About this course: Leveraging the visualizations you created in the previous course, Visual Analytics with Tableau, you will create dashboards that help you identify the story within your data, and you will discover how to use Storypoints to create a powerful story to leave a lasting impression with your audience. You will balance the goals of your stakeholders with the needs of your end-users, and be able to structure and organize your story for maximum impact. Throughout the course you will apply more advanced functions within Tableau, such as hierarchies, actions and parameters to guide user interactions. For your final project, you will create a compelling narrative to be delivered in a meeting, as a static report, or in an interactive display online.
Who is this class for: This course is primarily aimed at individuals with some fundamental data visualization knowledge, who are familiar with Tableau, and want to increase their knowledge in explanatory analysis, applying key design principles and data storytelling. This is the fourth course in a series designed for the beginner who wants to gain experience in presenting data visually. It is also appropriate for those who can analyze data and want to gain more exposure to visualization design concepts.
Created by: University of California, Davis
Taught by: Govind Acharya, Principal Analyst
Budget and Institutional Analysis
Taught by: Hunter Whitney, Sr. Consultant, Author, Instructor
Design Strategy and Data Visualization
| Basic Info | Course 4 of 5 in the Data Visualization with Tableau Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 5-7 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Planning and Preproduction: Aligning your Audience, Stakeholders, and Data
Welcome to the first module of this course! In the following modules, you will learn and work with concepts, tips, and techniques to help you explore data, identify meaningful findings, and then explain them through the power of data visualization and storytelling. In this module, you will be able to determine the who, what, why, and how of the story and discover the importance of planning before you start. You will be able to interview your stakeholders and assess your audience to find the right story in the data. By the end of this module, you will be able to define what a story is and build a basic framework for presenting your story. Let's get started!
11 videos, 6 readings
- Video: Course Introduction
- Video: What is a Story?
- Reading: Save Workbooks to Tableau Public
- Video: Introduction to Planning and Preproduction for Visualizations
- Video: A Design Checklist of the Who, What, Why, and How
- Video: Start with Your Stakeholders
- Video: Addressing Your Audience and Their Context
- Video: Finding the Story
- Video: Prioritizing, Optimizing, and Designing the Data Story
- Reading: Journalistic Data Stories
- Video: Case Study - "The Tale of 100 Entrepreneurs" (Part 1)
- Video: Case Study - "The Tale of 100 Entrepreneurs" (Part 2)
- Video: Case Study - "The Tale of 100 Entrepreneurs" (Part 3)
- Reading: Additional Readings
- Discussion Prompt: The Who, What, Why, and How
- Reading: Project Brief
- Reading: Sylvia and Terrence Personas
- Reading: Sample - SuperStore Dataset
- Peer Review: Part 1: Create a Design Checklist
Graded: Module 1
WEEK 2
Key Metrics, Indicators, and Decision Triggers
Welcome to Module 2. In this module, you will identify the key metrics that will provide the answers to your business question. You will develop an understanding of the types of ways KPIs can be visualized. You will create calculated fields for KPIs to build a figure that will be used to measure progress in the data. By the end of this module, you should be able to set thresholds and create alerts to trigger a decision. We will also discuss the topic of quality and constraints of the data.
6 videos
- Video: Introduction to Key Metrics, Indicators, and Decision Triggers
- Video: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Video: Tableau Calculated Fields and KPIs
- Video: Creating Complex KPIs Using Tableau
- Video: Thresholds and Alerts
- Video: Data Quality
- Discussion Prompt: Part 2: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Graded: Module 2 Quiz
WEEK 3
Dashboard and Storytelling with Data
Welcome to Module 3. In this module, you will go from learning Tableau's six best practices for dashboard design. By the end of this module, you should be able to apply hierarchies, actions, filters, and parameters within Tableau. You will also review five videos associated with the topic and discover how to uncover the story in the data and be able to frame your story.
7 videos, 2 readings
- Reading: Pre-Reading: Tableau Whitepaper
- Video: Best Practices for Dashboard Design
- Video: Dashboard Design Principles 1, 2, & 3
- Video: Dashboard Design Principles 4, 5, & 6
- Video: Hierarchies, Actions, Filters, and Parameters (Parts 1 & 2)
- Video: Hierarchies, Actions, Filters, and Parameters (Part 3)
- Video: Hierarchies, Actions, Filters, and Parameters (Part 4)
- Video: Important Considerations for Creating Dashboards
- Reading: Recommended Readings
- Discussion Prompt: Part 3: Narrative Arc & the 3C's
Graded: Creating a Dashboard
Graded: Module 3
WEEK 4
Tell the Story of Your Data
Welcome to Module 4. Although this course focuses on Tableau, we will look at a wider range of examples and techniques to help you become a better data storyteller. By the end of this module, you should be able to leverage concepts and techniques designed to help you become a more focused and compelling storyteller with data as the foundation. We will discuss ways to avoid unintentionally creating false narratives with good data. You will also learn about what neuroscience research tells us about stories, audience engagement, and decision drivers. You will use structural story elements to help improve the relatability of the story and explore ways design and textual elements can affect the emotional tone of a story. Lastly, you will learn how to frame and format the data story based on your design checklist. Let's get started!
17 videos, 3 readings
- Reading: Pre-Reading: Tableau Whitepaper and Training Video
- Video: Tell the Story of Your Data Introduction
- Video: The Art of Storytelling (Past, Present, and Future)
- Video: Storytelling and the Human Brain
- Video: Bringing Data to Life: Emotions and Data Storytelling
- Reading: Examples of Emotions in Data Storytelling
- Video: Emotion Modulators: Color, Language, and Other Design Elements
- Video: Framing and Format
- Video: Framing, Conventions, and Priming
- Video: False Narratives and Data Storytelling
- Video: Telling the Stories within the Story (Part 1)
- Video: Telling the Stories within the Story (Part 2)
- Video: Story Considerations
- Video: Preparation of the Story Points
- Video: Setting Up the Story
- Video: Creating Points in the Story
- Video: Interactive Story
- Video: Create a Data Story in a Static Presentation
- Reading: Additional Readings
- Discussion Prompt: Single-Frame Visualization (Optional Activity)
- Video: Course Summary
- Discussion Prompt: Course Reflection
Graded: Part 4: Story Points Presentation
Graded: Module 4
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
University of California, Davis
UC Davis, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, is a global leader in agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, environmental and biological sciences, and technology. With four colleges and six professional schools, UC Davis and its students and alumni are known for their academic excellence, meaningful public service and profound international impact.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Very helpful, covering from theories to practice. Very much looking forward to attending the final module.
Very well taught and straigh to the points. Also liked to have different speakers throughout the module: it is refreshing. Thanks and keep it up !
My Favortie course so far in terms of content
Coursera provides universal access to the world’s best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online.
© 2017 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.
I think this course is worth the time and investment. Lectures give good information and working examples give you the right amount of practicing to create your own dashboards. The storytelling principles are informative and help you understand how to make and target presentations in a better way. I personally learned a lot and planning to apply the learning to all my future presentations.