A data object is a piece of information exchanged, at a high conceptual level, between processes using flows or between processes and resources using resource flows.
A data object can be created in a choreography diagram with any Analysis language (except BPMN).
Data objects can be used in conjunction with a:
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Flow or resource flow – to identify the type of data exchanged between processes or between a process and a resource.
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Message format – to identify the type and the format of data exchanged between a resource and a process or between processes.
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Process – to identify the type of action (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) the process performs on the data required for its execution.
You can specify a type for data and decompose them into sub-data. The same data can be shared by several flows, message formats, or processes, but only once each.
Data has no graphical symbol, but you can display a list of data on the flow and resource flow symbols by selecting , clicking Flow in the Category list and selecting Data List in the Center group box.
You can link data to an object in a CDM, LDM, PDM, or OOM in order to model in detail the nature of the piece of information exchanged (see Linking Data with Other PowerDesigner Model Objects):
