Viz for Social Good Member Feature: Alison Pitt
Viz for Social Good Spotlight Series
Recently, Alison Pitt became the 1000th follower of Viz For Social Good on twitter (you can follow us too, at https://twitter.com/vizfsg)
Alison is a recent convert to Viz For Social Good and recently took part in our project for Bridges to Prosperity. Our Marketing Lead Neil Richards (NR) sat down for a (virtual) chat with Alison, to ask her about her experiences with the project, how she undertakes a typical project, her journey in data visualisation, and even how she spent the very early part of her last birthday!
NR: How did you find out about Viz For Social Good?
AP: I’m not sure I can remember! I’ve been diving into the #datafam Tableau community on Twitter, trying to make new connections, and I’m certain that somebody I follow, or somebody mentioned Viz For Social Good. I wasn’t deliberately going out looking for the project. It must’ve been someone who entered the last one which convinced me to check it out.
NR: That’s good to know — you don’t always hear about these things directly from someone or an event … it’s a gradual thing via social media.
NR: So you’re a Tableau person, is that correct?
AP: I’m a late Tableau person. I just got my Tableau certification in September, but before that I was primarily an Excel person. I used Excel at work for a decade and a half. The reason I found Tableau is primarily because I’m job searching right now, and I was finding it difficult to articulate my skills in Excel in a way that was easily digestible by people looking at my resumé. One thing I noticed on job descriptions was familiarity with visualisation software, and Tableau was a common one. Then once I started working with the program and looking at what the community was like, it was sort of an obvious choice. Some of the things that people make with Tableau are just out of this world, so that was really appealing to me. I would like over time to learn more different types of dataviz software, but for me the one that I went for first was Tableau
NR: You’re preaching to the converted here! I’m a big fan of data viz first and Tableau second, and Tableau is for the most successful way of getting involved. There are all these community projects, of which Viz For Social Good is one. We started through Tableau, since Chloe, our founder, was a Tableau person as well, but we don’t feel that’s how it has to be. We do get the majority of people submit through Tableau because of the accessibility of Tableau and our project’s background, but I’m like you and am always wanting to visualise using different methods.
NR: I was going to ask how long you’ve been using Tableau for, but I guess not very long?
AP: I lost my job at the end of May, and it was in about June that I started using Tableau on a regular basis. I started off with Makeover Monday — I also tried Workout Wednesday but that’s a little harder — but using the nice small dataset and making a data visualisation off of that is a nice way to build up your skills. When Viz For Social Good came across my feed I was ready to step up from that to a dataset that was more applicable to me, that was active, and fitted more with my personality. I want to do something that actually is helping something and that furthers a conversation. I was primed for it!
NR: Very similar to myself. Viz For Social Good is usually a more substantial dataset with a little bit longer to work on it. You still have the same freedom you would have with Makeover Monday and things like that — but not always as clean a dataset! You presented your visualisation at our event for Bridges for Prosperity. I’m still amazed you’ve only been using Tableau for a couple of months because I assumed you would be much more experienced! We’ve started doing more of these opportunities to present back to the client. When I was participating more regularly (though I still do) a couple of years ago, that was a highlight for me, to get that additional experience. How did you find that event, what did you get from that?
AP: First of all, that totally made my day. It was on my birthday, and because I’m here on the West Coast, I was on that call at 6:45 in the morning which was kind of a crazy time. It was a tremendous amount of fun! Obviously I’m the kind of person who likes to do presentations, I like to talk to people about the work that I do, so having that opportunity to talk to people where the dataset came from was a huge opportunity. It was also a great way to connect with people and talk to people who are interested in the same thing that I’m interested in. It also gives me a chance to hone my skills, and something to show off! Basically everything was right about that presentation and I would 100% do it again — I can’t thank Viz For Social Good enough for giving me the opportunity to do that, and other people too.
NR: You mentioned you are without a role and job searching. What kind of role are you looking for?
AP: I would classify myself as an analyst — I know the definitions between analyst, engineer, developer are a bit squiffy! My background, way long ago, was as an engineer, and then more recently was in retail merchandising. I worked for Homebase (UK) doing their horticulture for years, which was all numerical analysis basically, and since I moved back to the States I’ve done some software stuff. It’s the analysis piece, where you are using data in the context of the business, where you generate business insights to make decisions — that’s the space that I sit in.
NR: That is essentially the space where Tableau sits in most organisations, so I really hope there are some great opportunities for you.
NR: What is your process for taking part in a project? In other words, what was your process for taking part in the Bridges to Prosperity project and submitting a viz?
