The Input-Process-Output Model also known as the IPO+S Model is a functional model and conceptual schema

Conceptual schema

A conceptual schema or conceptual data model is a map of concepts and their relationships. This describes the semantics of an organization and represents a series of assertions about its nature...

 of a general system

System

System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....

. An IPO chart identifies a program’s inputs, its outputs, and the processing steps required to transform the inputs into the outputs.

Overview

The IPO model has many interdisciplinary applications, and is used to convey systems fundamentals in IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 overview education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 and as a brainstorming, preliminary investigation tool in systems development processes such as the SDLC

Systems Development Life Cycle

The systems development life cycle , or software development life cycle in systems engineering, information systems and software engineering, is a process of creating or altering information systems, and the models and methodologies that people use to develop these systems.In software engineering...

. It consists of at least three, and sometimes four, distinct components. In contemporary Information Technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

, it is almost always discussed as a four component model in which the fourth is a named optional.

The components of the IPO model are defined as:

• I: Input
  Input/output
  In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...
  
   - The information, ideas, and resources used in creating a program
• P: Processing
  Process (computing)
  In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. It contains the program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system , a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently.A computer program is a...
  
   - Actions taken upon/using input or stored material
• O: Output
  Output
  Output is the term denoting either an exit or changes which exit a system and which activate/modify a process. It is an abstract concept, used in the modeling, system design and system exploitation.-In control theory:...
  
   - Results of the processing that then exit the system
• S: Storage
  Computer storage
  Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....
  
   - Location(s) where material inside the system is/are placed for possible use at a later point in time

External links

• Teach-ICT.com Primer on the IPO Model
• Input-Process-Output example chart by the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS)