Published in Towards Data Science·PinnedMember-onlyData Unicorns Are Rare, So Hire These 3 People InsteadIf data engineers are like plumbers, what other skill sets do you need to build your data stack? — When thinking about building the data architecture at a company, one of the recurring questions that arise is: Who should you hire to build (and later maintain) your data architecture? Whether some people at the company are already related to data or not, I would argue that 3 main sets…Modern Data Stack6 min readModern Data Stack6 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·PinnedMember-onlyHow to Choose the Right Colors for Data VisualizationsThe power of color applied to decision making when creating impactful graphs — In essence, what is a graph made of? Shapes, lines and bars, probably. Some text elements, definitely. Figures, maybe. But most importantly: colors. Whether you choose a black and white design or a colorful one, the colors of any data visualization will have a non-negligible impact on the reader. A…Data Science5 min readData Science5 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·PinnedMember-only3 Simple Tricks to Better Structure Your SQL QueriesAnd a Hands-on Example to Apply Them Right Away — SQL stands for Structured Query Language. Unfortunately, this does not mean that you will come up naturally with a perfectly structured piece of code once you start programming in this computer language. As a Data Analyst, I keep applying myself three simple rules to better structure my SQL queries. They…Programming5 min readProgramming5 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·PinnedMember-onlyHow to Deal with NULL Values in Standard SQL1. Identify — 2. Understand — 3. Act — Who can claim to handle databases of impeccable quality and reliability every day? I personally cannot, and to be completely honest this is part of the reasons why I enjoy working as a data analyst. Even if data cleaning is rarely the best part in data science, it is nevertheless…Programming8 min readProgramming8 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Oct 21, 2022Member-onlyData Roadmapping: Should You Include That Topic or Leave It Out?A 4-step methodology to decide on the content of your data roadmap — When I first heard the word “roadmap” I pictured the members of any company’s management meeting in a highly secure room and deciding behind closed doors on the company’s future. Experience has shown me that building the roadmap is actually a much more open and complex process than that. Within…Data Strategy6 min readData Strategy6 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Oct 10, 2022Member-onlyNot Satisfied With Your Pie Chart? Try These AlternativesWhat to do when pie charts don’t seem to be the best way to visualize your data? — Pie charts are one of the most intuitive charts to use. They display the distribution of a variable between several characteristics in a compact manner. In practice I see many presentation decks from colleagues that use pie charts to display some critical data. …Data Visualization5 min readData Visualization5 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Sep 23, 2022Member-onlyWriting a Data Article Is Like Building a HouseMy recipe for building a solid data story — Do you know this feeling when you know deep inside that you want to talk about a technical topic but you don’t really know how to correctly treat it in an article? Finding the right angle to convey the right message can be tricky sometimes. Particularly when tackling technical topics…Writing8 min readWriting8 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Sep 9, 2022Member-onlyHow To Stay Up-to-Date in the Field of DataA 4-step method and concrete examples to apply right away — September often calls for new resolutions. Summer vacations are over, activity is picking up again. Why not use this time to set up new habits — or improve current ones — about staying up to date with the latest developments in the field of data science? When I started my…Data Science6 min readData Science6 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Aug 24, 2022Member-onlyCraze or Trend? Decoding the Role of an Analytics EngineerWhere does this new role fit into data teams? And why should you care about it? — For a few years now the term “analytics engineer” has been used in the field of data science to describe a new data role. For example in an article published in January 2021 Prukalpa Sankar mentions the emergence of new roles like analytics engineers. Is it to say that the…Data Science6 min readData Science6 min read
Published in Towards Data Science·Aug 9, 2022Member-onlyThe Easiest Way To Ingest Data Into BigQueryHow to use Google Sheets to directly load data into BigQuery — and why it is the best solution for certain use cases — When talking about data management at a company, what comes to mind first are keywords like “data architecture”, “data engineering pipelines”, “data quality checks”… in short, concepts around the structuration of data that flows across an organization. Indeed, all best practices regarding data management rely on the assumption that we…Data Integration6 min readData Integration6 min read
