What is DFD ? or What is Data Flow Diagram?

A data-flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structured design).

On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an internal data store or an external data sink, via an internal process.

A DFD provides no information about the timing or ordering of processes, or about whether processes will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is therefore quite different from a flowchart, which shows the flow of control through an algorithm, allowing a reader to determine what operations will be performed, in what order, and under what circumstances, but not what kinds of data will be input to and output from the system, nor where the data will come from and go to, nor where the data will be stored (all of which are shown on a DFD).

When it comes to conveying how information data flows through systems (and how that data is transformed in the process), data flow diagrams (DFDs) are the method of choice over technical descriptions for three principal reasons.

(1) DFDs are easier to understand by technical and nontechnical audiences.

(2) DFDs can provide a high level system overview, complete with boundaries and connections to other systems.

(3) DFDs can provide a detailed representation of system components.

DFDs help system designers and others during initial analysis stages visualize a current system or one that may be necessary to meet new requirements. Systems analysts prefer working with DFDs, particularly when they require a clear understanding of the boundary between existing systems and postulated systems. DFDs represent the following:

1. External devices sending and receiving data

2. Processes that change that data

3. Data flows themselves

4. Data storage locations

The hierarchical DFD typically consists of a top-level diagram (Level 0) underlain by cascading lower level diagrams (Level 1, Level 2…) that represent different parts of the system.