The Tableau Performance Checklist: Calculations – Limit Blended Calculations
Next up on the list of ways to make your dashboards be the best they can be, we take a closer look at blended calculations: “Limit blended calculations. They require sequentially querying multiple data sources and can be time-consuming. Where possible, create a view on the database server.“ Occasionally, all of the information we need […]
InterWorks Snags Highest Spot Yet on “Best Places to Work in Oklahoma” List
We’re on a roll, people! For the fifth year running, InterWorks has placed in okc.BIZ’s “Best Places to Work in Oklahoma” list. But this year, things got even more special. We managed to claim the #3 spot in the Small/Medium category, the highest ranking we’ve received to date! View the full list of winners. How It […]
The Tableau Performance Checklist: Calculations – Use Calculated Fields Carefully
Let’s examine the following item on the checklist: “Use calculated fields carefully. Think about the data type as you code the calculation. Number and Boolean > date > string calculations when it comes to performance.“ This is another item that can quickly get you into performance trouble if you don’t exercise caution. Let’s dive right […]
Visualizing Data in My Sleep with Tableau
Quantified self visualizations predominantly focus on daytime activity, not sleep habits. Perhaps this is because it’s one of the most difficult things to accurately measure, or maybe it doesn’t seem like an interesting data set. But, anyone with a newborn in the house knows how sleep (or lack of it) can quickly become a major […]
The Tableau Performance Checklist: Custom SQL – Watch for Useless Clauses
Today we’re examining the following guideline: “Watch for useless clauses, e.g. ORDER BY. Tableau is going to re-sort the data once loaded anyway.“ Let’s get started! SQL Overview SQL, or Structured Query Language, is designed for managing data within a relational database. It is essentially composed of two parts: Data Definition Language (DDL) Data Manipulation […]
The Tableau Performance Checklist: Custom SQL – Avoid Parameters
Currently, we’re going through the best ways to employ custom SQL and what to avoid. Here’s what we’ll cover today: “Avoid parameters in custom SQL in Tableau. Tableau wraps the custom SQL in a subquery that many databases don’t handle well. Consider building a view in the database or use a multi-table join with filters.“ Let’s […]
The Tableau Conference 2015 Session Planner
The annual Tableau Conference (formerly known as TCC) is one of my favorite parts about working at InterWorks and being a part of the Tableau Community. I get to meet all sorts of new Tableau users and attend fascinating sessions and keynotes. Some of last year’s highlights included Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hans Rosling, Dr. John […]
Performance Monitoring your Tableau Server Environment
Why do you need to monitor the performance of your environment? Your Tableau Server is a key element within your Tableau world, and for many people this is all they see of Tableau. They don’t get to play with Tableau Desktop, but they are the consumers of reports either through a web browser or mobile […]
Data Viz: 2015 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Fantasy Football has become an incredible phenomenon in the United States. According to FSTA, over 56 million people will participate in some form of fantasy sports in 2015 with 73% playing fantasy football. I first started in 2007 as a means to socialize with coworkers at a new job. At the time, I didn’t even much […]
Data Viz: Wildfires in the USA
There’s been a lot of coverage of wildfires in the United States this year, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where some of the largest fires are consuming hundreds of thousands of acres. To bring some context, I scraped data from the US Forest Service’s website for 2015. The site also includes links for historical fire […]