Free Access to Rapid Graphs with Tableau 8–Chapter 4

Rapid Graphs with Tableau 8 The Original Guide for the Accidental Analyst We are pleased to provide free access to our book for all site members. It is also available as a printed book on Amazon. The home page for this release is here. Read Chapter 4 (pages 59-78)      Core view types in Tableau-59           Tables—an … Read more

Free Webinar—Analyzing Your Data With Excel:
Simple Steps for Actionable Results

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Recorded August 22nd, 2013

Do what you can with what you have where you are.
—THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Cowboy, soldier, historian and
26th President of the U.S.

Synopsis
Answer everyday business questions like an analyst with Microsoft Excel. This webinar is based on a selected set of techniques from The 7C’s of Data Analysis, as covered in our book, The Accidental Analyst: Show Your Data Who’s Boss. An abbreviated case study will be used to demonstrate common techniques that can start you on the course to analyzing data with Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010 or 2013.

This presentation is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes in length.

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Tableau Online Total Cost of Ownership Calculator

Stack_Money_Flickr_artist_in_Doing_NothingWith our new cost of ownership calculator, you can estimate the number of Tableau Desktop, Tableau Desktop Pro, Tableau Online and Tableau Reader (free!) licenses to obtain for your specific needs. You can even calculate one-year and three-year estimates of cost to have Tableau at your organization, purchase consulting services and train your team.

To illustrate, the 3 Year Total Cost of Ownership, consulting and training inclusive, for a department of 30 is around $45,000. A larger deployment to a business unit with 500 people would total approximately $696,000. A 3 person company could get by for just $12,500. Start using our calculator now and make a smarter choice about your analytic investment!

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Thoughts on “Business Analytics Software Still Has Skeptics”

Synopsis of the article and summary chart from Pete Barlas at Investor’s Business Daily
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Many companies still view the promise of analytics software as a glass half-empty.

One of the strongest sectors in enterprise software, business analytics has many doubters among companies skeptical it truly is helping improve the top and bottom lines.

So found a survey released last month by accounting and professional services firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

“What we are seeing in the analytics front is a real skepticism among business leaders about whether this works and how it can make a difference,” said Tim Phillipps, global leader of Deloitte’s analytics practice.

The findings, he admits, were a surprise.

Here is Stephen’s comment on this article:

I have worked in analytics for many years at over 100 companies (employee, consultant and leading teams.)  It has always been easier to lean on costs savings as a clear measure of success with analytics and data warehouse investments. 

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Free Webinar—Quick & dirty analysis with Tableau
in 13 lucky steps!

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July 31st, 2013, Noon Pacific, 3 PM Eastern, 8 PM London
 
 
So much data, so little time!
–Stephen McDaniel
Co-founder of Freakalytics

 
 
Synopsis
Let’s face it: in the daily world of work, you often are asked to provide an answer to a new problem in less than a day. Of course, your boss tends to forget about the other three project deadlines you are currently facing, so you really have only 10 or 20 minutes to squeeze in a quick and dirty analysis.

If this sounds familiar to you, this webinar will walk you through the thirteen flexible steps that can take you from being clueless to looking smart with Tableau in just a few minutes. Hopefully you’ll be able to obtain enough information to come up with ideas for an e-mail update or talking points for the unexpected meeting that is looming large over your day, showing your boss and colleagues that you can deliver great results in time to be useful.

So, if you’re already a user of Tableau, this webinar will guide you in the critical path of many analyses in Tableau. If you are totally new to Tableau, you can see the possibilities of what you can accomplish in a short amount of time, once you get started and practice these techniques.
 
 
A preview of the first few steps

1 What question will you examine?

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Okay, in reality this step might take hours or even days! But let’s assume you have your question, and if it is complex, break it down into several, simpler questions.

2 Grab the closest, readily available dataset

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Free Webinar—Business analytics and more
with SAS Enterprise Guide

 
Recorded on July 10th, 2013
 
 
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True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of
uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.

–WINSTON CHURCHILL
Prime Minister of England during WWII

 
 
Synopsis
In this webinar, Stephen will analyze multiple real-world case studies using SAS Enterprise Guide by following the 7 C’s of Data Analysis. He will collect data from a range of sources, explore the data for common problems, apply quick data fixes, demonstrate best practices of visual analytics and use powerful predictive models that go beyond the limits of standard analysis techniques.
Click here for the full post and to register below

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Rapid Graphs with Tableau 8—Chapter 1 & Table of Contents

The 8 version of this book is published in grayscale in order to meet popular demand for a lower list price versus earlier versions (5, 6 and 7) of this book series.

Rapid_Graphs_Tableau_8_Freakalytics_Copyright_346_433+ Written by Tableau insider
   & product manager, teaching
   Tableau to thousands since 2009

+ Real-world examples that you
   can follow include tips
   and tricks to save you time

+ High-def videos & solutions

+ The fourth edition—proven & trusted

+ Buy it on Amazon

 

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Freakalytics Newsletter for June 2013

Thank you for your interest in our newsletter. Please share it with your colleagues that can benefit from it.   Also, Stephen is once again full-time at Freakalytics and we are excited to be back on the road, so please let us know if we can be of service!
 
 

Freakalytics_Timeline_Since_2007_Map.pngFreakalytics Timeline

Since 2007, we have traveled 365,000 miles to help tens of thousands of people via

8 books,
24 conference talks,
47 public trainings,
26 on-site trainings,
5 conference seminars,
15 analytic advisory engagements
and 36 consulting projects.

Click here to download a summary of our accomplishments since 2007.
 
 

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Free Webinar—Visual Analytics Best Practices
Why Can’t You See My Point?!?

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You can have brilliant ideas,
but if you can’t get them across,
your ideas won’t get you anywhere.

-Lee Iacocca

 

The webinar is past but you can watch the recording and view the slides below.
This post is currently being updated with the slides and videos.

Why do visual analytics best practices matter?

Why can’t people see your point when you present data-oriented presentations?

Whether you are using big data, small data or summarized data that has been prepared for you, this webinar will explore these vital questions. If you are concerned with getting the most from your data, this complimentary webinar is a great step in learning how to clearly communicate with people as they make better informed decisions in the hectic world of modern business.

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Grayscale versus Color—Visual Analytics Best Practices
and Rapid Graphs with Tableau 8

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Get it right in black and white.

 
–Maureen Stone
  Leading expert on effective
  use of color in information visualization

 

A recent review on Amazon commented about our change in the Tableau 8 book to using grayscale images versus the prior versions using color images.   This post summarizes our thoughts on grayscale versus color usage in charts and graphs as well as the rationale for changing the book.

Thanks for taking the time to review our book.  Also, thanks for highlighting the high quality and thoroughness of the content — we are passionate about helping people analyze their data, which motivated Stephen to approach Tableau in 2008 about writing the first book on the software.

While the past few versions were indeed in color, many people asked if we could lower the list price for the launch of the 8.0 edition. We also are surprised at the high price of printing in color, especially a time-sensitive book like this one about Tableau (the software updates every 14-18 months and most publishers take 4-6 months -AFTER- the author finishes to get the books to market).  Unlike most publishers (large or small), our books sold in the U.S. are printed in the U.S., so we can publish relatively quickly after release.

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