Having previously used Tableau, purely to build graphs, I thought that an application process created to show your data visualization skills would be a breeze. How wrong I was.

Tableau has a lot more to show than I originally thought, but none of it is difficult to learn.

After looking at the previous cohort’s dashboards, I realized how much I had yet to learn. And so I sat for hours, googling, reading through blog posts like this one, watching videos and thinking of ideas to implement what I had learned.

To list some of the techniques I learned by simply googling (and ideas you can include in your application dashboard):

• Filtering using graphs
• Using parameters (for selecting values using dropdown menus)
• Creating custom buttons for filtering or highlighting
• Producing graphs which change over time at the touch of a button
• Information buttons and more..

I then created a plan, on paper, of my initial dashboard (you can see the final version here Update GlobalWarmingVis | Tableau Public) and then brought it to life using my new found knowledge of Tableau.

My initial dashboard was very bare bones compared to its final version, and as I learned more from asking for feedback and learning new techniques, the better it became. From a blank page to the final dashboard, it took around 3 months, so don't worry about taking your time to perfect your work!

For your initial dashboard, try everything you can think of, see if it works, and make full use of the Data School team or anyone around you, to ask for feedback and learn, ready for the second part of the application process and beyond.

Once you reach the second stage, you will go through the same process for a given dataset, with approximately a week to complete it, so make sure to keep track of time. If I could give you a hint, it would be make sure to do your own research on the given topic. You never know what could differentiate you from another candidate.

Every person at the Data School has been through the same thing, so do not worry! If you have made it this far, you’re already doing amazing!