Creating a Process Decomposition Diagram
Process decomposition is represented as either a process hierarchy diagram or an indented list.
Hierarchy Diagram
Normally, you will draw the hierarchy diagram.
Indented List
You occasionally might use a list to save time and to produce a compact representation.
TAKE ORDER
RECEIVE ORDER DETAILS
ALLOCATE STOCK OF BOOKS
CHECK CUSTOMER CREDIT
Possible Structuring Conventions
Process Duplication
A process that is duplicated can be annotated manually, as shown for process D. The // indicates duplication. Note that process D, itself, is decomposed only once.
Sequence
Draw activities from top to bottom in the most likely sequence of execution, but remember that there is generally no fixed sequence because of the possibility of parallel and alternative execution of activities. If there is a definite, unalterable sequence, show it explicitly.
If a process occurs more than once in different legs of the decomposition, include it on each occasion, but decompose it only once.
Hiding Detail
For presentations, it may not be necessary to show lower levels of detail in a decomposition diagram. You may simply omit levels as required. In the resulting summarized diagram, any activity for which undisplayed, lower-level detail exists is shown with an ellipsis [...] inside the activity box.
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