A system accesses a set of devices transferring a data element from a source device to a destination device. The system determines a transformation type implemented on the data element at each device. The system generates an array that uniquely defines the data element at each device. The array comprises the transformation type and an identifier of the device. The system generates a transformation dependency map that represents a set of transformation types implemented on the data element at different devices. The system determines a set of data transfer paths for the data element from the source device to the destination device based on the transformation dependency map. The system selects the shortest data transfer path for the data element that corresponds to the least number of hops between devices. The system communicates the data element from the source device to the destination device using the shortest data transfer path.