Is your client asking for something in a Tableau dashboard that doesn't make sense? Agreeing with them might seem easiest, but it's not always the best approach. You have the knowledge about the application, and giving in to impractical requests can cause future issues!
In this blog, I will provide advice on how to handle a difficult conversation, i.e., telling your client NO.
First, let's understand the why. Some of the reasons why people want to see a table or make Tableau like Excel is because they are resistant to change.
According to this Harvard Business Review article here, there 10 reasons why people are afraid of change.
They are afraid to have no control
There is uncertainty about new products
It's a surprise, they haven't had time to get used to the idea.
It seems completely different than what they are used to.
Maybe they associate the change with a negative past experience
They are concerned that they will not competent with the new tool
They are afraid the new way will create more work
They are afraid this new change will impact more than their current team
They resent having to change their current process. If it works why fix it mentality
Change is a threat to jobs, prices, their current work environment
As a developer, you need to educate your users on the why of using certain visualizations.
Here are some facts to help from this Information Lab article;
Your brain can process images faster than data in tables. We process them in just 13 milliseconds!
We process visualizations 600K faster than spreadsheets!
It's hard to obtain trends from a table of data quickly. You cannot use them for quick comparisons. Chances are you will need to create more advanced calculations (think statistical analysis), which is easier to visualize in a graph.
The beauty of Tableau is that you can uncover hidden patterns! You can identify trends or outliers just by placing the data in a scatter plot or putting the information in a line chart. You can also help your users with actionable insights from visualizations! You can also encourage them to interact with your data with the use of Tableau's Actions.
Tableau has a great article "Why Visual Analytics" here that can help you (and your client) understand the why visualizations work.
Next, let's understand when you should use Tables. I am not advising to never use them. They do have a purpose, one is when the client needs the raw data. Another reason is when your client has a need to validate the data for quality checks.
Finally Advice on Difficult Conversations
There are a lot of articles on this topic. Here is some advice from the Business Talent Group, summarized from their article here.
Identify what you would like out of the conversation. Ultimately you would love them to understand and agree. Right?
Allow them time to process the solution. You may need to give them some time to think through the information you are presenting them.
Ask your client specific questions. What is the value add of having X column in X view?
Practice active listening. What is that? Check out this article for tips! Basically ask your client open ended questions, acknowledging their concerns (not necessarily agreeing with them) and paraphrasing it back to them.
Don't take their feedback personally.
Work with them to find a solution. Tableau Ambassador Scott Eaton advised that you create the original ask and then create an alternative view. Also sell the value add of the enhanced view.
Unfortunately, be willing to walk away and scrap your idea.
This other article from Peg Recruiting and Staffing suggests that there are 4 D's to difficult conversations; Discover, Define, Discuss and Decide. Below is an excerpt from their article;
Discover: Understand the root cause of the issue (as best you can) before approaching the conversation.
Define: To ensure that you aren’t placing any unnecessary blame, address the problem clearly.
Discuss: A conversation involves more than one person so leave the dialogue open to hear and consider all perspectives.
Decide: In the end, you may not agree on the issue at hand, but it’s important that each of you agree on the resolution or at least the next steps to take.
Hopefully this information has empowered to have difficult conversations. Remember your expertise is valuable, and guiding your clients towards the best solutions is part of your role.
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