There are many data science tools and software which can be used for analyzing data and creating visualizations, but few are as popular and well-known as Tableau. Tableau is a leading data analytics and business intelligence tool that can be used to create reports and solve problems using information and data. As a low-code tool, Tableau is easy and efficient to use for data science beginners and industry professionals alike. Students and data scientists who are interested in expanding their toolkit should look into the many unique features and capabilities of this popular platform!
What is Tableau?
Tableau is a business intelligence and visual analytics platform that facilitates the presentation of information and data for individuals or within a team-based environment. With several licenses and products available to users, Tableau makes it easy for data consumers and creators of all experience levels to engage in the organization and analysis of public and private datasets. As a platform that prides itself on ease of use, Tableau is less programming intensive than other data science tools, making it a go-to when working with beginner data scientists and diverse teams of collaborators. Tableau is also known for its data visualization features. It offers a library of unique graphs and charts that can be used to create stories, reports, and interactive dashboards that are formatted for the presentation of data to product and/or project stakeholders.
Offering several products which can work autonomously or in conjunction with each other, most data scientists will find Tableau Public, Tableau Server or Desktop, and Tableau Prep to be the most useful software. With Tableau Public, you have the option of using Tableau as a free and openly available version of the software, which is great for getting to know the platform and practicing your data science skills with publicly available datasets and visualizations. In comparison, Tableau Server and Desktop, are licensed and downloadable versions of Tableau which include more of the features that Tableau is known for such as the creation of interactive dashboards. Tableau Prep focuses on data organization by taking a visual approach to cleaning and managing information and data. This data preparation tool can be viewed as a precursor to analyzing and visualizing a dataset.
Tableau Online also requires a license, and it allows data scientists to work together through cloud-based collaborative tools. Through the Creator licensing multiple license holders can work together on the same dataset within this web-based application of Tableau. Additionally, Tableau offers free licensing and instructions for students and teachers who want to use Tableau Desktop in the classroom or for educational purposes and/or academic research. Due to the platform's focus on education, Tableau also offers several resources for users which offer instruction on using the platform itself, as well as building skills and knowledge in multiple data literacies.
Using Tableau for Data Science
As a visualization and analytics tool, Tableau has multiple features which are useful for data science students and professionals. The platform can be used to create unique data visualizations and dashboards, business intelligence reports, and presentations, as well as using the artificial intelligence capabilities of the platform for data analysis projects.
Organizing Data and Sharing Visualizations
Depending on what product you are using Tableau allows you to organize and visualize your own datasets, as well as offering access to public datasets and visualizations. Through drag and drop features, Tableau Desktop gives users the option of managing a dataset by actually moving different parts of the dataset around within the platform’s visual dashboard. By directing and mobilizing data, you can also use these different organizational formats to track the key insights which emerge from exploring the data in this way.
Besides visually organizing the data, Tableau’s products and services also include data visualization tools such as geographic visualizations, custom charts, and data maps which can be modified through changing the colors, size, and representation of information and data. Features such as Tableau Maps allow users to easily input geolocation data into the platform to return a literal map of the dataset. These unique and engaging charts and graphics can also be published and shared as data visualizations with other team members, stakeholders, or a more public audience.
Dashboards and Business Intelligence Tools
There are also several features of the Tableau platform which can be used as business intelligence tools. Similar to data analytics, business intelligence primarily focuses on offering solutions to a company's problems through data-driven decision-making. By examining past data, Tableau’s business intelligence tools can be used to create projections about the future of a business and offer suggestions about potential next steps, as well as analyzing the risks of making certain decisions or going down a particular path. For data scientists who are working within a company or for a business, the most well-known business intelligence tools within Tableau are dashboards, sheets, and stories.
Tableau dashboards begin with the creation of a sheet where different datasets and dashboards can be added and examined. Through the creation of interactive dashboards, data scientists can present multiple charts and graphs within the same presentation space, which makes for a more visually engaging and comparative understanding of data science projects and the wellness of a business or industry niche. With a focus on data storytelling, the use of Tableau’s dashboards and sheets features create narratives which give greater context and a depth of meaning to the information and data being presented.
Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
While Tableau has the capacity to work as a stand-alone platform, it can also be used with other platforms to analyze information and data through calculations, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. For data scientists who want to explore and manipulate a dataset, Tableau calculationsoffer new ways of understanding your data through aggregating, segmenting, and filtering data through the creation of calculated fields. In addition to calculations, Tableau also includes functions such as predictive modeling which allow data scientists to integrate programming languages like R and Python to analyze data in the platform. Products such as Tableau CRM are also compatible with the Salesforce platform to create predictive models and project business outcomes.
Interested in Learning More About Tableau?
As one of many popular data science tools, over the years Tableau has grown in popularity due to its ease of use and highly specialized features. Operating in conjunction with other skills such as programming and database design, Tableau is an important tool for presenting and sharing your findings. Students and professionals who are interested in learning more about Tableau can take one of Noble Desktop’s data science classes which specialize in the platform. These bootcamps primarily focus on how to use Tableau’s capabilities as a data visualization platform to create unique charts and graphs.
The Tableau Bootcamp offers instruction on how to use Tableau Public to manipulate and visualize data. In particular, this bootcamp focuses on working with Tableau to create maps from geographic data, as well as publishing and sharing charts. The Data Analytics Technologies Bootcamp pairs Tableau with data analytics tools such as SQL and Microsoft Excel for a broader introduction on how to interpret, organize, and represent data in ways that are useful and productive to various industry professionals. Each of these bootcamps will be helpful for those wishing to learn how data analytics and business intelligence tools like Tableau can be applied within the field of data science.