Glossary · Security & governance
Data Lineage
A record of how a data artifact was derived across sources, transformations, joins, filters, versions, and downstream uses.
Why it matters
When a source is corrected, revoked, or found unsafe, lineage identifies which datasets, embeddings, evaluations, and model artifacts may be affected.
In practice
Give inputs and outputs stable identifiers, record each transformation and version, preserve parent-child relationships, and test whether an affected source can be traced to every derivative.
Common confusion
Data provenance explains origin and custody broadly. Lineage emphasizes the transformation path and dependencies between data artifacts.
Related terms
Sources
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