Arch Lens Data Lineage

Data Lineage Architecture Lens

Cognitive Mode: Data-Centric Primary Question: "Where is the data?" Focus: Information Flow, Transformations, Storage Locations, Format Conversions

When to Use

• Need to understand how data flows through the system
• Documenting data transformations and conversions
• Identifying storage destinations and access patterns
• User invokes /arch-lens-data-lineage or /make-arch-diag data

Critical Constraints

NEVER:

• Modify any source code files
• Focus on runtime behavior (that's process flow lens)
• Show static structure without data context

ALWAYS:

• Trace data from INPUT to STORAGE
• Show transformation stages and format changes
• Identify the single source of truth
• Distinguish read vs write operations
• BEFORE creating any diagram, LOAD the /mermaid skill using the Skill tool - this is MANDATORY

---

Analysis Workflow

Step 1: Launch Parallel Exploration Subagents

Spawn Explore subagents to investigate:

Data Origins (Inputs)

• Find user input handling
• Identify external data sources
• Look for: CLI args, API requests, file reads, imports, user input, data ingestion

Transformation Stages

• Find data conversion/transformation code
• Identify adapters and converters
• Look for: Adapter, Converter, transform, parse, serialize, from, to, mapping, conversion

Format Changes

• Find schema definitions and conversions
• Identify format boundaries (JSON, XML, protobuf, etc.)
• Look for: schema models, type definitions, serialization, deserialization, format conversion

Storage Destinations

• Find database operations
• Identify file outputs
• Look for: database operations, persistence, .save(), .create(), .write(), storage

Access Patterns

• Find data retrieval code
• Identify query patterns
• Look for: .get(), .query(), .find(), .load(), read operations, data access layer

Step 2: Map Data Flow

Document the journey of key data entities:

• Origin: Where does it come from?
• Transformations: What changes happen?
• Storage: Where is it persisted?
• Retrieval: How is it accessed later?

CRITICAL - Analyze Read/Write Direction: For EVERY storage location and data flow:

• Read sources (inputs): Components that READ from this location
• Write destinations (outputs): Components that WRITE to this location
• Read-write (primary storage): Both read and written by the system
• Write-only (artifacts): Written but NEVER read back by the system

Clearly distinguish:

• Primary storage (source of truth) - system reads AND writes
• Write-only artifacts (debugging, logging) - system writes but never reads back
• External inputs - system reads only

Use different arrow styles:

• Solid arrows for read/write primary storage
• Dashed arrows for write-only artifacts

Step 3: Identify Conversion Boundaries

Find format changes:

• External format -> Internal format
• Internal format -> Database format
• Database format -> API response
• Note naming convention changes

Step 4: Create the Diagram

Use flowchart with:

Direction: LR (left-to-right) for data flow, or TB for hierarchical

Subgraphs for Stages:

• Input/Origins
• Transformation/Processing
• Storage (primary)
• Artifacts (secondary/write-only)
• External Sync (if applicable)

Node Styling:

• cli class: Data origins, user input
• handler class: Transformation, adapters
• stateNode class: Database tables, primary storage
• output class: Write-only artifacts, files
• integration class: External sync, APIs

Connection Types:

• Solid arrows for primary data flow
• Dashed arrows for write-only/secondary
• Label with operation names

Database Nodes:

• Use cylinder shape: [(Label)]
• Show table relationships

Step 5: Write Output

Write the diagram to: temp/arch-lens-data-lineage/arch_diag_data_lineage_{YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS}.md

---

Output Template

# Data Lineage Diagram: {System Name}

**Lens:** Data Lineage (Data-Centric)
**Question:** Where is the data?
**Date:** {YYYY-MM-DD}
**Scope:** {What was analyzed}

## Data Flow Overview

| Stage | Format | Key Transformation |
|-------|--------|-------------------|
| Input | {format} | {description} |
| Processing | {format} | {description} |
| Storage | {format} | {description} |

## Lineage Diagram

```mermaid
%%{init: {'flowchart': {'nodeSpacing': 50, 'rankSpacing': 60, 'curve': 'basis'}}}%%
flowchart LR
    %% CLASS DEFINITIONS %%
    classDef cli fill:#1a237e,stroke:#7986cb,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
    classDef stateNode fill:#004d40,stroke:#4db6ac,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
    classDef handler fill:#e65100,stroke:#ffb74d,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
    classDef phase fill:#6a1b9a,stroke:#ba68c8,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
    classDef output fill:#00695c,stroke:#4db6ac,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
    classDef integration fill:#c62828,stroke:#ef9a9a,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;

    subgraph Input ["Data Origins"]
        USER["User Input━━━━━━━━━━Source typeFormat"]
    end

    subgraph Transform ["Transformation"]
        direction TB
        ADAPTER["Adapter━━━━━━━━━━Conversion type"]
    end

    subgraph Storage ["Primary Storage (Source of Truth)"]
        direction TB
        DB[("Database Table━━━━━━━━━━Key fields")]
    end

    subgraph Artifacts ["Write-Only Artifacts"]
        direction TB
        FILE["output.json━━━━━━━━━━For debugging"]
    end

    %% FLOWS %%
    USER -->|"input"| ADAPTER
    ADAPTER -->|"save()"| DB
    DB -.->|"write-only"| FILE

    %% CLASS ASSIGNMENTS %%
    class USER cli;
    class ADAPTER handler;
    class DB stateNode;
    class FILE output;

Color Legend: | Color | Category | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | Dark Blue | Input | Data origins (user, external) | | Orange | Transform | Format conversion and adapters | | Teal | Storage | Primary storage (source of truth) | | Dark Teal | Artifacts | Write-only outputs | | Red | Sync | External sync services |

Data Transformation Summary

| Stage | Format | Key Conversion | |-------|--------|----------------| | {stage} | {format} | {conversion} |

Storage Destinations

| Entity | Primary Storage | Secondary | Access Pattern | |--------|-----------------|-----------|----------------| | {entity} | {location} | {artifact} | {how accessed} |

Critical Design Principle

> Source of Truth: {e.g., "Database is single source of truth. File outputs are write-only."}

---

## Pre-Diagram Checklist

Before creating the diagram, verify:

- [ ] LOADED `/mermaid` skill using the Skill tool
- [ ] Using ONLY classDef styles from the mermaid skill (no invented colors)
- [ ] Diagram will include a color legend table

---

## Related Skills

- `/make-arch-diag` - Parent skill for lens selection
- `/mermaid` - MUST BE LOADED before creating diagram
- `/arch-lens-c4-container` - For container-level storage view

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [Trecek](https://github.com/Trecek)
- **Source:** [Trecek/useful-claude-skills](https://github.com/Trecek/useful-claude-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.