the system is going to work, what it is going to perform, and how it will be implemented. And the standardized Yourdon and Coad notation icons let you quickly draw professional-looking Data Flow Diagrams for your business documents, presentations, and websites.

Example 3: Data Flow Diagram (DFD)

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the Gane-Sarson Notation library from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 10 minutes creating this sample.

This DFD sample demonstrates an electronic system behind a customer’s purchase and is one from the solution’s collection of data flow diagram examples. The data flow during the process of payment for goods in the shop is represented. The purchase is realized with the use of MaxiCode scanner that reads and interprets the UPS barcodes. DFDs let one simplify and accelerate understanding, analysis, and representation of processes. This diagram was constructed using the Gane and Sarson notation. You may notice that the items that the buyer wishes to purchase first pass through the scanner, the UPS barcode is read, and the descriptions and prices of the items come from the UPS price file. The next step is to calculate the total cost or, in other words, the amount payable. In this case, goods, prices and subtotals are stored in a Temporary TransFile. When paying for items, money is withdrawn from the client in cash, by check or by debit card, and the cash register issues a receipt.

Example 4: DFD — CERES

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the Data Flow Diagrams library from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 20 minutes creating this sample.

This sample shows a Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Data Flow Diagram and was based on the illustration on the NASA website. The scientific satellites CERES are NASA climatological experiments from Earth orbit and the part of the Earth Observing System (EOS). They were designed to measure the solar-reflected and Earth-emitted radiation from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface. The results from the CERES and other NASA instruments give the ability to study the energy exchange between the Sun, the Earth's surface, atmosphere, clouds, and outer space, to analyze the climate changes and the role of clouds in a global climate change, and to improve the climate prediction models. The first CERES instrument was launched in November 1997 from Japan, the next six CERES instruments were launched in 1999. The design presented is large and complex, but it took just a few minutes to create it in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using pre-designed objects. Use the legend to make additional comments and clarify the diagram.

Example 5: DFD — Coad/Yourdon Object Oriented Analysis model

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the Yourdon and Coad Notation library from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 20 minutes creating this sample.

This example visualizes the Yourdon and Coad methodology that is popular and widely used in object-oriented analysis (OOA). The construction of the object-oriented analysis model begins with the creation of a diagram demonstrating the system as a whole and its relations with external entities through data streams. This sample is dedicated to the organization of a heating system and was designed on the basis of the illustration for the article "A Survey of Object-Oriented Methods" by Peter Biggs from the University of Durham. The generalization of classes is typically observed and classes are connected by the relations of certain kinds. One can denote two kinds of relationships in this diagram: inheritance and composition, marked by special symbols and titles 'as is' and 'has'. Draw your own Yourdon and Coad Data Flow Diagrams of any complexity quickly and easily in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM data flow diagram software using the vector objects developed according to the common DFD notations.

Example 6: DFD — Last Resort Hotel Book Room Process

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the combination of libraries from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 10 minutes creating this sample.

This Data Flow Diagram example represents a process of booking a room in a hotel. It was constructed based on the Wikipedia file “LastResortHotel BookRoom Process.png”. To book a room the guest makes a booking request and receives a booking confirmation, the external reservation system is involved in this process. The schedule is used and the current time is considered. There is also a link to the bank, the payment validation request is directed to the bank where it is processed and the payment validation is issued by the bank. The information on the rooms is stored at the Rooms data store, the data according to the bookings and guests is entered correspondingly to the Bookings and Guests data stores. The concept of event partitioning is often applied to the modeled complex systems to divide them into the set of smaller sub-systems and make their analysis and organization of requirements easier.

Example 7: DFD — Interaction between IDMA and Preprocessor

This diagram was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM using the combination of libraries from the Data Flow Diagrams solution. An experienced user spent 10 minutes creating this sample.

This DFD example depicts the interactions between IDMA and Pre-processor. It was constructed on the basis of the illustration from the website of the Office of Hydrologic Development of the NWS (National Weather Service) of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), under the title "Interactive Double Mass Analysis. User's Guide". The Double mass analysis is a technique applied to analyze and determine corrections to hydrological and meteorological data collected in a number of locations taking into consideration the local conditions. The diagram shows that the preprocessor software generates the data file containing the accumulated point time series. Along with the pre-processor input card file, this data is used by the IDMA tool, which also performs the consistency checks and calculates the correction factors that are returned to the preprocessor with a goal of re-estimation of missing data, performing corrections and the mean areal computations that are then entered to the mean areal time series data file.

More Examples and Templates

Data Flow Diagram Template
Data Flow Model Diagram Template
Yourdon and Coad Template