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 Thanks for your participation so far. If you would like to see the solution to last week's challenge, check it out HERE. This week we will be using the download tool to pull some public employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Once downloaded the data needs to parsed into the required format to prepare it for use.  I have also provided a snapshot of the input data if you have firewall issues accessing the data from the URL, you won't need it if you use the download tool.   If your results differ slightly in row content, the data may have changed at the URL…   Use Case:  The input data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/compaes.txt) needs to be downloaded and formatted for analytics.  The data set details employee statistics that are adjusted seasonally.   Objective: Download the data from the URL then parse it to match the output shown in the sample output. ... View more

The solution to last week's challenge can be found here!   This week's challenge was submitted by the illustrious @MarqueeCrew who came across this challenge at a Tableau User Group! Yes - the problem really was around beer and Pop-Tart pairings.   At a recent Tableau User Group, a poll was conducted using SurveyMonkey and the data was exported to an Excel workbook. Unfortunately, the data wasn't in a format that made it easy to work with in Tableau. Fortunately, an Alteryx user was there to prep the data on their behalf. Within the survey data, there are repeating groups of Pop-Tart, Beer and Score values. Yes, the TUG had samples of Pop-Tarts paired with the beers from Bell's Brewery. The task was to create a single column for each of these values, allowing for repeating the balance of the survey results. Can you Normalize the output data? For bonus play, can you analyze the data and provide insights from the sample data? The output should include: 1. Name of the fiber 2. The original spatial line object 3. The new spatial line object 4. New length of line   This is my vote for best pairing. ... View more

Aggregate Consumer Purchases: For this week’s exercise we will look at customer purchase behavior to decide if we should offer a “Meal Deal” that would add a side and drink to a purchase of pizza or a burger. The incoming data is larger than usual for these exercises so I have packaged the workflow as an Alteryx Package. The link to the solution for last challenge #7 is HERE.   This week’s Objective: In order to decide if we should start including a new "Meal Deal" on our menu we want to study the potential impact on recent transactions. Please identify the number and percentage of orders since July 1, 2013 which include the following categories of food: Pizza OR Burger along with a Side and Drink.   Summary of Data: Point of Sale data includes the ticket level information, and the lookup table categorizes items into higher level food categories.   Hint: Don't forget to join to the lookup table and filter by date.   As always we look forward to your feedback and suggestions!   UPDATE 01/18/2016: The solution has been uploaded.   UPDATE 12/28/2016: The challenge, text and solution have been updated. ... View more

Happy New Year, Community Members!   A big thank you to Erin Miller (@Erin)  for this special submission. Erin, you've contributed so many fantastic challenges throughout 2025, and it’s only fitting that Challenge #500 comes from you. We truly appreciate your creativity and dedication. Thank you again!   A solution to last week’s challenge can be found here.   It’s 2026: time for resolutions, fresh routines, and rethinking your media diet.   Your friend has been deep into true crime podcasts, so deep, in fact, that their spouse is starting to give them some serious side-eye. It’s clearly time for a change: something lighter, brighter, or just totally different.   Luckily, you’ve come across a daily dataset of Spotify’s Top 200 Podcast Episodes, complete with detailed show and episode info from the Spotify API. What better way to kick off the new year than with a chained analytic app to help your friend discover their next podcast obsession?   Your 2026 Podcast Discovery App – Let’s Build It!   Create a chained app experience where each selection refines the next. The app should include the following filters:   App 1 – Filter by Region App 2 – Filter by Language (Feeling a little extra? Let the user select multiple languages!) App 3 – Filter by Average Podcast Duration (Really feeling extra? Group durations into 15-minute intervals for a smooth user experience!)   After all filters have been applied, calculate the average show rank and identify the top-ranked episode for each show. The final result should include a summary of the selected filters and a table displaying the top 10 shows by average rank, along with the show description, average show duration, publisher, highest-ranked episode, and episode description.   Did you know that Alteryx has a podcast within the Alteryx Community? Check out the Alter Everything Podcast here: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alter-Everything-Podcast/Alter-Everything-Podcast-Episode-Guide/ba-p/450065    Once you have completed your challenge, include your solution file and a screenshot of your workflow as attachments to your comment.   Good Luck! The Academy Team   Source: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/daniilmiheev/top-spotify-podcasts-daily-updated    Download Start File ... View more

Hi Community members,   A solution to last week’s challenge can be found here.   This challenge was submitted by Ashley Talay, @aatalai. Thank you, Ash, for this delightful seasonal puzzle!   As the snow begins to fall and the year comes to a cozy close, it’s the perfect time for a bit of holiday fun. While the Elf on the Shelf is busy reporting back to Santa, another mischievous character has gone missing...   Waldo (or Wally, depending on where you’re celebrating) has snuck off for a little hide-and-seek adventure. Guess where? Inside an Excel folder, of all places!   He's somewhere deep within the "Places" directory, but he’s layered himself under folders, subfolders, and buried sheets, a classic Waldo move. We don’t know: Which folder he's in, Which subfolder he chose, What file he’s hiding in, Or even which sheet he’s nestled on.   Your mission (should you choose to accept it under the twinkling lights of December): Find Waldo!   Dig through the maze of folders and spreadsheets, and tell us exactly where he is hiding: Folder Subfolder File name Sheet name   If you feel it’s time to showcase your macros skills, you can level up and dive even deeper.   Once you have completed your challenge, include your solution file and a screenshot of your workflow as attachments to your comment.   Good Luck! The Academy Team   Download Start File   Places Zip File   Download Solution File   ... View more