"Tableau" Your Data

MedStar May 25, 2016

Brittany Fong

So you want to create a viz?

Why?  

Start with a question or multiple questions that you want to answer.

What data do you have?

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.

Just Because you can...doesn't mean you should

Keep visualizations simple

Cater to your audience

Levels of complexity

Executive - Quick glance summary

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

Using color to highlight

Change the color or size of data to highlight and guide your user through analysis

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

Percent of Total Over TIme

View  percent of total across periods to determine which items make up the biggest percentage of quantity sold

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