This is a year of firsts; my first year of normal-ish activity since the pandemic started, my first foray into Tableau and Data Analytics, acceptance into the first cohort at The Data School New York, my first Tableau conference (albeit virtually) and my first blog.
I put aside any feelings of inadequacy while watching the Keynote marketed for “Data Rockstars” (considering I only like specific subsets of rock and specific rock songs, being famous does not appeal to my introverted nature) and immediately ignored the sessions I had pre-registered to attend. Instead, I opted to take the “Goldilocks” approach and left sessions that I did not immediately find engaging or useful.
Tableau Speed Tips (Advanced) seemed like a smart choice since I had limited time to attend sessions on Day Two. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ann Jackson and Lorna Brown running this session, two coaches with The Data School. My pleasure briefly waned and turned to fear as I imagined Ann speaking that quickly during The DSNY’s initial 4-months of training sessions, until I remembered that I was watching an Advanced Speed session and exhaled, relieved. I fantasized how amazing my DSNY application dashboards would have been if I had had these tips two months ago - my heat maps would have been more dramatic with drill down Set Actions. This session also helped me to better understand which Parameter and Tableau Actions I could have used to filter my dashboard.
No Tableau Conference is truly complete until you have experienced the “Iron Viz” competition. I pried my mother from the TV and convinced her to watch people create vizzes with me on the computer at 9:30 at night (another first). As the final vizzes were unveiled I had a string of epiphanies. Firstly, knowing your audience and which charts to use when are foundational elements of data analytics. The Iron Viz winner eschewed some best practices, turned convention on its head, and reminded the attendees that the audience is ultimately “regular” people without data backgrounds. Secondly, visualization complexities should be limited to the backend otherwise vizzes can be stunning but difficult to comprehend. Simplicity should never be at the expense of failing to fully convey the scale and scope of a business problem. Don’t be limited by convention. Use the best tools available to simply and powerfully convey your story. Words to live by during the next 28 months as I begin my journey through the Data School.