Office of Data and Analytics

​OpEx logoReady to get excellent?

As Charlotte keeps growing, so do its opportunities​ and challenges. That's where data comes in. It can help us understand the community we serve and reveal better ways to solve problems and make decisions. The OpEx Academy is a robust training program for City staff that can help you discover the value of data, what it means and how it can lead to collaborative and creative solutions.​ 

OpEx Academy launches fall classes

OpEx Academy is back with an exciting fall lineup! We will be offering several of our most popular classes, along with lots of new additions, including a full series of courses in Tableau and Open Lab times for you to build off of what you've already learned in previous OpEx courses.

Join us in learning how to leverage the City’s shared data resources, and put your data to work to find collaborative and creative solutions to some of our City’s most pressing challenges. Don’t see what you’re interested in here? Check back often – new classes will be offered in the spring! 

To register, please utilize your MySuccess account. Simply select OpEx Academy in the Subject Area of the course catalog to see all the offerings! Be sure to register early as class space is limited!​ 

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Fall 2019 courses​

​Date: September 6, 2019
Time: noon - 1 p.m.
Location: WebEx

Training for GIS enthusiasts of any skill level can be accessed on the Esri Academy. The City of Charlotte will supply learning plans to lay the foundation of geographic data assessment. Join this WebEx to learn about the GIS tools and trainings available to you through the City's Enterprise Advantage Program.

​Date: September 10, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - noon
Location: TLC A

Tableau is a Business Intelligence (BI) tool used to create dynamic data visualizations that provide powerful insights to business questions. With Tableau, users can quickly and efficiently create charts, graphs, and dashboards. In this introductory training, we will orient you to Tableau's user interface, show you how to connect to the City's shared data, and practice making basic charts and graphs. You'll also get a few tips for making visually-appealing data visualizations, tackle common Tableau challenges, and get connected to resources and tutorials to continue your Tableau learning journey.


 

​Dates: September 17, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - noon
Location: Charlotte Water

What have you been waiting for? It's time to migrate from Esri's ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro! With fast processing, enhanced 3D capabilitie, and a new, intuitive interface, ArcGIS Pro promises a wealth of potential for experienced GIS users. In this course, we'll walk you through setting up and personalizing ArcGIS Pro, importing an mxd document and updating it in ArcGIS Pro and creating new map layouts. With the skills learned in this course, you'll be ready to migrate your own projects and start using ArcGIS Pro…well, like a pro! 

Prerequisite: Participants should have a working knowledge of ArcMap and have ArcGIS Pro installed on their computer.​

​Date: September 19, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - noon
Location: Training Room B

Outputs/outcomes? Efficiency/effectiveness? Leading/lagging? The struggle is real, but help is here! In this course, participants will learn how to develop performance measures that are meaningful, aligned to strategy, implemented efficiently and focused on driving continuous improvement. With hands-on practice using real City examples, you'll return to work equipped to meet your goals and demonstrate success.


 

​Date: October 3, 2019
Time: 10 a.m. - noon
Location: TLC A

Tableau is a Business Intelligence (BI) tool used to create dynamic data visualizations that provide powerful insights to business questions. With Tableau, users can quickly and efficiently create charts, graphs, and dashboards. In this course, participants will learn how to connect to data and prepare it for analysis. Participants will begin with adding multiple datasets of varied sources and types, create joins and blends for improved data insights. They will then learn how to convert data types, work with date fields, and learn how to clean less than perfect data using Tableau's Data Interpreter feature. Participants will practice making their visualizations interactive by adding filters, hierarchies, dashboard actions, and tooltips. Finally, participants will explore and practice the options for creating well performing dashboards.

​Date: October 1, 2019
Time: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Location: WebEx

Got GIS questions? We've got answers! During this WebEx Lab session, instructors and participants will have an open Q&A session about all things GIS. If you're stuck on a project, need technical help, or just have general GIS questions, this lab is for you. Dial-in any time during the session. Registration is not required to participate. 

​Date: October 3, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Location: TLC A

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a standard language used to manipulate data in a relational database. In this intermediate course, participants will learn how to hook up tables and views and data using SQL join functions. Participants will also practice analyzing joins and their effects and wrangling data in SQL. With the skills learned in this course, you will be able to combine SQL data more confidently, reformat data into usable formats, and perform multi-step data operations. 

