So, I’ve been learning Tableau for my project and although I’ve merely scratched the surface of all its capabilities, I am quite impressed so far. The project I’m working on has a massive amount of data, with hundreds of millions of rows of data and although it can get a bit slow at times, Tableau makes it so much easier to perform analysis and provide visualizations of that analysis, with a few calculations and some drags and drops.

I was originally a bit overwhelmed with the project because not only did I need to learn how to work with a new software and provide results to our project sponsor, but I needed to make sense of the data to ensure I was doing proper analysis. I’m happy to say I’ve made significant progress on both. It’s amazing the difference a few statistical calculations and some if-then statements can make in getting your visualizations to show what you want it to. Unfortunately, coming up with those resolutions took lots of research, thought and trying different methods. Similar to how it is when I’m coding a new program. In both instances the relief you feel when you’ve finally figured it out makes it all worth it. The responsiveness of Tableau to my different calculations and formulas and being able to see the change my calculations made to the data in real time was extremely helpful. Also, although it may sound counterintuitive, being able to play around with it in Tableau helped me get a better understanding of the underlying data and what it all means and represents.

Tableau bills itself as a “visual analytics platform transforming the way we use data to solve problems—empowering people and organizations to make the most of their data.” For registered users there is an e-learning suite with courses you can take spanning from introductory courses to role specific courses for designers or data scientists. It can be integrated with programming languages like Python and R for advanced and/or statistical analysis.

Although I’m sure there are a number of functionalities and tools I’m still ignorant to as far as Tableau is concerned, the fact that I’m able to do analysis and see results without being a “Tableau Guru” speaks volumes about its ease of use and intuitiveness. This was my first foray into genuine Data Analysis and I’m enjoying it. I chose this project to give me a view into this space and I think I’d like to continue with it and pursue Data Analytics as a career. I think I’m finally figuring out what my next move should be. Wish me luck!