What is Data Lineage?

Data Lineage is a term used to describe the path taken from data creation through to consumption including what happens to it. It is also referred to as the Data Lifecycle or Information Chain.

Why is it important to understand your data’s lineage?

Understanding the Data Lineage of an organisation’s data is vital for a number of reasons.

• It enables root-cause analysis when defects are found anywhere on a ‘data pathway’.
• It helps to understand the role a particular data item plays as it flows through the organisation.
• It allows data stewardship to be established and all the relevant data owners be discovered.

How can you enable Data Lineage in your company?

Discovering and documenting data lineage can be made possible by advanced Data Discovery technology (such as Experian Aperture Data Studio).

Data Discovery software allows automated data lineage discovery through powerful relationship discovery functionality. This allows the user to quickly trace data items through the organisation and define end-to-end data lineage visual pathways that can be continuously monitored for data defects.