Eric Matt

The Clinical Analytics Accelerator course, led by Joshua Matlock - MHA, CPHQ, provides an excellent opportunity to delve into SQL (querying tables and building data extracts) and Tableau within the healthcare analytics realm. Through this course, I've gained the skills to efficiently navigate Tableau's interface and grasp the significance of data formatting for enhancing stakeholder engagement. With its intermediate complexity, the ESRD project has been a valuable learning experience, offering in-depth insights. Comprehensive courses like this are rare in the healthcare analytics domain, making this a top choice for those seeking a holistic understanding. This journey has boosted my confidence and deepened my connection with the diverse service lines I work with. I express sincere gratitude for this enriching course and eagerly anticipate future learning! Check out my Tableau Public profile for the ESRD Capstone Project, where we examined patients diagnosed with #endstagerenaldisease! https://lnkd.in/eT67eAmV Critiques and insights are welcomed! #sql #tableau #healthcare #healthcareinformatics #RHIA #CHDA #healthanalytics #dataextract #dashboards #datavisualization #qualityimprovement #performanceimprovement #PoweredByThinkific

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🤔 Have you ever seen an "*" in a Tableau Quick Filter?   🛸 I've only seen this on rare occasions in my years of using Tableau.   Last time, I forgot what the solution was.   Luckily, re-discovered it fairly quickly.   Somehow, I had placed ATTR(Dimension) in the Filters shelf rather than the Dimension itself.   That's all it was.   I probably Ctrl-dragged it there from a Mark label.   Regardless, it's a easy to miss and overlook the cause.   🔧 If you have this somewhere, go fix it!   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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What do we get wrong as data leaders? Predictability. Let me explain. When your business partners ask you how long it is going to take to build a dashboard, what do you say? Commonly, you'll hear a range (like 4-6 weeks). And, also commonly, something throws a wrench in this range and it has to be extended. What about when it comes to investment decisions? For how example, how much will this new data platform cost? We think it will cost $1 million, and then after implementation it was actually $1.75 million. Businesses (and business partners) crave predictability. Now the detractors will say "data is too complicated for this" or "it's impossible to forecast exactly how much investment we'll need." Guess what? I don't buy it. If large technology companies can forecast out their financials, and can set dates for product releases, why can't you? Predictability is a way that a data team will have greater credibility and more likely to be treated as another business team. The more that you can do this as a data leader, the greater success you will see. #data #dataculture

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👀 I've been looking into Data Stories in Tableau.   🪙 There is some definitely some useful functionality there.   However, in that process, I got the screen below.   Do you know what I thought?   "Where the heck is the More Options context menu?!"   I don't think I ever even read the "More Options" hint on the dropdown arrow (aka caret, aka "disclosure triangle", aka "menu indicator") on dashboard objects. Has that always been there?   Anyhow, I eventually figured it out.   And if you didn't know, now you do!   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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This week, I got my hands dirty writing serious SQL code for the first time and discovered (after spending several hours creating and deleting IDEA applications because the SQL code did not work) that columns' order matters in SQL. However, I naively thought that SQL would reorder the columns automatically like R and Python; I was wrong. As I was about to give up and ask friends for help, I decided to debug the code, one piece at a time until I discovered the culprit. Still, I could not understand what the error message (trying to convert varchar to numeric) meant. Nonetheless, I carefully began to compare the number of columns between sections and the order they were in and noticed that I had swapped a string column with a numeric column. Then I breathed a sigh of relief! I am determined to be proficient in SQL this year. What challenges have you faced in your data science journey? #LessonLearned #pydata #python #datascience #rstats

