For this project, you will be cleaning a data set (in Excel) using Tableau prep and then using the cleaned data set to create some visualizations and answer questions.
To complete this assignment, you will turn in your Tableau visualizations you create with the cleaned data set. Make sure to save your workbook at a .twbx file. The project is due on Monday, July 10th at 11:59 PM. No late projects will be accepted. Please read the case and the directions more closely, but you will:
1. Clean two data sets in Tableau Prep, using the step by step powerpoint instructions provided. (18 points).
2. Create at least two visualizations in Tableau (2 points). You will upload the Tableau workbook (.twbx) file with at least two visualizatios, and I will be able to tell if you cleaned the data by the quality of the visualizations you provide.
3. To earn 5 bonus points, please create at least 3 other visualizations, and then upload youre recommendations to management (either memo or create a story in your tableau workbook).
Data Analytics Case
NASCAR AND LEAN
Featuring Tableau Prep and Tableau
Version 2022.1
ETL Project
Part 1: Data Cleaning
Results Data
ETL
•Extract, Load, and Transform
•Data needs to be cleaned prior to use
Step 01
Input and view data
Begin a new flow
Click on “Connect to Data”.
Or: Click on this small arrow.
Begin a new flow
Click on the “+” next to
connections, and then click on
Microsoft Excel.
Import data from Excel
Double click on the files you need to
import.
Import data from Excel
Connections
Pane
Import data from Excel
Flow Pane
Import data from Excel
Input Pane
Step 02
Create a Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Click “+”sign and
select Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Create a Union
Step 03
Change data formats and remove null
data
Change data format
Change data format
Change data format
Change data format
Change data format
Create a calculated field
IFNULL Function
IFNULL FUNCTION
IFNULL FUNCTION
IFNULL FUNCTION
IFNULL FUNCTION
Document your Clean steps
Step 04
Correct Spelling Errors
Correct misspellings
Correct misspellings
Correct misspellings
Correct misspellings
Correct misspellings
Step 05
Create Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Calculated Field
Step 06
Create an Output File
Create an Output File
Create an Output File
Create an Output File
Create an Output File
Create an Output File
Data set has been cleaned!
For additional data analytics resources,
see AccountingIsAnalytics.com
Prepared by:
Jennifer Cainas
© 2022
Case
Study
NASCAR: Using a Lean Mindset
Jennifer Cainas, University of South Florida
Margaret Shackell, Ithaca College
Winning is what counts! We have to eliminate waste and work together as a team. Let’s
hear what these accountants have to say about the Lean Mindset and see if we can
apply it to our operations. I think if we do, we will win the Bill France Cup, or at least
the Harley J. Earl trophy.
BACKGROUND AND COMPANY DESCRIPTION
You are fresh out of your accounting degree at Close State University, and you are
working on your CMA certification. Your first job is in the finance department of
FrontRow Motorsports, a company involved in NASCAR. (See
https://www.nascar.com/racing-teams/hendrick-motorsports/). Your company
competes against 16 other NASCAR teams in the NASCAR Cup series (see NASCAR
teams in Exhibit 1). You join the team in the Controller’s office to discuss the recent
budgets and variance analysis. They are complaining about being on a losing streak
and how it affects sponsorship revenue.
You know very little about racing cars, but you were an A+ student in Cost
Accounting. You wonder if the principles of Lean manufacturing could apply to this
setting. Your “go big or go home” mentality springs to action, and you ask if the team
had ever considered using Lean principles to improve performance. They say, “No.
What do you mean?” You provide the following information on Lean:
LEAN MINDSET (TAKEN FROM GRASSO LEAN MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW ON
AAAHQ WEBSITE).
You begin with “Lean management is a non-zero-sum principle-based management
system focused on creating value for end-use customers and eliminating waste,
unevenness, and unreasonableness using the scientific method.” Then you continue
on with almost a college lecture, “So, Lean is principle-based, focused on creating
value for customers, systematically reducing waste from processes, and creating
cooperative, win-win results for stakeholders.
The two key principles on which Lean management is based are respect for people and
continuous improvement. Respect for people enables an atmosphere of cooperation
and trust, so that all employees can and will participate in continuous improvement.
Respect for customers is necessary for the customer focus and understanding the
value we do or can create for customers. Respect for suppliers and other business
partners allows improvement and waste elimination to extend beyond the boundaries
of the organization. Finally respect for people focuses on win-win solutions leaving all
parties better off. Continuous improvement (or kaizen) is achieved through controlled
experiments using the scientific method. This is different than haphazard ‘trial and
error.’ The trials are designed and controlled, and we learn from the failed trials.
