If You’re Reading This—and Spreadsheets Are Your Only Data Visualization—You’re Not Too Late for Tableau
Yes, that was a reference to a very popular hip-hop album.
Let’s play a game. First, open a timer on the device of your choice. Next, look at the image below and time how long it takes for you to identify how many 3s are present in the set of numbers below.
2 5 1 4 0 7 3 9 6 8 5 4 2 1 3 0 9 7 6 8
0 4 6 8 3 7 1 2 5 9 4 6 7 0 8 3 2 5 1 9
9 2 7 1 6 4 8 0 3 5 9 7 1 2 3 8 6 0 4 5
8 3 6 0 9 7 5 1 2 4 0 6 9 8 3 2 1 5 7 4
5 0 2 4 1 9 7 8 6 3 0 4 2 1 9 5 8 7 6 3
7 6 8 2 3 0 9 1 4 5 6 2 8 3 0 7 1 9 4 5
1 4 0 7 5 6 2 9 8 3 4 7 0 5 6 2 1 9 8 3
3 8 5 9 7 1 6 4 0 2 8 5 3 9 4 7 1 6 0 2
0 6 3 2 5 7 4 8 1 9 6 3 2 0 5 7 4 8 9 1
9 1 7 5 4 2 8 6 3 0 1 9 5 4 7 2 8 0 6 3
Now, reset your timer and identify how many 7s are present.
2 5 1 4 0 7 3 9 6 8 5 4 2 1 3 0 9 7 6 8
0 4 6 8 3 7 1 2 5 9 4 6 7 0 8 3 2 5 1 9
9 2 7 1 6 4 8 0 3 5 9 7 1 2 3 8 6 0 4 5
8 3 6 0 9 7 5 1 2 4 0 6 9 8 3 2 1 5 7 4
5 0 2 4 1 9 7 8 6 3 0 4 2 1 9 5 8 7 6 3
7 6 8 2 3 0 9 1 4 5 6 2 8 3 0 7 1 9 4 5
1 4 0 7 5 6 2 9 8 3 4 7 0 5 6 2 1 9 8 3
3 8 5 9 7 1 6 4 0 2 8 5 3 9 4 7 1 6 0 2
0 6 3 2 5 7 4 8 1 9 6 3 2 0 5 7 4 8 9 1
9 1 7 5 4 2 8 6 3 0 1 9 5 4 7 2 8 0 6 3
If all went well, it should have taken you significantly less time to identify the 7s because the beautiful pink and yellow highlights make them pop right out! What is it that makes that so much easier, you ask? Something called pre-attentive attributes. Now let’s unpack that real quick…
“Pre-attentive attributes are information we can process visually almost immediately, before sending the information to the attention processing parts of our brain.“– Tableau
So, if we can leverage pre-attentive attributes to be more efficient in a silly game, why not use them to be more efficient in our day to day? Let’s apply these pre-attentive attributes to a common business use case. Many sales teams store tons of data in excel or other spreadsheets, which is very powerful for many use cases. However, when quick, effective insights are needed, scouring through spreadsheets isn’t necessarily the best solution. Enter Tableau.
Perhaps, you need a quick look at sales in each quarter. With data visualizations in Tableau, your company can turn something like this:
Into something more like this:
From looking at this chart, you can quickly answer questions like “In which quarter were my sales highest? In which quarter were they lowest?” This is not to say a spreadsheet isn’t helpful when diving into the details of your data. The advantage of visualizations that use tools like Tableau is that you can gather quick insights into your data from a high level, then drill in deeper and deeper to identify trends and patterns you can leverage to make your data work for you.
If you’re interested in learning more and gaining better insights from your data with Tableau, reach out to our team for more details!
Written by
Emma LeMasters
