Tableau Public - Say Yes!
I am listening to Tina Fey narrate her best-selling book “Bossypants” and find her story to be hilarious and inspiring. I especially like quotes she uses, with one of my favorites being:
“Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterwards”
This quote hits home with me because it describes my approach to many things in life, including how I am learning Tableau. In February (5 months ago), I said yes to Tableau and now wish I had tried it years ago. Tableau Public is a FREE data visualization tool for creating stunning visualizations (dashboards and stories). Here is the South Central Library System (SCLS) Tableau Public site https://public.tableau.com/profile/scls#!/ that I am using to develop and test dashboard ideas.
In this post, I will share how to get started with Tableau Public and how I am "figuring it out". Hopefully, this will encourage you to say yes and start your own Tableau journey! Tina Fey also says; "The fun is always on the other side of a yes", so HAVE FUN!
Getting Started
- Download Tableau Public Desktop: https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/download. Did I mention this is FREE!
- Locate a Dataset. For starters, use a report in Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets. Tableau lets you combine datasets, but I’ll save that is for a later post.
- Create a Tableau Public Profile: https://public.tableau.com/auth/signup. This is where you will save and share your work. When I first started, I didn’t want anyone to see my hacking so I didn’t save anything. I later found out that Tableau Public has the ability to hide workbooks until you are ready to share. (Phew!)
Figuring it Out
You’re off! If you are a bit anxious about "figuring it out", here is another Tina Fey quote; “THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities.” To help you navigate these opportunities, here are a few of my favorite Tableau Tips and Resources:
Learn from the Experts
In Tableau Public you can follow authors, download (and save) their workbooks, and use them to re-engineer something similar. Deconstructing other author's workbooks has been the best way for me to learn! The South Central Library System (SCLS) profile currently follows some:
- Tableau Zen Masters https://www.tableau.com/ZenMasters
- Tableau Ambassadors https://www.tableau.com/tableau-ambassadors
- Tableau Public Gallery Authors https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/gallery
- Other Library Related Profiles
Tableau Training Materials
- Tableau Training Videos: https://www.tableau.com/learn/training
- Tableau Public Videos: https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/resources
- Online Help: http://onlinehelp.tableau.com/v10.3/pro/desktop/en-us/help.htm
2016 Tableau Conference Videos: http://tclive.tableau.com/SignUp
After signing up for free access, here are beginner videos I recommend:
- Tableau Tips for Beginners: http://tclive.tableau.com/Library/Video?vCode=BRK53392
- Getting Started with Practical Dashboards: http://tclive.tableau.com/Library/Video?vCode=BRK53394
- How to Excel with Tableau: http://tclive.tableau.com/Library/Video?vCode=BRK50494
YouTube Channels and Blog Posts (There are many more out there.)
- Andy Kriebel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTlX7UpqASrldmx5_CpG3CA
- The Information Lab’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/theinformationlab/videos
- Tableau Reference Guide (curated list of blog posts): http://www.tableaureferenceguide.com/
Books I’ve Bought (I’ve checked out many more!)
- Few, S. (2013). Information dashboard design: Displaying data for at-a-glance monitoring. Burlingame, CA: Analytics Press.
- Sleeper, Ryan. (2017). Practical Tableau: 100 Tips, Tutorials, and Strategies from a Tableau Zen Master. Oreilly & Associates Inc.
- Tufte, E. R. (2015). The visual display of quantitative information. Graphic Press: Cheshire, Connecticut.
- Wexler, S., Shaffer, J., & Cotgreave, A. (2017). The big book of dashboards: Visualizing your data using real-world business scenarios.
- Wong, D. M. (2014). The Wall Street journal guide to information graphics. New York [u.a.: Norton.
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