Thomas, J. Assignment 4-1
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University of Michigan, Flint *
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Industrial Engineering
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Nov 24, 2024
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Assignment 4-1
Professor Sherry Jerome-Stebens
Due September 30, 2010
Page 1
D1.
System flowcharts and data flow diagrams are tools used to document tasks. Systems
flowcharts are graphic illustrations of the physical flow of information through the entire
accounting system. A systems flowchart is commonly used in analysis and design. Data flow
diagrams present the logical flow of information through a system in graphical or pictorial form.
Data flow diagrams have only four symbols: Process, data sources and sinks, data stores, and
data flow lines. A primary difference between flowcharts and data flow diagrams is the
representation of the physical and logical characteristics of a system. Flowcharts are biased
toward representing the physical characteristics of the system, while data flow diagrams can omit
the physical system attributes.
Data flow diagrams do not provide any information about how
data are stored, whereas flowcharts do provide that information.
I think a data flow diagram is easier to prepare. Data flow diagrams provide a more
conceptual, non-physical display of the movement of data through a system. On the other hand
flowcharts are easier to interpret. Flowcharts can pictorially show more than data flow diagrams
because they use more different kinds of symbols. They also emphasize the flow of documents or
records, whereas data flow diagrams emphasize the logical flow of data.
D2.
A task level model is a workflow step or activity model that may be changed or
eliminated without fundamentally changing the nature of the enterprise. The business process
level model is a representation of an enterprise’s resources, events, agents, and appropriate
relationships between them within one or more transaction cycles; this conceptual representation
Page 2
is typically used to design the logical enterprise database design. The purpose of task level
modeling in the REA ontology is to represent the specific workflow activities that combine to
form events in a business process, and to document the flow of data through an enterprise. The
purpose of developing the business process level REA model is to design the enterprise database.
Pattern discovery at the task level is not as straightforward as at the business process levels.
Tasks can occur in various sequences for different enterprises and the sequencing must be
represented in task level models.
D3.
Flowcharts have an advantage because they describe an entire information system.
Narrative description is used to document details about workflow. Since much work is needed to
do this process, system flowcharts are used to simplify it. System flowcharts can be created
manually, either freehand or with the help of a plastic flowchart template.
A disadvantage is that flowcharts are difficult to prepare since the system flowcharts
reflect the physical media on which data are stored. Narratives are typically voluminous and can
be time-consuming to use and find information about a process. Great amounts of detail reduce a
flowchart’s ability to communicate. They may be difficult to interpret also if there isn’t an
adequate amount of understanding of some features of the common physical media, file types,
and tools involved in the information process. The primary weakness of the flowchart is that it is
tied to physical information flows and system characteristics that hide the procedural essence of
the system.
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