Forum Discussion
Dataflow Lineage
Verify actual usage via audit/activity logs
A. Power BI Activity Log & Microsoft Purview Audit
- Use the Power BI Activity Log (or Microsoft Purview Audit) to see Dataflow viewed/edited/exported events and dataset/report views downstream. These logs tell you if people are interacting with items fed by your dataflow.
- Admin monitoring workspace’s built‑in Feature Usage & Adoption report for a quick who‑used‑what view; combine this with Purview audit for user-level evidence.
Admin API access with a service principal must be enabled in tenant settings (“Allow service principals to use read-only admin APIs”).
Hi AnkitKukreja,
Thank you cengizhanarslan and Thomaslleblanc for your responses to the query.
Currently, Dataflows do not have a built-in usage metrics feature like reports or semantic models do. While lineage view can help identify Power BI dependencies, a lack of lineage does not necessarily mean a dataflow is unused, since lineage only shows Power BI artifacts and not usage from external tools such as ADF, Synapse, APIs, notebooks, Excel/Power Query, or cross-tenant access. If a dataflow has no lineage dependencies, no activity in logs, no scheduled or recent refreshes, and its source files have not been updated for months, it is likely not in use. As a best practice, consider disabling the scheduled refresh and monitoring for a few weeks before deleting the dataflow, to ensure there are no issues or dependencies.
Thank you.
Hi AnkitKukreja,
Thank you cengizhanarslan and Thomaslleblanc for your responses to the query.
Currently, Dataflows do not have a built-in usage metrics feature like reports or semantic models do. While lineage view can help identify Power BI dependencies, a lack of lineage does not necessarily mean a dataflow is unused, since lineage only shows Power BI artifacts and not usage from external tools such as ADF, Synapse, APIs, notebooks, Excel/Power Query, or cross-tenant access. If a dataflow has no lineage dependencies, no activity in logs, no scheduled or recent refreshes, and its source files have not been updated for months, it is likely not in use. As a best practice, consider disabling the scheduled refresh and monitoring for a few weeks before deleting the dataflow, to ensure there are no issues or dependencies.
Thank you.