Entity / Activity Table for Causeway Cash Receipts System
Entity
Activity
1
Customer
Sends checks and remittance advices (together)
2
Mailroom Clerk
Endorses checks
3
Mailroom Clerk
4
Mailroom Clerk
Processes remittance - writes amount paid and check # on
remittance advices
Prepares batch total of processed remittance advices
5
Mailroom Clerk
Sends processed batch total of remittance advices to A/R clerk
6
Mailroom Clerk
Sends corresponding batch of endorsed checks to Cashier
7
Mailroom Clerk
Sends processed batch total of remittance advices to Cashier
8
A / R Clerk
9
Computer
Enters batch information into computer (involves keying the
batch total, customer #, invoice #, amount paid, and check #)
Verifies invoice is open
10
Computer
Verifies correct amount paid
11
Computer
Updates the Accounts Receivable Master Data file
12
Computer
Notifies A / R clerk of discrepancies (if any)
13
Computer
14
A/R Clerk
At end of day, prints out cash receipts listing
(contains all check #s and the amount paid)
Collects print out of cash receipts listing
15
A/R Clerk
16
A/R Clerk
17
Computer
18
Cashier
19
Cashier
Compares deposit slip to corresponding batch of checks and
copy of corresponding batch total (from mailroom clerk)
If verified, takes deposit (deposit slip + batched checks) to Bank
20
Cashier
If not verified, notifies mailroom clerk of data entry error
Verifies accuracy of batched total – compares cash receipts
listing to batched total of remittance advices
Sends verified batched total of remittance to
General Ledger Office (GLO)
Prints deposit slip in cashier’s office
1st step: distinguish between information processing (IP) and non information processing
(NIP) activities for each line of the table.
 Refer to notes on “Information Processing”. Information processing activities are
marked in Red.

The point of this is to determine which entities (people or things) are changing or
transforming information (these are information processing activities).

Any entities (these are the people or things and can be in either column of the table)
involved in ANY IP activities (even once in the table) are INTERNAL entities. They are
inside the system being modeled.

Any entity that is not involved in ANY IP activities is an EXTERNAL entity. They are
outside the system being modeled and only provide input to, or receive output from,
the system.

