Why Tableau Prefers Tidy Data

What does the renowned Russian author of War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy, have to do with “tidy data”? How about trade along the ancient Silk Road? Watch this fascinating video on The Sensemaker’s Video Podcast and find out.

In this, the third in the “Mental Models” series, Action founder, Keith Helfrich is joined by fellow Actionauts, Jonathan Drummey and Robert Rouse. The three of them discuss the concept of tidy data in Tableau and why is it so important.

Keith makes a compelling case for the idea that “tidy” isn’t just about “cleanliness” of data; it is actually a format, a standardized structure, that is critical to the process of extracting meaning from data.

See the other videos in the “Mental Models” series:

• TSVP: Mental Models: Series Introduction
• TSVP: Mental Model: The Tableau Query Process