Fiscal Period Calculations in Tableau

For the most part it’s fairly easy to calculate fiscal periods in Tableau. Here is one approach that requires two parameters and two date functions. This approach allows us to create custom Fiscal Periods on the fly – which can be useful for building what-if scenarios or for working with data that trickles in over […]

Volcanoes, Airplanes and Quantifying Risk

On April 19th, 2010, IATA, the chief trade group representing airlines, issued a press release which states in part: “IATA criticized Europe’s unique methodology of closing airspace based on theoretical modeling of the ash cloud. ‘This means that governments have not taken their responsibility to make clear decisions based on facts …’ said [Giovanni] Bisignani […]

Why We Need Good Data

Recently, while working on input for a decision tree, I ran into a scenario that reminded me of the fact that we cannot improve a decision simply by applying a tool or technique. We also need good data.

Here is a hypothetical example: Let us assume we are a contractor who is evaluating a fixed bid […]