1. Workbook lineage in Sigma
In this video, we'll talk about how Sigma's Lineage view can help us understand how components of our workbooks are connected and why that matters when building dashboards that are easy to maintain and expand.
2. Oakmark Bank
Oakmark Bank is already using your Sigma workbooks to generate new insights and guide decision-making. To keep that momentum going, we want to be intentional about how we structure our workbooks. That starts with understanding how parent-child relationships work.
3. Understanding parent-child relationships
In Sigma, we've already seen when you create one element from another, like building a chart from a table, you're creating a child element.
The child elements automatically inherit logic from their parent. This includes filters, column selections, groupings, formatting choices, and calculated fields. For example, if you filter a table to show only Account Support data and then create a chart from that table, the chart will reflect that filter. Even though you didn't apply it directly, the filter flows from the parent.
In a similar pattern, if you add a formula in a parent table, any child element will show the result of that formula, but not the formula itself.
That means if you need to adjust or reuse the logic, you will need to go back to the parent where it was defined.
4. Why should we care about Lineage?
Understanding how changes in one element affect others gives you more control as your workbook grows. Parent-child relationships help you avoid repeating the same logic, reduce maintenance, and keep your dashboards more consistent over time.
When something looks off or behaves differently than expected, one of the first things to check is what that element was built from and what logic it's inheriting from a parent. And that's where the Lineage view comes in.
5. What is the Lineage view?
Sigma's Lineage view can be accessed with the lineage button found in a workbook.
The Lineage view gives you a visual map of your workbook. It shows how each element is connected and what logic flows between them.
You'll see your warehouse connections and data sources, tables, pivot tables, charts, and controls all represented with different icons. Arrows show which and how elements are connected.
You can filter the view to focus on a specific page or type of element, and click on any node to see more details.
This view is especially helpful when troubleshooting or when planning how to expand your workbook. It shows you exactly where filters and formulas live and helps you trace unexpected behavior back to its source.
6. Let's practice!
Next, we'll walk through a real example for Oakmark Bank. We'll see how filters and formatting carry through to child elements, and how the Lineage view helps you understand what's going on behind the scenes.