"Tableau" Your Data
MedStar May 25, 2016
Brittany Fong
So you want to create a viz?
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Why?
Start with a question or multiple questions that you want to answer.
What data do you have?
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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.
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Just Because you can...doesn't mean you should
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Keep visualizations simple
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Cater to your audience
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Levels of complexity
Executive - Quick glance summary
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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
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Using color to highlight
Change the color or size of data to highlight and guide your user through analysis
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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
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Percent of Total Over TIme
View percent of total across periods to determine which items make up the biggest percentage of quantity sold
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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
- 712