What is a lineage graph?

What is a lineage graph?

• A. A visual map of data assets and their relationships across transforms; helps understand data flow and dependencies.
• B. A schedule of data pipeline runtimes.
• C. A chart of user access roles.
• D. A log of error messages in runs.

Answer: (A)

Lineage graphs map data origin and its path through transformations, linking data assets to the steps that produce them. They visually show how data flows, which datasets or transforms feed a given asset, and which outputs depend on it. This makes it easy to see dependencies, trace provenance, and assess impact when changes occur. It’s not about scheduling runtimes, user access, or error logs—the graph serves a different purpose: understanding how data is transformed and where it comes from so you can validate quality and perform impact analysis.

Lineage graphs map data origin and its path through transformations, linking data assets to the steps that produce them. They visually show how data flows, which datasets or transforms feed a given asset, and which outputs depend on it. This makes it easy to see dependencies, trace provenance, and assess impact when changes occur. It’s not about scheduling runtimes, user access, or error logs—the graph serves a different purpose: understanding how data is transformed and where it comes from so you can validate quality and perform impact analysis.