Alter.Nation
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Alteryx often means different things to different people, depending on who they are and their professional and educational backgrounds. But a common emotion amongst those who persist with it is that of joy -that feeling of thrill and fulfillment when they solve a problem using Alteryx.
Seasoned data scientists as well as newcomers to the field of analytics/data science find Alteryx a joy to use simply because they get to focus their thought and emotion on the problem at hand, as opposed to writing code.
But is the journey of learning and solving problems with the tool linear for everyone? It wasn’t for me. I came into Alteryx from a non-technology background and was quite reluctant to give it a try. My initial days with the tool were daunting and I had moments where I conveniently avoided using it. Looking back, I was that person who thought in terms of Excel and would try and replicate it in Alteryx. But over time I found ways and mechanisms to try and use this tool so often, that I, like many other proponents, began to ask of any data problem I encountered - “Can I Alteryx that?”
While I continue to learn and grow my knowledge on Alteryx, one of the challenges I regularly face is - how to stay fresh and updated with the tool. Through this post, I would like to share some strategies that have worked for me and perhaps might help others too.
You Are Your Best Teacher
Necessity led me to learn Alteryx. A key Tableau project I was working on reached a point where it was evident that the use of Alteryx was the only way to move forward, but I resisted taking the plunge for as long as I could. Time and again, I went back to my comfort zone and used Excel/VBA until the project timelines closed in on me. In desperation, I reached out to a colleague of mine, who had achieved the same result with five simple steps in Alteryx whereas I had written a long VBA macro instead. I could no longer ignore the value of Alteryx and finally gave Alteryx Designer a go. Initially, I struggled to come up the learning curve, overwhelmed both by my lack of exposure and the nuances of the tool itself. I would often pester my colleagues to help me think about data and show me Alteryx's tool functionality breadth.
But those days of painful self-learning helped me build a solid foundation. Over time, I learned to keep an open mind, to experiment, to not be afraid of getting it wrong. Being my own teacher helped me learn at my own pace, and it is a strategy I continue to use even today.
Set an End Goal
If you are like me, when you are learning something new, the steep learning curve can seem intimidating. I remember encountering this especially with Alteryx Designer, which has so many widgets and so many ways of solving the same problem. What has often worked for me is defining a clear end goal and then breaking it down into smaller logical milestones.
When working on an assignment, I would seek as much clarity as I could on how the task would be useful to the organization, and what the anticipated end result would look like. Understanding the destination with complete clarity makes the journey of getting there a lot smoother.
Even after I was no longer a novice at using Alteryx, this strategy has come to my rescue many times. As I started tackling newer and more complicated problems through Alteryx, I consciously started developing the vision of that end goal each time.
For instance, for a novice Alteryx user, the first logical end goal could look something like – “I want to get Alteryx Core Certified.” So, what could be some logical milestones to get there?
- Go through Learning Path and Interactive Lessons in Alteryx Community’s Academy section
- Start solving the Community Weekly Challenges
- Understand the Skills Measured as part of the Alteryx Core exam
- Start practicing the tools covered in the exam by solving more problems
- Watch videos relevant to the Core exam in the Academy section
- Ask questions on the Designer Discussion board to solve your query, or attempt answering questions posted by others, if you are feeling the need for additional hands-on experience
Learn to Ask the Right Questions, so You Can Solve the Right Problems
A critical, yet often overlooked quality to being a good data analyst is having the ability to ask the right question(s). I personally start with the “whys” of a problem. Knowing the why often gives you the perspective of asking the right question to your customer/audience, and helps you get to the heart of the problem they are actually looking to solve. It helps you dig deeper and ask questions – why do we need this, is this the best way to achieve this, is this approach sustainable, how will this help with problems x,y,z, etc.
The context of “whys” in your work often helps you mentally define those logical milestones mentioned earlier. It helps you arrive at your problem-solving approach much faster. Over time, knowing the context of the problem combined with the knowledge of Alteryx use, makes your work more refined in terms of how quickly and efficiently you reach a solution. It becomes a kind of problem-solving intuition and tickles your creativity to become more effective with your solutions.
Intentionally Seek Opportunities to Use the Platform
Another way I continued to build my knowledge of the platform was by intentionally trying to solve problems using Alteryx. For instance, even when I was tempted to use Excel to perform an analysis, I forced myself to attempt it with Alteryx rather than performing piece-meal analyses in Excel.
It was initially harder and took more time as I learned the ropes, but it got easier as I restructured my brain through repetition and practice. To the point where every time I encountered a data problem, I started asking, “Can I Alteryx that?” And soon, it was easier and more natural and more efficient to use Alteryx.
Put Your Hand Up
Once you feel somewhat confident about your Alteryx abilities, I recommend putting your hand up for tasks that others are hesitant to pick up. Solving challenges using Alteryx brings a joy that is hard to put in words. If you come from a non-technology background as I did, Alteryx empowers you to take on challenges in ways you had never considered possible before.
Following is a personal experience that might illustrate the value of this strategy. I was working with a colleague on a project when our conversation went something like this:
Colleague: Hey! Do you know if Alteryx can read pdf documents?
Me: That's a good question! I don't know, maybe it can. Why?
Colleague: It would be nice if it could. We have these documents, the details of which we are being asked to type into an Excel file. I'd love to automate it if I can.
Me: Umm, can I explore and get back? No promises here.
Colleague: You'll be a hero if this works!
Me: Sure, give me a week’s time.
And so with a quiet but resolute confidence in Alteryx, I went about trying to crack this challenge - I spent a ton of time on the Alteryx Community over the next few days, while learning a bit of Python on the go, asking questions, trying out solutions, and eventually figuring out a way to bring in pdf data into Alteryx.
The delight on my colleague and other team members' faces after looking at the solution I built is a moment I will never forget. Ultimately, I was happy I had put my hand up and taken on the challenge.
As Master Shifu (from the movie KungFu Panda) puts it, "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than what you are now." This small incident and success taught me many little but significant things along the way, and I realized all it took was me putting my hand up.
Problem-solve for Others
One of the most effective ways to continue to update your skills is to problem-solve for others. For me, this has meant walking up to colleagues and offering to help them out of a sticky spot in their Alteryx workflow(s).
Another avenue is answering questions posed by other Alteryx users on the Alteryx Community. In just one month of posting solutions for other users on the Community platform, I learned more about Alteryx's functionalities than I would have in six months of trying to only work on my projects.
True to its motto, Alteryx does facilitate and fuel the thrill of problem-solving. And the Alteryx Community is a fantastic resource you can use for helping others while learning at the same time.
These six strategies are helping me stay connected with Alteryx’s tools and functionalities, challenging how quickly and efficiently I solve a problem, and continuing to inspire me to keep learning. Do any of these resonate with you? What has helped you stay fresh with your Alteryx skills? I invite you to add your strategies to my list.
