In a data flow diagram documenting the HRIS function of administering job requisitions, which symbol represents the job requisitions?

• A. Data store
• B. Data flow
• C. Process
• D. External entity

Answer: (A)

Think about what each symbol in a data flow diagram represents. A data store signifies data that is kept within the system, data at rest. Job requisitions are records stored in the HRIS when they’re created, updated, or retrieved, so they’re stored data rather than a process, a flow, or something outside the system. That’s why the symbol for job requisitions is the data store. If you were tracing the movement of requisition data between parts of the system, you’d use a data flow arrow; if you were depicting a function that processes the requisition, you’d use a process symbol; and if an outside party interacted with the HRIS, you’d use an external entity.