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🤔 Did you ever want to color by more than one dimension in Tableau?   🗓️ I used to either a calculated field that concatenated two dimensions or I used a Combined field.   🤯 However, you can actually put two Dimensions on Color!   😲 But you can't just drag it onto Color.   If you do, Tableau assumes you want to replace the existing color.   🖱️ You have to shift-drag it, or drag it to detail, then switch it to color by clicking the Marks attribute icon to the left of the pill.   The colors in the posted image are a little overwhelming.   Professionally, I've only used this with 2 binary dimensions.   It's up to you how far you go.   ⚖️ Use good judgment.   ❓ Do you use this approach? If so, how?   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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🪜𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 SAS: Level 1: Watching #SAS tutorials Level 2: Taking an interactive course with practice problems Level 3: Doing a guided project Level 4: Doing original projects Level 5: Cursing out your computer because you have no idea why your code isn’t working. Solution? ✅Break down your problem into smaller parts ✅Use #SAS forums and documentation for guidance ✅Keep a checklist for common issues ✅Consistent practice and seeking advice can make all the difference! #SASCertification #SASTips #SAS

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❓ Have you ever wanted nulls in Tableau histogram bins on the right?   The default is on the left.   In my use case, that didn't make sense.   I am showing the count of days of delay between two events.   So time increases to the right.   To me, it makes sense for the events that never completed (null) to appear on the far right - beyond the longest delay for something that actually happened, not before the earliest events.   One way to do this is to: ✔️Create a calculated field converting that null to a value greater than your biggest bin. Like: IFNULL([Days Delayed],99) ✔️Make that a discrete dimension ✔️Put it to the left of your bin pill so it sorts first ✔️Un-show headers ✔️Clean up formatting (like alias the null to "Never")   You can see the progression in the workbook link in the comments:   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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🤔 Did you notice that if you show worksheet tabs on Tableau Public Server (seemingly 1 or more), your workbooks are left-justified in your browser (in Chrome and Edge anyhow), whereas if you only show dashboards, it is center-justified?   This behavior is independent of the Show Sheets function behind the Settings gear, which allows you to see multiple tabs.   I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this left/center behavior.   What do you think?   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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🤔  How do you work in parallel in Tableau?   Answer: I don't really know.   I've had to do it in the past, and to be honest, I don't like it.   Here are some factors that made it easier: ✔ The work was on separate dashboards in the same workbook. ✔ There was only 1 shared worksheet between those dashboards.   When the changes to my partner's workbook were done, I just opened it, copied the dashboard, and pasted it into my workbook. (Thank you for the Copy function, @Tableau!)   One factor that made it more difficult was that we used the same data source.   Tableau will make a second copy of that data source upon the dashboard paste.   Sometimes Tableau automagically detects that that data source is the same upon copy, sometimes it doesn't, and I don't know the factors causing the difference.   If it doesn't, then you will have to replace data sources. (A second thank you for Replace Data Source, Tableau!)   So, here is where some upfront work could help.   The person whose work is being merged can either: ✔ Track every new calculation. ✔ Track every calculation that changes.   Or you can see where things break after the paste, by comparing the pasted workbook to the original and/or looking for red/error pills.   If you're really in a pickle, you can always look at the XML in the .twb's of both files in a code editor that has a comparison function - but "edit at your own risk" if changing XML. I'd advise just trying to *find* differences and then make the changes in the UI.   I realize this is not a comprehensive guide, but I hope it helps.   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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🤔 Did you know that Tableau has no native way to move a reference line to the background?   😲 This is a bit surprising to me.   🔎 Consider bullet charts. They are very popular.   If you want to label the bar, no matter where you put the label, the value *could* be overlapped by the reference line.   That is not good.   I went with the simple solution (which is actually not pictured here): ✔ Adjust line opacity to 50% ✔ Darken the font of the bar label   There are other hacks out there involving dual axis. Feel free to research.   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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🤔 Why would you hide a title in Tableau?   ☝️ My answer was: - multiple graphs of the same type (or related information) that share a title - a desire for more precise control of title spacing vs. graph, in which case a separate text box gives you greater control   Behold the second use case, which came from my Benchmarker dashboard.   The font is exactly the same size and the same width.   But because of default spacing, the text in the graph title wraps around. If I use a text box, it does not.   Now I *could* have trimmed Outer Padding of the graph, but maybe I want to keep that for the graph itself and not the title.   I could have made the font smaller, but I had other graphs vertically aligned all with the same font size.   Relatedly, I wish Tableau had native control of the minimum amount of space between the title and the graph. Sometimes it's significant and quite a bit more than I want - let me decide my standard for whitespace.   Anyhow, a separate text box for the title gave me the control I wanted.   😱 And all us in the #datafam are control freaks, aren't we?   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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Are you looking for a fully remote data analyst role? Be prepared for a potentially longer job search, particularly if this is your first role. Here’s why: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ You will likely encounter strong competition from more experienced data analysts. ↳ Everyone wants fully remote data roles. 2️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 ↳ Fully remote roles are becoming extremely limited ↳ Employers prefer some in-office presence 3️⃣𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↳ Many employers still prefer to hire locally because it’s easier. I recommend staying flexible in your job search while actively developing your skills to make you more competitive. Landing your first data analyst role is the hardest. It becomes easier as you advance your career. ♻ Repost to help others 🔔 Follow Banji Alo for more

