Our Alteryx data pipeline

The Alteryx data pipeline we created was an example of downloading place information from an authenticated API and using this as a dataset to enrich internal data records.

The data sourcing step from Chapter 4, Sourcing the Data, used the Google Maps Places API. We wanted a place location dataset to identify places that could impact our business. Following a DataOps process, we needed to quickly create a dataset for this future analysis and make the dataset robust enough to be used for other applications later.

Once we had a raw dataset, we needed to transform the download into a format from which our users could extract value. The data we downloaded from the API was in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format. This format works for many applications, but performing analytic processes in Alteryx required transformation into a more common tabular form. We followed a five-step process using many tools common to various analytical techniques. The five steps...