Tips When Overwhelm Hits in Tableau

I was teaching an intermediate type of Tableau class recently and one participant seemed to be struggling.  To be fair, she should have been in. an intro class, but she enrolled in this one, so there we were.  Since I recently shared some of these tips with the student, I thought I would share them here, partially as a reminder for me and if you (or your students need it, then here you go).  

Even though I think Tableau is a great tool, it can be overwhelming, especially when you're new.  Here are a few tips I use and share with new users. 

1. Breathe

2. Look to see what data elements are in the question or the statement for what you're trying to analyze/visualize.  As an example: What's the trend in sales over time? In an intro class, I normally break it down this way: What's the trend in sales over time? Bolding means it's a data item. The italicized words are those that I need to look at or do something with.  I'm going to need a trend line and I'm going to need to find a date based data element (and I use over time as a cue to first think of continuous vs. compare for discrete).  So, if I were looking at Superstore Sales data set for Tableau, I know that I'll need sales and order date.  

3. When it's something more than a basic chart, try to see if there's a base visualization that you can create or that it looks like.  I recently shared with someone how to create a quadrant chart.  At the base, it's a scatterplot and then you add on reference lines.  That doesn't sound so daunting when you think of it that way. 

4. Are you trying to reverse engineer something?  Be super observant.  Where are the pills?  What color are they? Notice those little details to help you re-create the visualization for yourself. 

5. Google it.  The Tableau community is so super knowledgable. Your question may have already been thought of and addressed, so see what the community says. 

6. Find your person/people.  I remember when I first started (and even now, sometimes), I was so frustrated and I would message Matt Francis... why can't I get this?!? Why can't it be easier?  I'm a pretty smart person but I feel so dumb.  Help!! And Matt would help, without judgement. <--that's huge.  

7. Remind yourself: You are smart, you've got this! We all have different zones of competence. So while someone may be amazing at calculations, they could also be afraid of the blank canvas.  Give yourself grace to learn.  Sometimes you come across a Tableau unicorn and that's amazing.  But, it's more likely that we each have a specific thing that we love and can jam out on.  And even if you're still like: But Em, I am struggling with the whole thing, I bet you have a zone of competence outside of Tableau that's super amazing (and you can't forget about that).  

And finally, different aspects of the tool click at different times.  I think it's easy to hear stories about what's possible like the people who become a rockstar in a weekend.  That's amazing and I will celebrate them.  But I also know that person is an outlier.  A lot of times, it takes more than two days to master the tool.  So if you're not grasping a concept immediately, that's ok.  Calculations for me, are one of those things that I still have trouble with.  But have I told you about how much I love swapping parameters (I might have even scared the class a little bit with my super excitement over them. Though seriously, aren they so cool? Your user can pick their dimension and measure!) 😍 It's another reason why building a network is so important, whether that's at work or in the broader Tableau community.  When someone needs help with calculations, they can go to someone else.  When they need help with thinking like a CEO, teaching (or based on my excitement level, swapping parameters), they can come to me.  

I hope these tips have been helpful! Let me know your favorite tip to prevent Tableau overwhelm below!