Prerequisite: Participants should be familiar with basic SQL syntax and statements (e.g., select, from, where, group by, having, order by) or have taken the Intro to SQL course.​

​Date: October 8, 2019
Time: 10 a.m. - noon 
Location: TLC A

Tableau is a Business Intelligence (BI) tool used to create dynamic data visualizations that provide powerful insights to business questions. With Tableau, users can quickly and efficiently create charts, graphs, and dashboards. In this course, participants will learn take the next step in learning how to work with their data. Participants will begin with an introduction to the basic syntax to create and use calculated fields within Tableau. They will learn the basic components, formatting and common applications for Date, String, Logic and Number calculations. The class will then move into Level of Detail (LOD) calculations (Include, Exclude, Fixed) instruction where participants will set the level of aggregation or granularity for a calculated field. Finally, participants will learn how to create a logical function using IF and CASE statements, allowing them to quickly determine if a certain condition is true or false.


 

Date: October 17, 2019
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: WebEx

Got Tableau questions? We’ve got answers! During this in-person Lab session, instructors and participants will have an open Q&A session about all things Tableau. If you’re stuck on a project, need technical help, or just have general Tableau questions, this Lab is for you. Drop-in any time during the session. Registration is not required to attend.

​Date: October 22, 2019
Time: 1-2:30 p.m.
Location: TLC A

Charlotte Explorer, Quality of Life Explorer, and the Open Data Portal:  Charlotte has some great shared data applications that can make your life easier. Think you know these applications? Think again...  This class will highlight the tools and show you some tips and tricks to maximize their use in your daily work. The Quality of Life Explorer is an application that can give you information on over 70 variables ranging from demographics to water usage at the Neighborhood Profile Area. Charlotte Explorer is a mapping application that will allow you to choose À la carte spatial data you want to display. Finally, the Open Data Portal is a tool that provides data to the public, stakeholders, and employees that want to build spatial applications in ArcGIS Online. In this class you learn how to access these tools, how to use them, how to contribute to them, and how to share your results.

​Date: October 22, 2019
Time: 10 a.m. - noon
Location: WebEx

In this course, participants will learn how to publish their Tableau workbooks and data sources to the Tableau Development server environment for sharing, editing (web authoring) and providing curated data sources for others to connect to and analyze. Participants will begin by connecting to the development server from Tableau Desktop. They will learn how to publish their workbooks and data to the server and gain an understanding of the many publishing options such as; extracts vs live connections, publish data separately or embedded, show or hide tabs, and the importance of tags and descriptions. The class will then explore the many ways to publish, curate, and access content on the server for web authoring. Web authoring does not require any paid licensing and is the best option for most users. It is ideal for data discovery and for those not requiring extensive customizations but rather modifications to existing content or creating new content as they explore the capabilities of Tableau. The participants will then take a deep dive into curating their data for the Tableau Data Server.

Prerequisite: Participants should have basic familiarity with the Tableau software or have taken the Tableau 101 course.


 

​Date: October 28, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: TLC A

Are you looking for an alternative way to create reports without the manual process of pulling information over and over? SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a set of tools that help you to create, deploy and manage reports, then deliver them on demand or automatically to the right users in the right ways at the right time – whether that be viewing them in a web browser, on their mobile device or as an email to their inbox. In this course, participants will be introduced to the basics of SSRS and the Report Designer environment, learn how to configure the tool, and practice building basic reports.

Prerequisites: Participants should be familiar with database concepts and basic SQL query syntax.​

​Date: October 30, 2019
Time: noon - 3 p.m.
Location: TLC A

Got shared data questions? We've got answers! During this in-person lab session, instructors and participants will have an open Q&A session about all things shared data. If you're stuck on a project, need technical help, or just have general shared data questions, this lab is for you. Drop in any time during the session. Registration is not required to attend. 

​Date: November 5, 2019
Time: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Location: Training Room A

Creating dynamic data visualizations that provide powerful insights to business questions is an important skill that can be a bit daunting at first. But that is about to change! This interactive workshop will outline best practices and proven design techniques for creating effective, actionable and compelling dashboards, designed to answer the questions being asked. Deploying the right visualization in the best way using only relevant data, along with design best practices ensures the user is able to quickly and simply get to the information they need. Students will team up in pairs to design dashboards relevant to their work and walk away with confidence and the tools to help them in their journey for optimal dashboard development.​

​Date: November 12, 2019
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: TLC B

Got SQL or SSRS questions? We've got answers! During this in-person lab session, instructors and participants will have an open Q&A session about all things SQL and SSRS. If you're stuck on a project, need technical help, or just have general SQL or SSRS questions, this lab is for you. Drop in any time during the session. Registration is not required to attend.