Adolfo Hernandez on creating a business dashboard with #MakeoverMonday data

Get to know your fellow Tableau Public authors with Behind the Viz, a blog series where we explore the people and processes behind our featured vizzes.

Introducing Adolfo Hernandez! Adolfo has worked in the manufacturing sector for more than fifteen years. He’s currently a Compliance Auditor for CSA Group, a Candian company that develops safety standards for products around the world. Adolfo’s job requires that he visit manufacturing sites around Mexico to verify products are being made and tested in compliance with his company’s standards. But that’s just his “day job”—by night, Adolfo works as a freelance Data Analyst helping his clients to, in his own words, “turn information into action.”

Virtual challenges and other community-led projects allow participants to get creative and try something new! You might try an out-of-the-box chart type or data visualization technique that you may not see in a business setting but can help inform your processes and help you learn how to navigate Tableau. For his recent #MakeoverMonday submission, Adolfo decided to visualize the data in a business-style dashboard. Read on to learn about his process for creating this #VOTD.

Let's take a look behind the viz!

How long have you been using Tableau Public?

I’ve been using Tableau Public for 3 years now. While looking for a new data analytics class to take, I came across Kirill Eremenko’s course on Udemy, “Tableau 9 for Data Science.” I was instantly hooked. After completing the course, I searched for ways to continue improving my Tableau skills. That’s when I found the #MakeoverMonday challenge and decided to participate.

Why did you choose to create a dashboard for this week’s challenge?

The subject for this week’s #MakeoverMonday challenge was to visualize donations to political parties in the UK. As a citizen, I'd like to know where political parties are getting their money from. However, I didn't want to influence users with any of my own preconceived ideas so I opted to give them the power to explore the data by themselves.

#MakeoverMonday leaders Eva and Andy always recommend that you check out the original visualization to see what you like and don't like about the viz and then use that as a baseline for your makeover. The original visualization from The Electoral Commission had an exploratory purpose that I liked, allowing the user to look for insights by using filters. However, I didn't like that they only used two vizzes. Additionally, there was a long table that made it difficult for users to see the whole picture.

I decided to follow the same idea of a dashboard with several interactive elements but kept it within the screen size to avoid the scrolling effect. I added some summary KPIs and detail info cards for each party. I wanted to allow the user to make comparisons between the parties and make their own conclusions. I stuck to classic charts, bars and lines since they are easy to understand.

What was the hardest decision you made when creating this viz?

As is the case with most of the dashboards I create, I had to decide how much detail to give to the user. The dataset was very complex so it took me a while to decide which information to highlight. I decided to focus on the source of the donations and the reason why companies or individuals were donating. I felt that if I were the final user, this data would be the most important to me.

What is your favorite new Tableau trick? How can others use it?

In this particular dashboard, I used filter actions. I find them to be very powerful, allowing the end-user to explore the data from various points of view or angles.

What is the best music to listen to while vizzing?

If I'm stressed out because something is not going according to plan, I need music that will help me focus, like jazz (usually Davis or Coltrane). If everything is going well, and I'm just giving a project the final touches, then bring on the rock! Rage Against The Machine is energizing!

Adolfo has published over 100 vizzes on Tableau Public, many of which are business-style dashboards. Want to stay up-to-date with his latest work? Follow Adolfo on Tableau Public!