The Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis (FODA) Context Diagram is a data flow
diagram showing data flows between a generalized application within the domain
and the other entities and abstractions with which it communicates. One thing
that differentiates the use of data flow diagrams in domain analysis from other
typical uses is that the variability of the data flows across the domain
boundary must be accounted for with either a set of diagrams or text describing
the differences.
The following is an example of a context diagram for the Army Movement
Control Domain [CMU/SEI-91-SR-3][CMU/SEI-91-TR-28].
In this context diagram, the information provided to and received from the
movement control domain is identified. The arrows represent the information
received or generated by the movement control domain. The closed boxes represent
the set of sources and sinks of information. The open ended boxes represent the
databases that the movement control domain must interact with.
In the movement control domain, most of the data is produced or maintained
by operations outside the scope of the domain. For example, all data about
weather, terrain, and the disposition of friendly and enemy forces is obtained
directly from outside the domain, as shown on the context diagram.
