H33 vs Data Lineage
Data lineage shows you what happened to your data. H33 produces verifiable evidence that the data informed a specific decision.
Data lineage tools — Apache Atlas, OpenLineage, DataHub, Collibra, Alation — track how data moves through pipelines. Lineage gives data engineering teams observability. H33 produces something different: cryptographically verifiable evidence that a specific decision was made under a specific policy, model, and data state. The two are complementary; this page explains where each fits.
What data lineage solves
Data lineage solves the data engineering visibility problem. Lineage tools answer: which upstream sources contribute to this dataset? Which downstream consumers depend on this dataset? What transformations were applied? When was it last updated? Who has access? For data engineering teams managing complex pipelines, lineage is essential. It enables impact analysis, schema evolution coordination, access control auditing, and root-cause investigation. The major lineage tools — OpenLineage as the open standard, with Atlas, DataHub, Marquez, Amundsen — have matured significantly.
What data lineage does not solve
Data lineage does not produce cryptographic evidence. The lineage record is internal observability metadata; it is not designed to be verified by third parties who do not trust the system. The lineage record is mutable. Most lineage systems store metadata in an editable database. The lineage record is system-specific. Cross-vendor verification is limited. The lineage record is data-focused, not decision-focused. Lineage tracks what happened to a dataset. The lineage record does not include policy or authority binding. Lineage shows data flow, not the governance context. The lineage record does not include cryptographic signatures. Lineage shows pipeline structure, not signed evidence that a specific instance ran a specific way.
What H33 produces
H33 produces evidence bundles for decisions. Each bundle documents what data informed the decision, but also what policy was in force, what model produced the output, what authority bound the decision, and what citations linked the answer to its evidence. The bundle is cryptographically signed with three independent post-quantum algorithm families. The bundle's 32-byte commitment can be anchored to a public blockchain. The bundle is verifiable by any third party without trusting the entity that produced it.
Where lineage and evidence work together
Most enterprises need both: data lineage for engineering observability, impact analysis, and pipeline management; H33 evidence bundles for regulatory compliance, audit verification, and decision provenance. The H33 bundle's CorpusBind object can reference the data corpus consulted at decision time. The lineage system separately tracks how the corpus was built. An auditor reviewing a decision can verify the H33 bundle for the decision itself and consult the lineage system for the corpus construction history.
Side-by-side
| Dimension | Data Lineage | H33 Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Engineering observability | Verifiable evidence |
| Granularity | Dataset and pipeline level | Per-decision level |
| Mutability | Mutable metadata | Cryptographically signed |
| Verification model | Trust the lineage system | Independent verification |
| Vendor portability | Vendor-specific | Open canonical JSON + verifier |
| Cryptographic signatures | None standard | Three-family post-quantum |
| Authority binding | None | AuthorityBind EC object |
| Policy binding | None | PolicyBind EC object |
| Use case | Data engineering | Regulatory, audit, legal |
Common questions
Can H33 integrate with OpenLineage?
Yes. The CorpusBind EC object can reference OpenLineage events for the corpus that fed a decision.
Does H33 replace my lineage tool?
No. H33 is not a lineage tool. H33 produces verifiable evidence for decisions. Lineage tools produce engineering observability.
Will H33 slow down my pipelines?
No. H33 evidence generation runs at decision time, not at pipeline time.
What about column-level lineage?
Combining the two yields both fine-grained data flow and verifiable decision evidence.
Can I use H33 evidence without a lineage tool?
Yes. H33 stands alone. The bundles are self-contained.
Related: H33 vs RAG · H33 vs Traditional Audit Logs · AI Decision Provenance · Portable Artifact