Who do I ask?
A new analyst asks, "Who looks after the data pipelines?" The answer is on the team chart. The Head of Data is at the top. Under them is the Data engineering lead. Under that is Dee.
Each person has exactly one boss. That shape is called a hierarchy, and a lot of data fits it.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hierarchy | Items arranged in levels, each with one item above it. | An org chart |
| Root | The single item at the top. | Head of Data |
| Parent | The item directly above another. | Data engineering lead is parent of Dee |
| Child | An item directly below another. | Dee |
| Branch | A path from one item down to another. | Head of Data, Data engineering lead, Dee |
| Tree | Another word for a hierarchy drawn from top to bottom. | A folder tree |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe a hierarchy and say when it suits data.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
A hierarchy has levels and one parent
In a hierarchy, one item at the top is the root. Every other item has exactly one parent above it. An item can have many children below it.
A branch is a route from the top down. A hierarchy is also called a tree. Folders and org charts are both trees.
Check: read the tree
Have a go
Check: read the tree
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.