Introduction to Alteryx

What is Alteryx?

• Alteryx is a data transformation tool that can be easily used

to cleanse, summarize, or merge large data sets.
• It is designed with an easy-to-understand graphical interface
with drag-and-drop functions.
• It enables easily repeatable analysis.
• It works by combining basic filtering, formula,
summarization, and other transformation tools.

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Misconceptions

• Alteryx is NOT a panacea for every type of data transformation.

Excel is still fine for small, easy to manipulate data.
• Alteryx is not a visualization tool or a deep analytics tool (yet). It has
light capabilities in those areas, but in general is used more to enable
more focused technologies (like Tableau, python, or R).

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Why should I care as a PwC professional?

First Scenario How Alteryx Helps

Repeated changes to product mappings, Instead of recreating pivot tables or

adjustments from the client, and filters other manual work, with Alteryx you can
to apply to the data cause hours of extra quickly add or remove a tool, press play,
Rapid manual work recreating past analysis. and arrive at the new result without
Iteration hours of additional manual work.

Second Scenario How Alteryx Helps

Similar analyses (Price/Volume, With the ability to quickly adapt new

Margin/Sales Trending, Renewal Rates) data sources to existing analysis
Repeatable
are performed on each project, with only workflows, Alteryx enables you to scale
Analysis minor changes to the calculations. your single analysis across multiple
projects.

Third Scenario How Alteryx Helps

Offshore team or analyst provides With the visual workflow interface,

detailed work that is difficult to validate managers can easily view the calculation
Trackable and calculation changes are difficult to steps that led to current analysis results.
Calculations track over time.

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Interface Overview

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What is a Workflow?

Alteryx Workflow: A series of Alteryx tools that takes in an input and

produces some output.

Example: Simple Sort

Input Tool Output Tool

Sort Tool

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Workflow Building Environment

Run Workflow Tool Palette (drag tools from here to canvas)

Canvas

Configuration Window
Results Window
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Using Tools

To add a tool, drag and drop it from

the Tool Palette to the canvas.

To connect tools, drop one tool to the right of

another tool on the canvas. You can also
manually create connections by clicking on the
green output tab of one tool and dragging to
the input tab of another tool.

To delete connections or tools,

click the icon (or line, if it is a
connection) and press delete on
your keyboard.

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Common Tools

Select: Rename or remove fields

Formula: Create new data

Filter: Remove rows

Summarize: Group data

Join: Connect data

Sort: Re-order data

Browse: View results

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Important: Don’t forget document your Workflow

The two main ways to document your workflow are annotations and comments

Annotations add a small note to The comment tool allows you to add a
each tool (great for understanding text box on the canvas (great for
what’s happening in each tool). explaining groups of tools).

Location: Configuration panel Location: Documentation Tab

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Hands-On

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Let’s build a workflow!

Input Output
• Please download the • Excel file with sorted and
“Alteryx Training_Data summarized customer metrics
Final.xlsx” File
• Excel file with invoice
information
• 2 years of data
• Supporting customer information

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Step 1: Connecting to Data

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Add input files to the canvas • Alteryx supports multiple types
of data inputs through the input
1. Drag 3 of the input tools onto the canvas. tool, including SQL databases,
2. For each input tool, select one of the worksheets in Excel files, and text files
the training workbook in the “Connect to a File or • Alteryx will automatically
Database” dropdown. attempt to recognize field types,
but some may need to be
3. At this point, you should have 3 input tools, each manually identified with the
corresponding to one of the tabs in the workbook. select tool (e.g., parsing dates)

Canvas View

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Step 2: Cleansing Fields with the Formula Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Remove ‘ from the Customer ID field • The formula tool can perform
many standard data cleansing
1. Drag one select tool after each input file. Drop a functions (trimming
formula tool after the 2013 invoice data select tool. whitespace, replacing
2. In the formula tool for 2013, select Customer ID in characters, etc)
the output field dropdown. • The select tool can rename
fields, change field types, and
3. Go to the “Functions” tab and double-click the remove fields from the next
ReplaceChar function to add it to the expressions steps of processing (which can
box. Highlight “String”, then replace it with improve processing speed)
[Customer ID], then replace “y” with “’” and x with
“”.

