Name: Valle , Patrick Duane
Course/Yr: BSCS III
Assignment 10
With reference to assignments 8 and 9, what characteristics does an analyst (you) examine when evaluating DFD quality?
Data flow diagram is a graphical way of representing a data flow in a system. It is an effective way of overviewing a system in a very clear manner. In planning a system, DFD must be presented because by viewing the diagram, you can determine what is missing and what is to be removed in the system flow. In making a DFD, we make sure that the details are correct and every process has been evaluated to insure the quality and integrity of the DFD. In making DFD, we must also follow some guideline to follow and some characteristic that needs to be developed.
When I evaluate the data flow diagram quality, I evaluated first if the structure is match to the real system. When evaluating the DFD, by just viewing it as a general structure, you can see what it means because DFD is a diagram that explains the context of the system in a simple manner. I can say that it is very understandable when we look at it because DFD especially those context diagrams which is a part one of the DFD is being created for those people who are not so technical in nature. You need be analyzer and a good cretic so that you will know if the DFD is being built for a specific system and not for the foreign structures. In criticizing a DFD, we must be reminded that we need to see the actual structure before criticizing the DFD structure. That must be in the first of your list in evaluating and criticizing DFD.
In the DFD part, when examining it, you must first know the structure and every details of the diagram. You need to know first the function and limitation of the structure inside the diagram. To know the diagram first is the first step in examining the diagram. The structure is a very important aspect to be examined in the DFD. In the structure, you will know the basic functions inside the diagram and the limitation will be uncovered. You must examine the broadness of the structure and you must determine the range of it. Broadness is talking about how general the structure is and the range is the distance between the general aspects of the diagram to the more specific structure. As I understand the question, I formulated an answer with two points. The first point is the physical characteristic of the DFD and the second is the logical structure of DFD.
The first point is for the physical characteristic which is talking to the physical attribute of the diagram. When examining diagram, you must understand every symbols inside the diagram. Like the starting state, end state, all those process and other function inside the diagram which has a physical attribute. Physical attribute is what you see in the diagram and what everybody sees even thou they are non-technical people. Physical attribute is the first to be evaluated if I will be the analyst because physical attribute is the syntax of the structure. I can say that it is the syntax because if the symbol is not in the proper position then the diagram fails to serve its purpose because it does not follow what is proper. Like arithmetic function, if your syntax is incorrect then it will give you the wrong answer. In physical attribute syntax will be the first security for the correctness of the diagram. It must be evaluated to proceed in the next process.
The second point is the logical characteristic of the diagram. When we talk about the logical characteristic, we are pertaining to the logical structure which talks about how we understand the process in the diagram provided. If we are finish evaluating the physical structure, the next security feature is to evaluate the flow of the system, data and every object inside the diagram. The example of a wrong logical structure is when you have a data let say a student data then it will an input data to the admin division which is incorrect in nature. Student is not related to the admin because admin and student data is different. We can say that the correct interpretation of a logical structure is that the subject will be an input of the student which is enrolled to a different course. I must say that evaluating the characteristic of a logical structure of DFD is the difficult par. Logical Characteristic is not visible to the human eye but it will just be visible if you will analyze and understand the physical structure. In this level, the non-technical people will not be effective in this field. In the characteristic, it is more on understanding and not calculating. The said characteristic will be the life of the diagram and the physical structure will be the backbone. The logical will always be the brain of the diagram and we need criticize it carefully because the common problem of an analyst comes from this section.
The physical and logical characteristic must work together. This two are the one who made the diagram possible. In the human form, the logical characteristic will be the brain and veins or maybe the soul and the physical characteristic will be the bones and muscle. The physical characteristic will hold the structure and prevent it from collapsing and the logical characteristic will be the controller. The two are important and if something wrong with either of the two, the diagram will not work properly. For me, physical characteristic is almost visible for everyone because in this area, you have clear guidelines and you need a less effort and less thinking skill for this one. In the logical characteristic is a different story because you need to have more intellectual property which is the analization, critical thinking, good observation, and other property that require a large portion of the mind.
