Data flow diagrams

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Data flow diagrams

• Tony Cusack

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Agenda

• Rationale
• Concepts
• Methods
• Shapes
• Examples

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Rationale

• To facilitate better communication
• within the business,
• between business and IMT
• Show what data exists in a data store and how it
  got there
• Overarching consideration is data quality
• Data lifecycle
• Planning Definition
• Collection
• Storage
• Access Use
• Archive Disposal
• Not documentation for documentations sake

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Concepts

• Representation
• Data
• Flow diagrams generally
• Logical cf physical representations
• Process is the framework, but focus is on the
  data

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the distinction between physical logical
representations.
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Methods

• Research
• Doco
• user
• requirements specification
• design specification
• data model
• Interview
• Butchers paper solution i.e. hand draft
• Spreadsheet
• Templates Powerpoint, Visio

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Dataflow step - excel
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Shapes

• Flowcharting and Graphics Guide
• http//imf.dipnr
• navigate to Definition phase/Data documenting
• Elements of basic module
• Visio
• Powerpoint
• Connectors

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Elements of basic module
person, organisation, software application
that has input to a process
e.g. VegNet Assessment Officer, LPI, SALIS
what the entity does in the process
e.g. Collect samples, Lodge application
a process that transforms, validates or adds
value to input data
e.g. Conversion, Upload, Validation
output of process as input of data store.
e.g. Validated results, File format is likely to
be relevant information to include.
a permanent or temporary store for data
output from a process
e.g. LIMS, notebook computer, Excel spreadsheet
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Examples

• Soils point
• Landuse mapping
• VegNet
• Example from the group

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Egs. Soil Point Information Landuse Mapping -
Collection Phase
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Vegnet dataflow
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