Transient computing clusters can be temporarily provisioned in cloud-based infrastructure to run data processing tasks. Such tasks may be run by services operating in the clusters that consume and produce data including operational metadata. Techniques are introduced for tracking data lineage across multiple clusters, including transient computing clusters, based on the operational metadata. In some embodiments, operational metadata is extracted from the transient computing clusters and aggregated at a metadata system for analysis. Based on the analysis of the metadata, operations can be summarized at a cluster level even if the transient computing cluster no longer exists. Further relationships between workflows, such as dependencies or redundancies, can be identified and utilized to optimize the provisioning of computing clusters and tasks performed by the computing clusters.