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The best data analysts aren’t just great with numbers, they’re great with people. Understanding the needs, challenges, and goals of your team and business leaders is just as important as the metrics and reports you create. This happened to me this week when I presented opportunities for metrics I thought might be important and the business leader met me with: "I need to do these other metrics first". Slow down. Listen before making suggestion or proposals. It's not that they don't need the metrics you are proposing, it's that some of the others are more important today. What’s one skill outside of data you think every analyst should have?" #DataAndPeople #LeadershipInAnalytics #GrowthMindset

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You don't need a $50,000 degree to land an entry-level data analyst role. Don't put another hole in your purse. Professionals like you started with $0. Chris, Jonathan and Courtney were teachers before becoming successful data analysts. Annie was an Occupational Therapist before switching to data analytics. I have a background in public health. There are tons of successful professionals without formal data science degrees. You don't need to commit 50k and two hard years of university studies to land an entry-level data role. Instead: - Start with the free resources on the internet. Alex has a great YouTube channel. - Read Annie's book - How to Become a Data Analyst. It's great! - Use datasets in a domain that interests you (finance, insurance, health, etc) - Focus on learning one tool at a time (e.g. Excel) - Solve problems that interest you - Build 2-3 portfolio projects using Maven Analytics - Keep learning from other professionals - Matt, Ian, Megan, Andrew, Brian, Thais, Kelly, Avery, Elijah, and many more. You won't be an expert overnight, but you will be on your road to success with $0. ___ Looking for a simple guide? Get my free data starter guide - start.banjialo.com ♻ Repost and follow Banji for more actionable career advice.

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❓ Did you know that Tableau's character sort is case-insensitive?   ⚖️ That means that it treats capital letters and lowercase letters as the same.   👍 That's probably a good thing and a useful default.   😀 The (somewhat funny) problem that I ran into is that has my RDBMS (Teradata) has case-sensitive sorting.   📃Capital letters sort first, lower case letters later.   ❌ I was testing my dashboard with some queries against the source data and many of my metrics were off for the first row.   🔍 In the Teradata tool, the text fields were also being truncated for display as in the "Output" section of the image.   👁️ So initially, I couldn't see the sort disparity.   👍Once I saw it, I wrapped my ORDER BY with an UPPER(variable), which eased the comparison, and everything was fine.   📝 Sometimes it's the little things (assumptions) that cause problems.   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #data #datascience #analytics #VizoftheRay

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⚖️ Have you ever wanted to have mark sizes be consistent across worksheets.   ❌ But you're not snapping to those convenient 50% lines.   ❌ And you lack privileges to edit on server?   🔨 Well, this was covered briefly in Tableau Conference, and I made an example dashboard - showing sizing with a parameter.   🤔 But you say, "Hmm. I want consistent sizing but I want it by a measure across worksheets."   I have an example for that too. Link in comments.   Of course, you typically wouldn't display this parameter for the user to control, but who knows? There may be a use case for that!   🏗→🧠 Build to Learn!   💭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Follow for more.   #tableau #data #analytics #VizoftheRay

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