Canvas View

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Step 3: Data Merging with the Union and Join Tools

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Combine the 2013 and 2014 data and add • The Union tool adds two
customer names from the customer mapping file similar data sets to one another
(e.g., adding 2014 data to 2013
1. Drag a Union tool (from the Join section of the data). Alteryx will union based
tool palette) onto the canvas after the input files on column names automatically
for 2013 and 2014 (after the formula tools and
select tool). Connect the output from the formula • The Join tool connects two
tool and select tool to the union tool. separate tables together to have
one table with additional detail
2. Use the Join tool to connect the output of the (e.g., adding additional product
Union tool with the Customer Mapping input. information to transactional
Click on the join tool, and select “Customer ID” in data)
the Left box as the field to join on.

Canvas View

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Step 4: Filtering Data with the Filter Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Filter out negative revenue • The Filter tool allows a user to
split a stream of data into two
1. Drag one filter tool onto the canvas. streams based on some input
2. Connect the output of the join to the input of the condition (e.g., removing
filter tool. returns from the list of invoices;
filtering out non-recurring
3. Drop another filter tool after the previous one near revenue lines)
the “T” output from the previous filter. In this
filter, select “Sales” in the dropdown, “>” in the
next dropdown, and type 0 in the text box. This
will remove all lines with zero or negative revenue.

Canvas View

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Step 5: Aggregating Data with the Summarize Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Sum sales and cost for each customer • The extremely useful
summarize tool groups data by
1. Drop a summary tool onto the canvas and connect selected categories and
it to the top of the filter tool. summarizes metrics across
2. In one summary tool, click on the Product those categories. An example
Category field, then at the bottom, open the “Add” would be calculating revenue by
dropdown and select “Group By.” customer, or average margin by
country.
3. In the tool, add a Group By Year, a Sum of Sales, a
Sum of Cost, and a Sum of Units.

Canvas View

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Step 6: Calculating New Fields with the Formula Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Create gross margin and gross profit fields • The more advanced multi-row
formula tool enables the user to
1. Drag a formula tool after the summarization tool. run calculations based on
2. In the tool, create a field called Gross Profit. different rows.
Change the type to “Double”. In the expression • For example, if each row has a
box at the bottom, under the variables tab, double year and revenue, the multi-
click [Sum_Sales]. Then double click [Sum_Cost]. row formula tool can look at the
Then add a subtraction sign to make the previous year (one row up) and
expression [Sum_Sales] – [Sum_Cost]. calculate revenue growth.

3. To calculate Gross Margin, repeat the same

process and use [Gross_Profit] / [Sum_Sales] as
the calculation.
Canvas View

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Step 7: The Sort Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Sort customers by total revenue • Multiple levels of sorting allow
you to easily order your data for
1. Drag a sort tool onto the canvas after the formula further analysis.
tool
• Top-N analysis (e.g., Top 10
2. In the configuration window of the sort tool, use Customers) is enabled by using
the drop down menus to select sort by sales the sort tool first, then selecting
descending. This will order all rows by the total the first N records.
revenue.

Canvas View

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Step 8: The Output Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Output our finalized data to Excel • Alteryx allows you to output
data in multiple formats,
1. Drag an output tool after the sort tool. including Excel, Tableau Data
2. In the output tool, click the dropdown in the Extracts, SQL connections, and
configuration menu to write to a file or database. text files
• In general, you can output to
3. Select .xlsx as an extension, and create a sheet multiple tabs in the same Excel
name (this will be the name of the Excel tab) file at once.
4. Press the green play button at the top of the screen
(under “Help” in the toolbar). The workflow
should run and create the newly summarized files.

Canvas View

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Mildly Advanced: The Transpose Tool

Hands-On Instructions Tool Details

Goal: Un-pivot crosstab file for Tableau/Alteryx use • Un-pivoting data is essential for
Tableau or later Alteryx use
1. Download the “Crosstab Example_input
file” • The transpose tool re-arranges
fields to put data in the flat file
2. Use the input tool to ingest the Crosstab_Example format that Tableau needs to
input file effectively display data

3. After the input, add a Transpose tool (from the

Transform tab)

4. In the configuration panel, select “BU / Region” as

the key field and keep all the monthly columns as
the data fields

5. Create
Canvas Viewan output file (or browse tool) and press
play to view the results

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Using Containers

• Tool containers are a type of tool that

allow you to group, enable, and disable
parts of your workflow if necessary
• To add one, navigate to the
“Documentation” tab in the Tool Palette,
and drop a Tool Container onto the
canvas. Then, drop a set of tools that you
Tool Container
may want to turn off in the future (e.g., a
testing process, or SQL output).
• To turn off a container, select the
container on the canvas, then look in the
configuration panel and select “Disable
Container”

