the box. Mechanism arrows that provide supporting means for performing the function join (point up to) the bottom of the box. The IDEF0 process The IDEF0 process starts with the identification of the prime function to be decomposed. This function is identified on a “Top Level Context Diagram,” that defines the scope of the particular IDEF0 analysis. An example of a Top Level Context Diagram for an information system management process is shown in Figure 3. From this diagram lower-level diagrams are generated. An example of a derived diagram, called a “child” in IDEF0 terminology, for a life cycle function is shown in Figure 4. Federal Information Processing Standards In Dec 1993 the National Institute of Standards and Technology announcing the standard for Integration Definition for Function Modeling (IDEF0) in the category Software Standard, Modeling Techniques. This publication announces the adoption of the IDEF0 as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS). This standard was based on the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) Architecture from June 1981. On September 2, 2008, the associated NIST standard, FIPS 183, has been withdrawn (decision on Federal Register vol. 73 / page 51276. See also Function model Functional flow block diagram IDEF1X IDEF3 IDEF5 References Systems Engineering Fundamentals. Defense Acquisition University Press, 2001. External links FIPS Publication 183 released of IDEFØ December 1993 by the Computer Systems Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (Withdrawn by NIST 08 Sep 02 see Withdrawn FIPS by Numerical Order Index) Federal Register vol. 73 / page 51276 withdrawal decision Overview of IDEF0 at www.idef.com Enterprise modelling Business software Systems analysis Systems engineering