# Understanding the Lineage View

Dependency Lineage helps you:

* Understand how assets are connected
* Analyze impact before making changes
* Identify cleanup opportunities
* Improve governance and trust

It turns Inventory from a static catalog into a dynamic system of relationships. Here is how you interpret the lineage view.

#### Upstream Assets

These are the inputs to your asset.

Examples:

* Semantic models powering a report
* Dataflows feeding a dataset
* Source systems behind a model

If empty:\
“No upstream assets found” means the asset is either:

* A top-level source
* Or lineage is not available from the BI tool

#### Downstream Assets

These are the **outputs** that depend on your asset.

Examples:

* Reports built on a semantic model
* Dashboards using reports
* Other models or derived assets

This section is shown as a table with rich metadata, including:

* Asset name & type
* Owner
* Last modifier
* Health status (e.g., *Stale*, *Unused*)

### Actions

The Actions section allows you to easily:

* Learn more about the dependency in the Control Tower Lineage
* Go to the asset in its source tool, like Power BI or Tableau

### Interpreting Key Signals in Lineage

<figure><img src="/files/H7owdE5Q4sNNFZcvhIJT" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### 1. Dependency Count

* The number next to each section shows how many assets are connected
* Helps quickly assess impact size

#### 2. Health Indicators

You’ll see tags like:

* Unused
* Stale

These come from [monitoring](/guides/monitors.md) and help you understand:

* Whether dependencies are still relevant
* Where cleanup opportunities exist

#### 3. Ownership

Each downstream asset includes:

* Owner
* Last modifier

Use this to:

* Contact stakeholders
* Validate whether something can be changed or removed


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