In Gemba Academy’s Introduction to Lean video, they referred to lean as an
operational excellence strategy. It is certainly true that any organization adopting lean
management necessarily has operational excellence as a key feature of their strategy.
Lean thinking represents a different way of viewing the world. Pascal Dennis refers to
this as the lean mental model. System thinking is one way that the lean mental model
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differs from the conventional management mental model. Conventional management
thinking tries to isolate operations and performance and focus on the parts. Lean sees
the parts as components of a dependent system. The parts can only be understood in
the context of the whole system. Similarly, lean management is a system. Lean
principles, practices and tools are part of a whole system and they can only be truly
understood in the context of the entire system. Managers often bring their
conventional mindset to lean and consider one, or a few lean tools in isolation. The
result is often modest improvement that stalls out, and sometimes the result is
complete failure. Toyota management developed a house of lean production as an
image of the lean management system as a whole. Other lean adopters have followed
this practice, creating their own variations of Toyota’s lean house of production. Before
you can eliminate waste, you have to be able to recognize waste and see where it is
occurring. To help people see waste, Taichi Ohno identified and labeled seven types of
waste encountered in production. Other lean thinkers have added an eighth waste to
his list. The eight wastes are: Defects, Over Production, Waiting, Non-utilized Talent,
Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Extra Processing (DOWNTIME).” As you finish, the
whole team is staring at you.
ASSIGNMENT
You see a variety of reactions from around the table. You see the “What the heck – it’s
their first day!”, some “This is ridiculous. This kid clearly knows nothing about our
industry.” And some “Wow. What if we worked on this in our organization?”. The
latter won out, and your boss assigned you a project. They say “Take the data that we
have on some recent races and finishes and see if you can find where there is waste
3|Page
and unevenness. Compare our team to the other teams. Make some
recommendations.” You look aghast. “Why did I open my big mouth?” you ask
yourself. You take a deep breath, remember your favorite accounting professor and
her advice. “Start with your questions, then find the problems, consider alternatives,
and communicate your recommendations.” You head off to your new desk and fancy
computer with three monitors to do some analysis. Your boss wants this on their
desk by 8 a.m. next Friday. It’s going to be a busy two weeks!
NEXT STEPS
1.
To begin, you will need to download both the pit data files and the race results
data files for the 10 races in 2019 and will need to clean the data using Tableau
Prep. There are two step-by-step PowerPoints provided to show you how to do
this. (Worth 9 points each)
2. Once you have cleaned the data, you need to import your two output files into
Tableau and create some visualizations to help you gather some insights into
what’s going on. This is the part where you get to be creative! Please complete
at least two visualizations (2 points). You can receive an extra 5 bonus points if
you create an additional 3 visualizations and make a recommendation to
management based on your results. You can present this information in a
dashboard or story or upload your tableau file with a memo to management.
3. Some suggestions of visualizations you might want to create:
a. Average Finishing position by team, car number, car manufacturer and
driver
b. Average Finishing position by Team
4|Page
c. Stop Time by Team
d. Left Jack Time by Team, Right Jack Time by Team
e. Tires by Team
f. Total Time in Pit by Team
g. Whatever else you think might be relevant!
5|Page
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1 Nascar Teams 2019
Team
Beard Motorsports
Chip Ganassi Racing
Front Row Motorsports
Gaunt Brothers Racing
Germain Racing
Go Fas Racing
Hendrick Motorsports
Joe Gibbs Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing
Leavine Family Racing
6|Page
MBM Motorsports
Petty Ware Racing
Premium Motorsports
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Petty
Motorsports
Rick Ware Racing
Roush Fenway Racing
Spire Motorsports
StarCom Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing
Team Penske
Tommy Baldwin Racing
7|Page
Wood Brothers Racing
XCI Racing
CITATIONS
HTTPS://AAAHQ.ORG/EDUCATION/RESOURCES/LEAN-ACCOUNTING
MASKELL, BRIAN H., BRUCE BAGGALEY, LARRY GRASSO, (2004) PRACTICAL LEAN ACCOUNTING: A
PROVEN SYSTEM FOR MEASURING AND MANAGING THE LEAN ENTERPRISE, TAYLOR & FRANCIS.
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