A data flow diagram is a drawing that helps us understand how information moves around a system. It can show us how information is collected, processed, and sent to different parts of the system.
In simpler terms, we can imagine it like a map that shows how a toy train goes from one station to another. The stations can represent different parts of the system, and the train can represent the information that is moving around.
For example, if we were looking at a data flow diagram of a library system, one station might be the checkout counter, and another might be the bookshelves. The train would represent the books that people check out, and we could see how the books move from the bookshelves to the checkout counter and back again.
The diagram helps us to understand how everything is connected and what happens when different parts of the system interact with each other. It can also help us to identify potential problems or bottlenecks in the system, so that we can make improvements to make things run more smoothly.