I love Tableau and I articulate that love through consulting, training, evangelizing, and blogging. But there are some things about the product that just drive me nuts. Here's a flaw that's been in the software since at least version 2.0 that I know has tripped up EVERYONE that uses Tableau. And just what is this [...]
Overview Today I'm going to write about four viz types that have solved a lot of problems for me but that I don't see out in the wild very often. Â I really like each of these approaches as they are analytically sharp and pack an emotional wallop. Note: a collection of dashboards illustrating each of [...]
Note: This post is dated but contains useful information. I've discovered some better ways to handle this but haven't blogged about it yet. Feel free to nag me and I'll either write the post or conduct a screen-sharing session. Overview Note: If you have not already done so, please review Part 1, Part 2, and [...]
Overview I was stuck earlier this month trying to cajole Tableau into doing something I needed it to do so I contacted my friend Joe Mako. Â When it comes to Tableau, Joe is the "guru's guru." (Joe was the person that showed me how to create filled maps in Tableau before Tableau had native support [...]
Bob Dylan – folk hero to thousands if not millions  – caused a furor when he appeared at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival with ... an electric guitar! If you read about the incident you’ll discover that there was a mammoth sense of betrayal within the folk-centric fold. How could their hero embrace rock music? [...]
My problem with most infographics is that they sacrifice accuracy and clarity for whimsy and cuteness. While I understand the desire to "draw the reader" in, I believe it's critical that the information and the story not be misleading. So, imagine my delight when I thought I had found an infographic that was spot-on accurate and fun and engaging. [...]
I spend half my time as a musician and the other half as a data visualization "scientist". Â I love both professions but one downside shared by both professions is that I cannot listen to music nor glance at a chart without trying to figure out what is going on inside the music and inside the [...]
We begin a new feature this month where I look at some recently-published data visualizations and offer suggestions on how they can be improved. I'll start with the MASIE Center's Mobile Pulse Survey results. Â For those of you that don't know, The MASIE Center is a Saratoga Springs, NY think tank focused on how organizations [...]
Author’s note: Stephen Few is a bastion of data visualization excellence. I encourage all of my Tableau clients and students to purchase his books, read his blogs, and attend events where he is presenting. I also submitted an entry into the competition (you can read it here). I've been troubled by both the premise and [...]
Thoughts on Standard Business Practices, User Expectations, Tableau’s Server Pricing Model, and Appealing to the Consumer’s Inner Narcissist. In my six-plus years of using Tableau I’ve created hundreds of dashboards and thousands of interactive visualizations. In observing these creations out in the field I noticed something rather disappointing – the vast majority of people for [...]
