Class 6 System Documentation Technique PDF

8/12/24 SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION TECHNIQUE Dr Zubir Azhar CamEd 1 Why Document Systems? u Accountants must be able to read the documentation and u...

8/12/24 SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION TECHNIQUE Dr Zubir Azhar CamEd 1 Why Document Systems? u Accountants must be able to read the documentation and understand how a system works (e.g., auditors need to assess risk) u Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requires management to assess internal controls and auditors to evaluate the assessment u Used for systems development and changes 2 1  8/12/24 Business Process Diagram u Is a visual way to represent activities in a business process. u The intent is that all business users can easily understand the process from a standard notation (BPMN: Business Process Modeling Notation). u Can show the organizational unit performing the activity. 3 4 2  8/12/24 5 6 3  8/12/24 Business Process Diagram Symbols 7 Business Process Diagram of Payroll Processing 8 4  8/12/24 Guidelines for Drawing Data Flow Diagrams u Identify and understand the business process. u Decide the level of detail (summary or detailed DFD). u Organize diagram using as many rows as needed to explain the process. u Enter each business process on the diagram showing where it begins and ends. u Draw a rough sketch, refine, and finalize. 9 Flowcharts Describe an information system showing: u Inputs and outputs u Information activities (processing data) u Data storage u Data flows u Decision steps Key strengths of flowcharts are that they can easily capture control via decision points, and show manual vs. automated processes. 10 5  8/12/24 Common Flowcharts Symbols 11 Types of Flowcharts u Document: shows the flow of documents and data for a process, useful in evaluating internal controls u System: depicts the data processing cycle for a process u Program: illustrates the sequence of logic in the system process 12 6  8/12/24 Data Flow Diagrams (D F D) Focuses on the data flows for: u Processes u Sources and destinations of the data u Data stores DFD are visually simple and can be used to represent the same process at a high abstract (summary) or detailed level. 13 Basic DFD Elements 14 7  8/12/24 Guidelines for Drawing Flowcharts u Understand the system you are trying to represent. u Identify business processes, documents, data flows, and data processing procedures. u Organize the flowchart so that it reads from top to bottom and left to right. u Clearly label all symbols. u Use page connectors (if it cannot fit on a single page). u Edit/review/refine to make it easy to read and understand. 15 Key Terms u Documentation u Program flowchart u Narrative description u Data flow diagram (DFD) u Business process diagram (BPD) u Data source u Flowchart u Data destination u Document flowcharts u Data flow u Internal control flowcharts u Processes u System flowchart u Data store u Context diagram 16 8  8/12/24 Class Activity uSelect any business process and sketch a diagram for the chosen process. 17 9