Crafting Impactful Insights Through Storytelling
I just released a new video exploring the art of storytelling with data! We’ll walk through a Tableau example, using data, worksheets, and dashboards to craft a compelling narrative. This exercise explores the creation and presentation of compelling data narratives, framing the process as a journey from initial questions to actionable outcomes, such as solutions, opportunities, or well-informed decisions. The core focus is developing clear visualizations that effectively communicate the relationship between individual parts and the whole, highlight key differences, and uncover insights often obscured by subtle percentage variations. We will also examine the crucial role of preattentive attributes, clutter reduction, and strategies for framing solutions in a way that resonates with and gains buy-in from the audience.
From Mess to Minimalist
In my latest video, I use LOD and table calculations to arrive at a weighted percent of the goal. The instructions are color-coded so you can easily follow along and validate each calculated field as I create the view. After testing each calculation, I removed the Measure Values field from the text tile to remove all the messy columns. Finally, a table calculation utilizes the LAST() function to keep the last row in each pane. Let me know what you think using the contact link below.
Multiple data sources or connections in Tableau? No problem!
Explore this video as we answer these questions:
Have you wondered how to connect to multiple data sources?
How do you create a relationship?
Are joins better than relationships, and do they create nulls?
What if you have two Tableau Server data sources?
What is data blending?
The fundamentals: Understand the difference between joins, data blending, and relationships and when to use each. How do joins and relationships impact the presence of nulls in your data?
Data Blending: Discover the power of data blending and how it can help you analyze data from disparate sources.
Data Source Replacement: Fix Broken Views Fast!
Struggling to Replace a Data Source in Tableau? Fix Your Broken Views in Minutes! In this video, you'll learn exactly how to replace a data source in Tableau, even when the field names and data types change. We'll walk you through fixing calculated fields, parameters, actions, tooltips, filters, sets, and bins – all in a step-by-step, easy-to-follow format. By the end of this video, you'll be able to:
Replace a data source without breaking your Tableau views
Fix calculated fields, parameters, and actions
Update tooltips, filters, sets, and bins
This video is perfect for you if:
You're new to Tableau and want to learn how to replace data sources
You've replaced a data source, and your views are broken
You need to update your data source but don't know where to start
Bonus: We'll also cover how to fix common issues that can arise when replacing a data source, such as red fields, exclamation marks, and yellow triangles.
Unleash the Power of Box and Whisker Plots in Tableau!
In this video, you'll learn how to create a Box and Whisker Plot from scratch in Tableau. We'll cover everything from basic construction and formatting to using Tableau's powerful "Show Me" feature for a quick and easy visualization. Plus, we'll dive deep into interpreting these plots, understanding the whiskers, the distribution band, and what they reveal about your data. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate Tableau user, this video will help you master this valuable data visualization technique.
To follow along, visit the Box and Whisker exercise page for detailed instructions and the Tableau Public workbook
Top 3 in Tableau
In this series of videos, we look at several ways to show the Top N values in Tableau. To follow along, download the instructions and Tableau Public workbooks listed on the Overview of Top 3 exercise page.
The Accidental Analyst
When I began using Tableau I was worried that because I had a technical background I wouldn’t understand how to analyze the data for my business partners. After a few years of working together, I’ve realized if I poke around the data I often discover interesting trends or outliers. I’m also not ashamed to ask my business partners what they expected to see in the data, and how they’d like to see the data grouped or filtered.
As a practical exercise, this video takes you on a data journey with Tableau, where we uncover hidden gems and reveal the fascinating story hidden within the data.
Have Your Tried Dynamic Zones?
Have you tried dynamic zones with parameters? All I can say is, wow, this is awesome!
Recently, I needed to create a drop-down list box (aka parameter) to switch between several worksheets on my dashboard. I wasn’t sure how to handle the various filters, so I decided to use dynamic zones. All I can say is, “wow.” Dynamic zones are effortless to implement, so I decided to share my solution with you. In addition to my YouTube video and Tableau Public workbook, I created an overview to recap the parameters, filters, and calculated fields.
If you haven’t tried them, please take a look and let me know what you think!