Tableau Public: A Dashboard in Five Minutes

Tableau Public is a free variant of the popular data visualisation tool, Tableau. As the name implies, any output produced is public - so don't use it with information you want kept private. That aside, it's a simple-to-use tool for producing quick, effective visualisations to the web.

As a long-time user of disparate data analysis and visualisation products, such as Access, Excel, SAS and MapInfo, it's pleasing to finally see a rapid convergence of these tools. Naturally these hybrid tools, such as Tableau, don't provide the deep analytical power of their more specialised forebears. But they do make visualisation and insight accessible to those without a background in data science. If you're familiar with pivot tables (cross-tabs), then you will find Tableau easy to pick up and run with.

As a new resident in Connecticut with a strong interest in retail analysis and history, I thought I'd look at Walmart's evolution in the state. I used Python to collect the store coordinates and opening dates from Walmart's website, which I saved in Excel. I then imported the file into Tableau Public, identifying the latitude and longitude fields as I did.

A few minutes later I had produced the following (rough) 'dashboard':

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What really appeals, beside the simplicity of production and output, is the time-series feature. A user is able to move the date slider in the bottom right corner and observe Walmart's growth over time - both on the map, and the synchronised chart below it. MapInfo, for example, can make much more detailed maps, but to produce a time-series map would require layering multiple images in another tool, such as PowerPoint, or an add-on such as MapInfo Engage.

Tableau Public isn't perfect for every visualisation. But it is effective in many - especially those where rapid, non-sensitive output is required, and data scientists aren't available.