7.1 Introduction and Installation



To perform the Data Understanding Phase (a.k.a. exploratory data analysis [EDA]), you need some level of skill with basic statistics and data visualization. In this book, I assume you have at least a beginner-level understanding of statistics—although I'll give you a reminder of the most relevant details. You might have some experience with data visualization in Microsoft Excel or similar, but you should also learn some higher-end tools. Therefore, this chapter will help you get started with Tableau, a modern, popular visualization tool.

Tableau Desktop has many more advanced features for data visualization as well as limited support (relative to other tools) for basic statistics. It also has its own scripting language to build your own metrics. The image at the top of this page is a screenshot of a dashboard created in Tableau (click the image link to see the live version).

Tableau Prep is another popular Tableau product that you might appreciate after learning Tableau Desktop. It offers advanced data cleaning and integration features. In this book, we will use Azure ML Studio to create a machine learning pipeline for data preparation, so we will skip Tableau Prep for brevity.

Let's start by getting you a free copy of Tableau. There are two good options.

Second, your instructor may opt to have students use Tableau Desktop Public Edition (Tableau Public). Tableau Public has only limited database connectivity options. That is okay for this book because we will rely primarily on CSV and Excel files for the remainder of assignments and in-text tutorials. The advantage of Tableau Public is that it is free forever. While Tableau Public is perfect for learning environments like this course, it cannot be used for commercial purposes. Although the videos in this book are not based on Tableau Public, it is close enough to Tableau Desktop that it will be relatively straightforward to translate between versions.

Option 1: Instructor Requests a Classroom License for Tableau Desktop

First, your instructor can request a classroom license for the full version of Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep for each student. This will allow students to connect to high-end relational database management systems and publish to the Tableau Cloud/Server if desired. For example, if you want to connect to a SQL Server database, you'll need Tableau Desktop. This version will be free to use either (a) for the duration of the course if students want to use Tableau on their own devices, or (b) for one year if students will be using Tableau on university lab machines. Instructors can indicate which type of license they prefer.

It may be useful to know that each of the videos in this book is based on this full version of Tableau Desktop. If this is the option your instructor prefers, then they should complete the form found at: https://www.tableau.com/academic/teaching.

Option 2: Tableau Desktop Public Edition

  1. Go to the following URL: http://www.tableau.com/academic/students.

  2. Select the [Get Tableau for Free] link.

  3. Fill out and submit the form.

  4. The installation file will download immediately. Run and install the application.

  5. Open Tableau to make sure that the installation completed successfully.

If you have any issues, then follow along with this video to see how I get my account:

  • [00:00] Introduction to Tableau and obtaining options.

  • [01:00] Overview of Tableau Desktop Public Edition.

  • [02:03] Installation guide for Mac and Windows.

  • [02:50] Learning series and assignment guidance.

  • [04:25] Additional resources and exploration tips.

By the way, Microsoft offers a strong competitor to Tableau: Power BI. Power BI has some cool capabilities as well and is gaining popularity. However, for our purposes, either of these tools will suffice. There are many other popular cloud-based alternatives that do not require any installation, like Domo and Sisense.

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