Resposta de referência
I have hands-on experience with several popular data visualization tools, primarily Looker, Tableau, and Metabase. I'm proficient in building dashboards and reports within these platforms, but my primary focus as an Analytics Engineer isn't necessarily creating the final visualizations myself. Instead, I see my role as enabling the data analysts to build those visualizations efficiently and confidently by providing them with perfectly structured and trustworthy data.
My work with data analysts is very collaborative. When a new analytical request comes in, usually for a dashboard or a specific report, I immediately engage with the analyst to understand their exact needs. We'll discuss the key metrics, dimensions, and filters they require. For example, if an analyst needs to build a sales performance dashboard, I'll ask them to mock up what they envision, even if it's just a sketch on a whiteboard. I'll then translate those visual requirements into the underlying data model. I'll ask questions like: "Do you need daily, weekly, or monthly granularity?" "What customer segments are important?" "How do you want to define 'new customer' versus 'returning customer'?"
Once I've gathered the requirements, I design and build the necessary dbt models. This often means creating new fact and dim tables, or refining existing ones, to expose the data in a clean, denormalized, and query-friendly format. For instance, if the analyst needs to slice sales data by product category, customer region, and marketing channel, I ensure that my fact_sales model includes foreign keys to dim_product, dim_customer_geo, and dim_marketing_channel and that these dimension tables contain all the necessary attributes. I prioritize creating models that minimize the need for complex joins or calculations within the visualization tool itself, making it easier and faster for the analyst to build their reports.
After the dbt models are ready, I use dbt exposures to define the data products that are consumed by the visualization tool. In Looker, for example, I'd define a LookML view on top of my dbt model, adding appropriate dimensions and measures. This ensures consistency in metric definitions across all dashboards. I also provide clear documentation within dbt and directly to the analysts about the data model, including column definitions, data sources, and any specific business logic applied. I'm always available to support analysts if they encounter issues with the data, helping them troubleshoot queries or understand discrepancies. Essentially, I empower them to be self-sufficient and efficient by providing a robust, well-defined data layer, freeing them to focus on generating insights rather than wrangling data.