The composition of a physical structure is those who are physically very visible in human eyes like the actor, the process, the system. It is noticeable and if there is something wrong, you can figure it out easily. In the logical composition can’t be seen because they just exist inside the physical structure. They seem to be visible because the physical structure allow them to appear like they are present outside the diagram but in the reality, they just exist inside the diagram. In logical structure, you can correct them using the physical structure. You can manipulate them using the physical structure. It is somehow confusing but logical structure is just an imaginary variable for me. For me, it is an object with an object that’s why they are hard to detect because they leave inside the structure.
In examining diagram, you must not always look in the diagram itself because another way to examine a diagram is to examine your characteristic. You also need to examine the one who evaluated and make the diagram to evaluate the diagram itself and the thing that you need to examine is the characteristic of the evaluator which is you, I and them. Your characteristic must not always be in focus about how beautiful and organize a DFD is but you must be focus on how it is related to the system. As a starter analyst, I need to set my mind on the goals of the DFD. This means that I need to focus on what will be the function of the DFD and not how beautiful it is or how organized it will be. I must stick on how it is related and how it describes the object which is the system. Focus is also a good characteristic of an analyst when evaluating DFD because if you are focus enough, you can’t be destructed of how the other sees the diagram. You will not be affected of the comments of your co analyst but you can always use their words. If you are also focus, your decision will be more concrete and accurate hence accuracy is a very important thing that the analyst must have. For me, to be focus is an occurring event and my focus is dependent in every situation. Sometimes, I lose my focus when I am not interested of what I am doing. I also lose my focus if something is destructing my way of thinking like problem that I encountered during class hours or having trouble outside with my friends. I need to get rid of it when someone or something is destructing my way of thinking.
Another characteristic of an analyst must have when he/she will evaluate diagram is interest. In evaluation, analyst is not effective if they lose interest. If they don’t like the things that they are doing, the percentage of making the evaluation right will be going down. Interest is a powerful characteristic because if you will have lots and lots of interest in your field and the things that you do, you will make it sure that you will do it right. You will never allow yourself to lose focus and you will be happy of what you do. Interest push the analyst to their limitation and surpassing limitation is a key for progression. You will be more effective if you will always do the things above your limitation and is a sign of a good system analyst. Interest will not assure you of making your work done with one hundred percent accurate but it will help you to make your work done with all your best. Interests will always guild the analyst in a right track in evaluating DFD. Doing things without interest is not a characteristic of a good analyst in evaluating the diagram but it will just make the analyst to be like a robot because robots have no emotion and they are always be in their level as the programmer programed them. I do believe that interest must be included in the characteristic of a good analyst because if not, that analyst will not accomplish something or not satisfying the needs of the client. If you will be interested in evaluating the DFD, you will be more observant of every detail in the diagram. You will not be hasty to give your evaluation because as I said, you are interested and interested people will show interest to their work and give an extra effort in evaluating the diagram.
To be an observant in every details of the diagram is another characteristic of an analyst. This is important in evaluating the diagram because if you will be observant in every details of the diagram, you will discover if something is not right about the DFD structure. An observant characteristic will unlock those unseen error and it will provide the analyst a vision of correctness. Accuracy will not be a hindrance if an observant characteristic will flow inside the attitude of an analyst. A keen mind widens the perception of an analyst in examining the diagram and the wider the vision is, the more effective the diagram will be. Another advantage of a good observant is you will never see the diagram as a general concept or general system hence, you will see a variety of different structure and different interpretation. Seeing a different structure in a diagram will make your evaluation to be more flexible because you will not just evaluate it as a single structure but you will also consider those variety of interpretation that my come up during the evaluation time. If the analyst will observe that the diagram is in general form, by the power of the observant mind, he/she can turn the table and make it to be more specific and accurate in describing the system with the use of the proper diagram.
Correctness is a characteristic of a person which assures all things in accurate manner. Seeing and evaluating diagrams doesn’t mean that you will just observe the diagram itself. Before and after the diagram is being implemented, you must check the physical structure of it. To see is to believe and when evaluating a diagram, if the physical structure of the diagram is presented, you need to look at it and evaluate if the diagram provided is the diagram for the structure. In evaluating diagram, you must be correct always in your evaluation because your opinion is a crucial part of making a system. Correctness is a prevention of a further damage that may occur during the development of the system.
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