Iron Viz User Group Event Recap

With the official 2021 Iron Viz Qualifier round underway, contenders and enthusiasts came together to talk about the upcoming 2021 Iron Viz competition during a live User Group event. We had the opportunity to hear from Tableau Ambassador and Iron Viz 2020 winner Christian Felix and Iron Quest founder and Zen Master Sarah Bartlett about their personal experiences and tips and tricks to help you succeed.

Sarah founded #IronQuest, a community-led monthly challenge inspired by the Iron Viz feeder competitions back in 2019 after earning a spot in the Iron Viz Europe finale. Sarah shared both the hurdles and lessons she learned along the way, covering topics such as building your own data set to understanding your why. She also reminded contenders that “You’re entering purely for you. Iron Viz is a great way to build connections with others, have fun, and challenge yourself. Take a chance. You never know what might happen.”

Christian discussed some of the biggest tips and tricks he learned from competing and winning the Iron Viz 2020 competition. He said, “one of the most important things you can do is spend time analyzing your data and thinking through what questions you need to ask of your data to produce the most meaningful impact.” He went on to share how to get started, tips for cleaning and shaping your data, some best practices in visual design, and much more. 

The meetup wrapped up with an Iron Viz Q&A session with the panelists. You can view the full recording here.

Whether you are a Tableau newbie or consider yourself an expert, take a chance and challenge yourself. Submit your joy-themed data vizzes before July 2, 2021 (11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time) to compete in IronViz 2021. Remember—win or learn, you can’t lose! Happy vizzing.

Referenced Resources & Content

Create a compelling Iron Viz Qualifier entry in ten steps by Joshua Smith
How to find the best sources for free, public data sets by Jacob Olsufka 
Reasons to enter Iron Viz 2021 by Sarah Bartlett
7 resources to kickstart your Iron Viz entry by Andy Cotgreave
Athens Tableau User Group Recording