What does the term ‘data lineage’ signify?

The term ‘data lineage’ refers specifically to the tracking of the flow and transformation of data. It involves understanding where data originates, how it moves through various systems, and how it is transformed over time until it reaches its final state or destination. This concept is crucial in data management as it helps organizations ensure data integrity, governance, and compliance by providing a clear overview of data’s journey through different processes and systems. By mapping data lineage, organizations can better analyze data quality issues, trace errors back to their sources, and maintain visibility into their data management practices, facilitating improved decision-making and reporting.

In contrast, the other options focus on different aspects of data management or systems. For example, the first choice discusses storage solutions for big data, which pertains to how and where data is kept but does not involve tracing its path or transformations. The third choice centers on the organization of data in a relational database, which relates to data structure rather than its movement. The fourth choice refers to processes involved in data analysis, which encompasses various activities and techniques applied to data but does not inherently address the tracking aspect of data lineage.