It is possible that external entities are part of the organization, but not part of the
specific system being modeled. For example, if we were to look at some type of
process in the Business School here at UVM, entities in other departments or colleges
would likely be external even though they are also part of UVM. The other
departments and colleges would not be internal to Business School processes.
See table below
Entity / Activity Table for Causeway Cash Receipts System
Entity
Activity
1
Customer
Sends checks and remittance advices (together)
2
Mailroom Clerk
Endorses checks
3
Mailroom Clerk
4
Mailroom Clerk
Processes remittance - writes amount paid and check # on
remittance advices
Prepares batch total of processed remittance advices
5
Mailroom Clerk
Sends processed batch total of remittance advices to A/R clerk
6
Mailroom Clerk
Sends corresponding batch of endorsed checks to Cashier
7
Mailroom Clerk
Sends processed batch total of remittance advices to Cashier
8
A / R Clerk
9
Computer
Enters batch information into computer (involves keying the
batch total, customer #, invoice #, amount paid, and check #)
Verifies invoice is open
10
Computer
Verifies correct amount paid
11
Computer
Updates the Accounts Receivable Master Data file
12
Computer
Notifies A / R clerk of discrepancies (if any)
13
Computer
14
A/R Clerk
At end of day, prints out cash receipts listing
(contains all check #s and the amount paid)
Collects print out of cash receipts listing
15
A/R Clerk
16
A/R Clerk
17
Computer
18
Cashier
19
Cashier
Compares deposit slip to corresponding batch of checks and
copy of corresponding batch total (from mailroom clerk)
If verified, takes deposit (deposit slip + batched checks) to Bank
20
Cashier
If not verified, notifies mailroom clerk of data entry error
Verifies accuracy of batched total – compares cash receipts
listing to batched total of remittance advices
Sends verified batched total of remittance to
General Ledger Office (GLO)
Prints deposit slip in cashier’s office
2nd step: ID external entities and the flows to and from those entities. Determine the name
of the system being modeled (pretty easy in this case because it says so on the narrative).
DRAW the context diagram.
Context – always start with the Context diagram. You base all other DFDs off of the Context
Diagram. It provides an over view of the entire system (The Causeway Cash Receipts System).
The Physical diagram will look at the detail inside the system.
Customer
Checks and
Remittance
Advices (paper)
Verified Batched Checks
and Deposit Slip (paper)
Bank
Causeway
Cash
Receipts
Process
Verified Total
Cash Receipts
(paper)
General
Ledger
Office
3rd step: going through the E/A table line-by-line, identify the internal entities, data stores,
and flows to and from those entities and data stores. Then DRAW the Physical DFD. An easy
place to start is with the external entities and flows from the Context Diagram (the external
entities and flows to and from those entities will be exactly the same in the Context Diagram
and in the Physical DFD).
Most flows are going to be pretty easy. Even if you do not get the name of the flow to match
my name, do you have the flow? And, does it convey the needed information?
Flow labels should be exact and describe the information that is moving very precisely. DO
NOT INCLUDE ANY verb descriptors on the flows – just the information itself
The process bubbles (the internal
entities in the Physical DFD) must
change the information being input
and always output something
different
Note that the flow labels are very
precise and include the form of the
data/information (electronic, paper,
verbal, etc.)
Physical
The Physical DFD focuses on the people and things performing various activities inside the system –
who or what are involved in the cash receipts process?
Customer
Bank
Data Entry Error
Notification
(?)
Checks and
Remittance
Advices (paper)
Copy of Processed Batch
Total Remittance (paper)
1.0
Mailroom
Clerk
3.0
Cashier
Batched Endorsed
Checks (paper)
Verified Batched Checks
and Deposit Slip (paper)
You can look at this flow
and determine (just by
looking at the diagram)
that the Cashier
performs some type of
verification
Processed Batch
Total Remittance (paper)
2.0
AR
Clerk
Verified Total
Cash Receipts (paper)
General
Ledger
Office
Updated
Customer
Account Data
(electronic)
Info from batched remittance,
Customer #, Invoice #,
Amount Paid,
Cash
Discrepency Receipts
Check # (electronic)
Notification
Listing
(electronic)
(paper)
Deposit
Slip
(paper)
4.0
Computer
AR Master
Data File
(electronic file)
Outdated Customer
Account Data
(electronic)
Note that the updating activity from
line #11 implies “pulling” outdated
data from the data store, updating it
(by the 4.0 Computer), and returning
“new”, “updated” data
Note that the external entities
(Customer, Bank, and General Ledger
Office) and the flows to and from
those entities are exactly the same in
the Physical and Context diagrams.
This diagram is balanced – the
number and names of the eternal
entities and the flows to and from
those entities are the same in all
diagrams
Logical – you are not responsible for drawing Logical DFDs, but you should know how they are
different from Physical DFDs
The Logical DFD focuses on the activities being performed – what are the sub-processes and exact
activities that make up the cash receipts process? The flow labels in the Logical DFD are less precise.
While there are four “sub-processes” or activities shown here, the number of bubbles does not need
to be equal between the Physical and Logical DFDs.
General Ledger
Office
Customer
Payment
Cash
Receipts
Total
Batch Total
Batch
Checks
1.0
Collect
Customer
Payment
Batch
Remittance
Advices
4.0
Prepare Cash
Receipts
Total
Batch
Remittance
Advices
3.0
Prepare Deposit
Batch Total
2.0
Record
Payment
Information
Deposit
Updated
AR data
Old
AR data
Verified Invoice
Updated
AR
data
Bank
AR Master
Data File
(electronic)
Example of a Level 2 Logical DFD
As I mentioned in class, Logical DFDs can be further decomposed. The idea is that the diagram should
explain EXACTLY how the process works and what information comes into the process, and what
information goes out of the process. Here is an example of a more detailed breakdown of logical
process 2.0. The Record Payment Information sub-process from the diagram above. Ideally, you would
do this for EACH and every logical process.
Batch
Remittance
Advices
Batch Total
2.0
Record
Payment
Information
Original AR
data
Updated
AR
data
Verified Invoice
AR Master
Data File
(electronic)
So 2.0 (above) can be further broken down into 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 as shown below
Batch Total
Batch
Remittance
Advices
2.1
Enter
Account
Information
Verified Invoice
Customer
Payment
Information
2.2
Invoice
Payment
Verification
Verified
Customer
Payment
Information
AR Master
Data File
(electronic)
Updated
AR data
2.3
Update
Account
Information
Original
AR data