Clearly and Simply

Week in, week out, Tableau

Week numbers with Tableau

The previous post discussed different methods of calculating week numbers and their effects on analysis and visualizations of data on a weekly basis. The post was focused on using Microsoft Excel.

However, the challenge caused by different week numbering methods is not restricted to Microsoft Excel. I guess every data analysis and visualization software faces this problem.

And so does my favorite: Tableau. There is no built-in way to switch between different week numbering methods in Tableau. But Tableau has the flexibility for an easy-to-use solution. This post provides all information of how to use ISO 8601 week numbers in Tableau, including a Tableau packaged workbook for free download.

Week in, week out, Microsoft Excel

Week numbers with Microsoft Excel

For analyzing and visualizing data on a timeline we are often consolidating the data on a monthly basis. Especially for monitoring and reporting, however, you need a higher level of detail, i.e. you will have to analyze and visualize your data by weeks.

Unlike the months of the year, the definition of a week is not fully standardized. There are different approaches of how to calculate the numbers of the weeks. The results of the data analysis and the according visualizations depend on the week numbering method you are using.

This post describes 3 different methods of numbering weeks and shows their impact on the resulting data visualization.