Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2
Data values in master files are updated from
transactions.
Transaction File
A transaction file is a temporary file of transaction
records used to change or update data in a master
file.
Sales orders, inventory receipts, and cash receipts
are examples of transaction files.
Reference File
A reference file stores data that are used as
standards for processing transactions.
For example, the payroll program may refer to a tax
table to calculate the proper amount of withholding
taxes for payroll transactions.
Other reference files include price lists used for
preparing customer invoices, lists of authorized
suppliers, employee rosters, and customer credit
files for approving credit sales.
Archive File
An archive file contains records of past transactions
that are retained for future reference.
These transactions form an important part of the
audit trail.
Archive files include journals, prior-period payroll
information, lists of former employees, records of
accounts written off, and prior-period ledgers.
Documentation Techniques
Six basic documentation techniques:
1. Data flow diagrams
2. Entity relationship diagrams
3. Document flowcharts
4. System flowcharts
5. Program flowcharts
6. Record layout diagrams
1. The Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
uses symbols to represent the entities, processes,
data flows, and data stores that pertain to a system.
DFDs are used to represent systems at different
levels of detail from very general to highly detailed
They represent sources of and destinations for data.
Systems analysts use DFDs extensively to represent
the logical elements of the system.
This technique does not, however, depict the
physical system. In other words, DFDs show what
logical tasks are being done, but not how they are
done or who (or what) is performing them.
Flowcharts
a graphical representation of a system that describes
the physical relationships between its key entities.
can be used to represent manual activities,
computer processing activities, or both.
A document flowchart is used to depict the
elements of a manual system, including accounting
records (documents, journals, ledgers, and files),
organizational departments involved in the process,
and activities (both clerical and physical) that are
performed in the departments.
A system flowcharts portray the computer aspects
of a system.
They depict the relationships between input (source)
data, transaction files, computer programs, master
files, and output reports produced by the system.
It also describe the type of media being used in the
system, such as magnetic tape, magnetic disks, and
terminals.
3
The dichotomy (difference) between document
flowcharts and system flowcharts reflects the
dichotomy that traditionally existed between the
manual and the computer aspects of an information
system.
Batch Processing
Batch processing permits the efficient management
of a large volume of transactions.
A batch is a group of similar transactions (such as
sales orders) that are accumulated over time and
then processed together.
Two general advantages to batch processing:
1. Organizations improve efficiency by
grouping together large numbers of
transactions into batches rather than
processing each event separately.
2. Batch processing provides control over the
transaction process.
Implications for designing batch systems:
1. Economies are derived from having batches
that are as large as possible. The cost of
processing each transaction is reduced
when the fixed costs of data processing are
allocated across a large number of
transactions.
2. Finding an error in a very large batch may
prove difficult.
Program Flow Chart
Every program represented in a system flowchart
should have a supporting program flowchart that
describes its logic.
Accountants sometimes use program flowcharts to
verify the correctness of program logic.
Program flowcharts provide essential details for
conducting information technology (IT) audits
Record Layout Diagrams
are used to reveal the internal structure of the records
that constitute a file or database table.
The layout diagram usually shows the name, data type,
and length of each attribute (or field) in the record.
Detailed data structure information is needed for such
tasks as identifying certain types of system failures,
analyzing error reports, and designing tests of computer
logic for debugging and auditing purposes.
This type of layout shows the content of a record. Each
data attribute and key field is shown in terms of its name
and relative location.
4
4.
2.
4. Alphabetic Codes
Used with the same purpose of the numeric codes
May be assigned sequentially (alphabetical) or may
be used in block and group coding techniques
Advantage:
1. The capacity to represent large number of
items (alphanumeric codes)
Disadvantages:
1. With numeric codes, there is difficulty in
rationalizing the meaning of codes that
have been sequentially assigned
2. Users tend to have difficulty sorting records
that are coded alphabetically
5. Mnemonic Codes
Alphabetic in characters in a form of acronyms and
other combinations that convey meaning
Advantage:
1. Does not require the user to memorize
meaning
Disadvantage:
1. They have limited ability to represent items
within a class
END