Disabling a Container

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The Art of the Possible….
Prep and blend all of your data: Deliver deeper insights in hours, not weeks:
Connect to & cleanse data in a repeatable Output analytic results to all popular formats
workflow

Run predictive, spatial, and statistical

analytics:
Use the same intuitive interface without coding

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Excel vs Alteryx

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Key Concepts – Data Prep in Excel vs Alteryx

Task Excel Alteryx

Update data types, rename Format cells or change syntax, rename Use the Select Tool to easily change data
columns, remove columns, and column headers, delete columns or types, rename fields, remove fields or re-order
change column order. select and shift to move columns. fields
Use the Auto Field Tool to automatically
Format cells using the format cells menu
Change data types update the data types of your fields to match
or change syntax
the values contained in the field
Manually select the rows you’d like to
Use the Filter Tool to create simple or
Remove Rows delete or use a quick filter to remove
complex filters on your data rows.
what you don’t need
Highlight the columns and do a regular
Sort Use the Sort Tool to sort your data
or custom sort.
Use the Formula Tool to create new fields or
Write formula in cell and drag down to
Formulas update existing fields with a wide variety of
carry formula into more cells
formulas
Enter value into first cell then create
Formulas containing multiple rows
formula using the starting point and Use the Multi Row Formula Tool to utilize
of data
additional rows of data. Drag formula to more than one row of data in your formulas.
i.e. Cumulative Sum
applicable rows.
Apply formula to multiple columns
of data Create a table of your data and pivot on Use the Multi Field Formula Tool to execute a
i.e. Calculate the % each field the data single function on multiple fields
makes of the whole

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 Key Concepts – Data Parse, Blend and Transform in
Excel vs Alteryx

Task Excel Alteryx

Use the Text to Columns Tool to split a
Parse data Select columns and use the Text to Columns Wizard field with a regular format, such as, a csv.

Join two tables with a common Use the Join Tool to join two tables with a
Use VLOOKUP formula or wizard common field.
field
Use the Union Tool to combine multiple
Copy and paste contents of table so fields align
Append Rows worksheets based on the field names or
appropriately
maintaining the position of each column.
Use the Cross Tab Tool to pivot the
orientation of the data table so vertical data
Pivot Table Build a pivot table and mold data to desired shape
fields can be viewed on a horizontal axis
summarizing data where specified.
Use the Transpose Tool to pivot the
orientation of the data table. It transforms
Pivot Table Build a pivot table and mold data to desired shape
the data so you may view Horizontal data
fields on a vertical axis.
Use the Summarize Tool to aggregate
Aggregate and Sum data Write a sum formula or use the auto-sum symbol data perform operations, like sum or count,
on numeric fields.

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Formatting Outputs & Reporting

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Formatting Outputs and Reporting in Alteryx

 Select
 Output Data
 Summarize
 Table
 Charting
 Report Text
 Layout
 Report Header
 Render

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Select

Select which fields

will pass through
to final output.
Reposition, Resize,
Change Field
Types, Rename
and add
Descriptions as
needed.

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Output Data

Write data to a variety

of file types

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Summarize
Grouping, summing,
counting, spatial
object processing,
string concatenation,
and much more!

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Table

Create basic data

tables and pivot
tables from their
input data

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Charting
Visualize your data
via stock chart types.

A series is an
element of the chart.
Depending on the
chart type, multiple
series are supported.

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Report Text
Add text to reports and
documents. All of the
reporting tools provide
data driven reporting,
and the text tool allows
the user to add values
from input data and to
change the style of the
text.

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Layout
Enables the user to
arrange Reporting
Snippets. The tool can be
configured to organize
Snippets horizontally or
vertically, adjust the width
and height of layouts, add
borders and separators to
layouts and to configure
the alignment and width
and height for columns
and rows.

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Report Header
A macro that will
allow a user to
easily setup and put
a header onto the
report.

Assign Header to
Header position in
the Layout OR the
Render tool

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Render
The Render tool
transforms report
Snippets into
presentation-quality
reports in PDF, HTML,
XLSX, DOCX, PPTX,
RTF and Portfolio
Composer (*.pcxml)
formats

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