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Chapter 9 • proCess speCifiCations and struCtured deCisions 241

Figure 9.6
Structured English for creating the
Structured English
shipping statement for World’s
Trend.
Format the Shipping Statement. After each line of the statement has been
formatted, write the shipping line.
1. GET Order Record
2. GET Customer Record
3. Move Order Number to shipping statement
4. Move Order Date to Shipping Statement
5. Move Customer Number to Shipping Statement
6. DO format Customer Name (leave only one space between First/Middle/Last)
7. DO format Customer Address lines
8. DO WHILE there are items for the order
9. GET Item Record
10. DO Format Item Line

11. Multiply Unit Price by Quantity Ordered giving Extended Amount
12. Move Extended Amount to Order Item Lines
13. Add Extended Amount to Merchandise Total
14. IF Quantity Backordered is greater than zero
15. Move Quantity Backordered to Order Item Lines
16. ENDIF
17. ENDDO
18. Move Merchandise Total to Shipping Statement
19. Move 0 to Tax
20. IF State is equal to CT
21. Multiply Merchandise Total by Tax Rate giving Tax
22. ENDIF
23. Move Tax to Shipping Statement
24. DO calculate Shipping and Handling
25. Move Shipping and Handling to Shipping Statement
26. Add Merchandise Total, Tax, and Shipping and Handling giving Order Total
27. Move Order Total to Shipping Statement

time are actually ambiguous. For example, do we add the claim to the year-to-date (YTD) claim
before or after updating the deductible? Is it possible that an error can occur if something other
than policy A or B is stored in the claimant’s record? We subtract 40 percent of what from the
claim? These ambiguities need to be clarified at this point.
Besides the obvious advantage of clarifying the logic and relationships found in human
languages, structured English has another important advantage: It is a communication tool.
Structured English can be taught to and hence understood by users in the organization, so if com-
munication is important, structured English is a viable alternative for decision analysis.

Data Dictionary and Process Specifications
All computer programs may be coded using the three basic constructs: sequence, selection (IF . . .
THEN . . . ELSE and the case structure), and iteration or looping. The data dictionary indicates
which of these constructs must be included in the process specifications.
If the data dictionary for the input and output data flow contains a series of fields without
any iteration—{ }—or selection—[ ]—the process specification will contain a simple sequence
of statements, such as MOVE, ADD, and SUBTRACT. Refer to the example of a data dictionary
for the SHIPPING STATEMENT, illustrated in Figure 9.5. Notice that the data dictionary for
the SHIPPING STATEMENT has the ORDER NUMBER, ORDER DATE, and CUSTOMER
NUMBER as simple sequential fields. The corresponding logic, shown in lines 3 through 5 in the
corresponding structured English in Figure 9.6, consists of simple MOVE statements.