Data provenance
Data provenance is a record of where each value came from, kept with the data so anyone can check it, such as a link to the manufacturer’s page.
- Source tracking
- Data traceability
What it means
Data provenance means knowing where every value in your catalogue came from: the supplier’s file, a manufacturer’s page, a datasheet or a decision by your team. Kept on the row, it turns a figure nobody can check into one anyone can check in one click.
The third quality measure, confidence, counts exactly this: how much of the data is traced to a named source, and how much is unverified. Completeness and consistency can both pass while a value is wrong. Only a source shows that it is right.
Two habits keep it intact. Leave the supplier’s file exactly as it arrived, so you can show whether a wrong value was sent that way or changed later. When two sources disagree, record which one you chose.
Think of it like this
Receipts in a car’s service history work the same way. Anyone can say the cambelt was changed; the receipt shows who did it and when, and a buyer can ring the garage to check.
For example
A fridge freezer’s row gives its capacity as 331 L, with a link to the manufacturer’s product page beside it. A useful test for any file: pick 10 values at random and ask where each came from. If the answer is not on the row, it is a guess until proven otherwise.
Why it matters
Without a source, a wrong value cannot be traced back to where it started, so it gets fixed in one channel and returns with the next supplier file. Google’s rule for barcodes sets the standard: “Don’t guess or make up a value. If you’re unsure of a GTIN, don’t submit one.”1 A recorded source is how you know you are sure.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help. GTIN [gtin].