GEOS-DP-006 — Data Pipeline Traceability & Lineage Requirements

** Version: v0.1\ Status:** Draft (Proposed)

1. Purpose

This specification defines the mandatory traceability and lineage requirements that a GEOS Data Pipeline MUST satisfy in order to be certifiable. These requirements ensure that every certified Data Pipeline produces finance-grade artifacts whose provenance, transformations, and controls are auditable from Entry to Exit.

2. Scope

This specification applies to:

• The internal stages of a GEOS Data Pipeline, from Entry to Exit.

• All transformations applied to data within the Pipeline.

• All artifacts emitted at the Exit boundary.

This specification does not define:

• Entry formats or semantics (see GEOS-DP-004).

• Exit artifact definitions (see GEOS-DP-005).

• Certification procedures (see GEOS-DP-003).

3. Traceability Principles

A certifiable GEOS Data Pipeline MUST embody the following principles:

3.1 **End-to-End Lineage\ ** All data elements contributing to an Exit artifact MUST be traceable to their corresponding Entry inputs through an unbroken, documented lineage.

3.2 **Deterministic Transformation\ ** All transformations applied within the Pipeline MUST be:

• Explicitly defined,

• Versioned, and

• Deterministic given the same inputs and configuration.

3.3 **Non-Repudiation\ ** The Pipeline MUST produce sufficient evidence to allow an independent assessor to determine:

• What data entered the Pipeline,

• What transformations were applied,

• In what order, and

• Under which versions and parameters.

4. Mandatory Lineage Records

A GEOS-certifiable Data Pipeline MUST maintain lineage records that include, at minimum:

4.1 Entry Event Records For each Entry event:

• Unique Entry event identifier

• Timestamp of Entry acceptance

• Declared Entry specification version (dependency)

• Integrity check results at Entry

4.2 Transformation Records For each transformation stage:

• Transformation identifier

• Transformation type

• Version identifier

• Input artifact identifiers

• Output artifact identifiers

• Execution timestamp

4.3 Exit Artifact Records For each Exit artifact:

• Unique artifact identifier

• Timestamp of artifact creation

• References to all upstream transformation records

• Reference to the Pipeline version under which it was produced

5. Lineage Graph Construction

The Data Pipeline MUST be capable of reconstructing, on demand, a complete lineage graph that:

• Connects each Exit artifact to its originating Entry events

• Preserves the full sequence of transformations

• Is stable under re-examination and audit

• Is independent of downstream usage or interpretation

The lineage graph MAY be materialized or derived, but MUST be reproducible.

6. Traceability Across Time

A GEOS-certifiable Data Pipeline MUST preserve lineage comparability across time by:

• Retaining lineage records for all certified periods

• Preventing retroactive modification of lineage records

• Associating lineage records with Pipeline version identifiers (see GEOS-DP-008)

7. Audit Accessibility

Lineage and traceability records MUST be:

• Accessible to authorized conformity assessment processes,

• Sufficiently documented to support independent reconstruction,

• Separable from any learner-level data where applicable.

The form of access MAY vary, but the informational completeness MUST be preserved.

8. Failure Conditions

A Data Pipeline FAILS the traceability requirements if:

• Any Exit artifact cannot be traced to declared Entry inputs,

• Any transformation lacks a versioned definition,

• Lineage records are incomplete, inconsistent, or mutable,

• The lineage graph cannot be reconstructed reliably.

9. Canonical Constraints

This specification respects the GEOS Canon rule:

Artifacts MUST declare their dependencies, but MUST NOT declare or assume knowledge of their dependents.

Accordingly, lineage records describe upstream dependencies only and make no reference to downstream artifacts or uses.

END of "GEOS-DP-006 — Data Pipeline Traceability & Lineag Requirements"