What do we need all 4 types of data lineage for anyway?

Data lineage is a critical aspect of data governance that is often overlooked in law firms. It is essential for businesses to know where their data comes from, how it is produced, how it is transformed and moved through their systems, and how it reaches the end-users. Without data lineage, it is nearly impossible to understand whether the correct data is being used for business decisions, what it means, where it comes from, and whether it is complete.

What is data lineage?

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There are four types of data lineage, namely business data lineage, conceptual data lineage, logical data lineage, and physical data lineage. Each of these types is crucial for different purposes and audiences.

1. Business data lineage helps teams understand the journey of data through the firm by linking it to business processes.
2. Conceptual data lineage helps senior stakeholders understand data and the decisions they are being asked to take at a high level.
3. Logical data lineage describes the information you need around a business term.
4. Physical data lineage maps each piece of data to the actual rows and columns in the firm's databases.

Data lineage provides detailed visibility for the data lifecycle , enabling businesses to manage risks, comply with regulations, and perform audits of their data. It also helps fix issues or perform system migrations while ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data by tracking changes, how they were performed, and who made them.

By drawing a picture of where data starts and where it ends up, data lineage enables business users to better understand processed data by viewing how it got transformed as it moved through the firm's systems. This, in turn, helps improve business operations and make improvements to client services.

Why is data lineage a part of data governance?

Data lineage is an essential part of data governance because it identifies (and documents) where data starts, how it gets produced, how it transforms and moves through the firm's systems, and how it gets to the end-users. Data lineage helps the firm ensure that reliable data is being used to drive business decisions. Without data lineage, it is nearly impossible for you to understand whether the correct data is being used or not, what it means, where it comes from, and whether it is complete.

Data lineage can also help you fix issues or perform system migrations; it enables you to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data by tracking changes, how they were performed, and who made them. Data lineage enables business users to better understand processed data by viewing how it got transformed as it moved through the firm's systems. This helps improve business operations and make improvements to client services.

Another impact is that data lineage helps data governance as it provides detailed visibility for the data lifecycle. By drawing a picture of where your data starts and where it ends up, data lineage allows the firm to manage risks, comply with regulations and perform audits of its data. Regardless of how your firm creates data lineage documents, they are the magic ingredient that helps you achieve data that’s trusted and provides support for data governance.

What is the impact of data governance?

Data lineage has an impact on several areas of the firm. Still, it’s often forgotten as the creation and maintenance of lineage documentation (especially in the early days of a data governance initiative when this is being done manually) can fall between teams and be seen as too difficult to achieve.

But it’s crucial that you grasp the thistle and figure out how to get data lineage done because it will positively impact so many areas of the firm’s activities.

Understanding data transformation

Data lineage enables business users to better understand processed data by viewing how it is transformed through the firm's systems. This helps improve business operations and make improvements to client services.?

Using datasets

Data lineage helps firms track different datasets because of evolving collection techniques and technologies. This allows the firm to make optimal use of old and new datasets.?

Solving technical challenges

IT teams are supported when upgrading systems, migrating data, or fixing system issues because data lineage helps them understand the location and lifecycle of data and data sources.??

Managing data risk

Another impact is that data lineage helps data governance. That is because data lineage provides detailed visibility for the data lifecycle. This allows the firm to manage risks, comply with regulations and perform audits of its data.?

Improving Business Intelligence

Data lineage also helps identify the root cause of data errors for business intelligence teams. For example, the HR and Finance systems have different headcount numbers; Data lineage can help provide a reasonable explanation for these numbers and see if inconsistencies in the processing of the data are to blame.?

Accurate change impact analysis

The final impact of data lineage on the firm is that it can help with change impact analysis. A detailed data lineage lets you identify the data elements, affected downstream systems and reports, key stakeholders and affected end-users, all before you do anything. Assessing the impact of the change helps you decide what steps to take to make that change effective.?

Data lineage is the magic ingredient to achieve trusted data

Without data lineage, it is nearly impossible to understand whether the correct data is being used for business decisions, what it means, where it comes from, and whether it is complete.

Ultimately, data lineage is the magic ingredient that helps businesses achieve data that is trusted and provides support for data governance. It is vital to understand the different types of data lineage and their purposes to ensure that reliable data is being used to drive business decisions.

How Iron Carrot can help

Innovative law firms have big goals for improving the client experience through data innovation.

Through our extensive law firm background, we have developed a unique data governance road-mapping approach to help law firm leaders launch the proper foundation for their data strategy.

If you want to chat confidentially about how Iron Carrot can help your firm with its Data Strategy and Data Governance initiatives, then send me a Direct Message via my Profile , or book a call via the Iron Carrot Limited website.

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