"Tableau" Your Data
MedStar May 25, 2016
Brittany Fong
So you want to create a viz?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647670/questions.png)
Why?
Start with a question or multiple questions that you want to answer.
What data do you have?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647876/Excel_Data.png)
Is there a unique identifier?
What level of detail is the data at?
Do you need additional data/tables?
create a sketch
Pull out a pencil and paper to get the ideas flowing.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647770/sketch_3.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647772/Sketch_1.jpeg)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647775/sketch_2.png)
Just Because you can...doesn't mean you should
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647809/just_bc_you_can_4.png)
Keep visualizations simple
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647829/Zika_Outbreak.png)
Cater to your audience
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2648024/big_bang_theory.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2648026/doctors.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2648027/executives.gif)
Levels of complexity
Executive - Quick glance summary
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2654259/Line_graph.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2647936/Bullet_Graph_Screenshot.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2654264/Box_Plot.png)
Manager - High level comparisons
Analyst - In depth discoveries
helpful tableau graphs, Tips, and Tricks!
Comparisons over time
Use color to compare quarters but still have the ability to see over all changes over time
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2660574/bar_graph_over_time.png)
Using color to highlight
Change the color or size of data to highlight and guide your user through analysis
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2660561/highlight_line_graph.png)
Percent Change Over Time
View percent changes between periods on a sorted bar graph to make comparisons over time and easily view top and bottom performers
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2654359/Percent_change_bar_graph.png)
Percent of Total Over TIme
View percent of total across periods to determine which items make up the biggest percentage of quantity sold
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/517187/images/2660701/__of_total.png)
Parameters
Give your users the flexibility to choose what they want to view
Bullet Graphs
- Can be used to measure key performance indicators or view year over year comparisons
- Replacement graph to gauges and bar charts (with multiple bars/measures) because they save room
- The traditional bar represents the actual metric and the "hash mark" is the goal or comparison
- Optional: add shaded reference lines to indicate poor, good, exceptional differentiation
Top N data
See the top N items in each product category
Box and Whisker Plots
- Can show data at a lower level of detail
- Show the distribution of data points, averages, and outliers
- Can be harder for your audience to understand
MedStar
By bfongdata
MedStar
- 713