When I was preparing for the final Data School interview, I knew I would face a tough challenge. Part of the interview process involved building a Tableau dashboard with a new dataset. The task was both exciting and nerve wracking, especially since I wasn’t an expert in Tableau. I used Tableau for a maximum of 10 days so far and had little knowledge. Therefore I knew I couldn’t create the most stunning dashboard with an advanced analysis or deliver the craziest Tableau tricks within the 10 days I was given before my interview day. Nevertheless I was motivated to try my best. This doesn't mean that I spend my time brushing up on my Tableau skills or browsing the internet for beautiful dashboard inspiration. I decided to focus on something that could make me stand out from the crowd: Storytelling.
Why Storytelling Became My Secret Weapon
I knew that, while technical skills and design aesthetics are important, every dashboard needs to serve a purpose: to tell a story with data. Storytelling would allow me to present the data in a engaging and impactful way. My goal was to make the dashboard user feel inspired to take action or at least remember my dashboard.
Crafting the Story: My Approach
The Information Lab's slogan is "Helping people make sense of data" and I had a lot of data. It was data about every Nobel Prize Laureate in history, meaning from 1901-2023 with around 1000 people including demographic information. A quick look reveals that mostly men achieve Nobel Prizes, especially in the Science categories. Naturally you would want to make an analysis about gender distribution across demographics and categories. Key message would be that men dominate most of the time. -The End-
Was this interesting for you? When I saw some dashboards online focusing about this type of analysis, I thought: "So what? What do I do with that information? Does this mean women are less capable then man?"
Feeling concerned about the recurring story about gender, I decided to tell a different story. A story about why few women achieve the the Nobel Prize, not because they are inferior to men, and what we can do to change this.
Are you curious now? You can check out my final dashboard on Tableau Public.
In part two I will tell you how I planned my analysis and design to emphasize my story.