AP: The first thing I did was to assess how much time I had and work out a schedule of when I was going to hit milestones, as I don’t have a huge amount of time. I had to be careful because I probably could have spent all month doing it because it’s something I really would enjoy sinking my teeth into! So I divided the project into four milestones that would make sense on the calendar and the first thing I did was to start playing around. I have a notebook …
… the way I tackle a brand new dataset is I literally write down as if I was trying to explain to somebody. I ask questions and then I answer them, to try to get at what questions I’m trying to answer in my visualisation, and what questions are more important. I start off with what questions we are trying to answer here before I launch into any kind of viz. Once I’ve got that idea out of the way I spend some time sketching. I have a notepad where I just start sketching things down, and try and lay out what exactly I’m going to put into it. If I don’t have a clear view of what I’m trying to do, I will spend for ever tinkering and trying things which is kind of a waste of time. Once I do that, I get it into Tableau and start mocking up the bits and pieces that I need. Once I have a mock up, I usually find someone to give me feedback — am I getting the point across that I want? Once I get a little bit of that feedback then I’ll refine the design, get another round of feedback, and then submit!
NR: That’s amazing. What you’re describing is probably what people who are a lot more established in doing this kind of thing would recommend — but are they organised enough to actually do it? I wish I could honestly say that’s how I have approached a four week project!
AP: That’s where my retail experience comes into it. The last couple of places I worked (in horticulture) — it’s highly seasonal with many cycles throughout the year. You have to plan ahead with ranges and the deadlines are pretty rigorous that you have to hit in order to get your stuff into stores. So I spent a decade getting it drilled into my head — if you have to hit this deadline, then plan it out and stick to it! When you have plants in a warehouse going over, it’s a really good motivator to keep on schedule — I have a lot of practice doing that and it’s something that’s innate in me at this point!
NR: So tell me something else about yourself!
AP: So I’m a big Star Trek fan and several years ago I fell into Star Trek podcasting almost by accident. I fell into a community and a thing that I like to do, and it’s almost taken on a life of its own at this point. I do a daily Star Trek news podcast that hits 4 channels, Youtube, a website, and newsletter, so you could say I’m pretty well immersed, I do that every day. When I started it was really an exercise in process management — how can I get this stuff out in the the most efficient way in a way that’s repeatable on a daily basis. I now have a guy who writes for me and I’m juggling — I did a radio show yesterday morning talking about Star Trek! It’s one of those things that’s got really big at this point.
NR: That’s great — I’m not a Star Trek person myself but I’d love to do a podcast. The fact that you can do one each day is amazing! You must have a pretty big reach across all of your channels
AP: Yes — where the Star Trek news and dataviz worlds intersect I’ve started doing a stats roundup (on my other YouTube channel!) where I’ve taken key stats from the show and I’ve thrown them into a basic dashboard and I talk about the data behind what I’m doing. I’m trying to get to a crossover point between the data side and broadcasting side — its an interesting place for me to sit in
NR: I’m always advocating taking the data you’re most interested in and visualising that — you’ll never tire of it. I may not know much about Star Trek but I have a whole load of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy data ready to visualise (edit: the conversation has inspired me to complete that visualisation which can be found here). That’s how I progressed my career — I was developing my portfolio, half through community projects such as Makeover Monday and Viz For Social Good, and half through personal projects just having fun with data I enjoyed, seeing what I could learn and how I could push the tool.
AP: Something I’ve found as I’ve been job searching is that among people who are not data people themselves, there’s a lot of misconception about what people’s skills are in the data space. People will say they want a data analyst but what they really want is a data architect, or an engineer. I would not consider myself a viz specialist — I can use it as a means to an end. I’m really happy with bar charts, line charts and scatter plots. It’s the analysis that does it for me. Data advocacy, data literacy, understanding the context — that’s the stuff that really gets my brain going. If I’m lucky I have enough skills outside of Tableau too to be able to visualise it.
NR: Thank you so much, and good luck with the next project and your job search — I hope that when things change our paths will cross less virtually!
AP: I just want to say a huge thank you — I really appreciate the fact that Viz For Social Good even exists. It’s a really great program, and being able to organise all the volunteers for projects like this is incredibly valuable. I can’t speak highly enough of it, I don’t know how to articulate how grateful I am for the program. It’s given me inspiration and focus at a time that’s difficult, thank you for welcoming me into the whole process of things.
NR: I agree — I’m only a small part of it and I feel like we’re going from strength to strength. The feedback we get from you and our community really makes it worth continuing, thank you once more.
