Practical Tableau: 100 Tips, Tutorials, and Strategies from a Tableau Zen Master

Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 4
Table of Contents......Page 7
Foreword......Page 17
This Book’s Purpose......Page 19
This Book’s Audience......Page 20
This Book’s Structure......Page 21
How to Contact Us......Page 22
Acknowledgments......Page 23
Part I. Fundamentals......Page 25
Tip #5: Follow the Community......Page 27
Tip #3: Read Up......Page 28
Tip #1: Tableau Public......Page 29
Which Tableau Product Is Best for Me?......Page 31
Tableau Reader......Page 32
Tableau Online......Page 33
Tableau Server......Page 34
An Introduction to Connecting to Data in Tableau......Page 35
Shaping Data for Use with Tableau......Page 41
Tableau Terminology......Page 45
View the Number of Records......Page 48
What Is a Measure?......Page 51
What Is a Dimension?......Page 52
Chapter 7. Discrete Versus Continuous......Page 55
Five Ways to Create a Bar Chart in Tableau......Page 59
An Introduction to Aggregation in Tableau......Page 61
How to Make a Line Graph in Tableau......Page 63
Independent Axes in Tableau......Page 65
Date Hierarchies in Tableau......Page 68
An Explanation of Level of Detail......Page 71
An Introduction to Encoding......Page 74
Label and Tooltip Marks Cards......Page 75
Dimension Filters in Tableau......Page 77
Measure Filters in Tableau......Page 81
More Options with Filters......Page 83
Macro Filters......Page 84
Why Use Calculated Fields?......Page 85
More on Aggregating Calculated Fields......Page 88
Chapter 13. An Introduction to Table Calculations......Page 93
An Introduction to Parameters in Tableau......Page 99
How to Create a Set in Tableau......Page 105
Five Ways to Use Tableau Sets......Page 107
An Introduction to Tableau Level of Detail Expressions......Page 113
Chapter 17. An Introduction to Dashboards and Distribution......Page 119
An Introduction to Dashboards in Tableau......Page 120
Packaged Workbooks......Page 124
Tableau Server/Tableau Online......Page 125
Part II. Chart Types......Page 127
Chapter 18. A Spreadsheet Is Not a Data Visualization......Page 129
A Spreadsheet Is Not a Data Visualization......Page 130
Are Text Tables or Crosstabs Ever the Best Choice?......Page 131
Chapter 19. How to Make a Highlight Table......Page 133
How to Make a Highlight Table in Tableau......Page 134
Chapter 20. How to Make a Heat Map......Page 137
How to Make a Heat Map in Tableau......Page 138
How to Make a Dual-Axis Combo Chart in Tableau......Page 143
Some Additional Thoughts......Page 146
How to Make a Scatter Plot in Tableau......Page 149
Chapter 23. How to Make a Tree Map......Page 153
How to Make a Tree Map in Tableau......Page 155
How to Make Sparklines in Tableau......Page 161
Final Considerations......Page 169
Chapter 25. How to Make Small Multiples......Page 171
How to Make Small Multiples in Tableau......Page 172
Final Considerations......Page 176
Chapter 26. How to Make Bullet Graphs......Page 177
How to Make Bullet Graphs in Tableau......Page 178
Chapter 27. How to Make a Stacked Area Chart......Page 185
How to Make a Histogram in Tableau......Page 193
Chapter 29. How to Make a Box-and-Whisker Plot......Page 199
How to Make a Box-and-Whisker Plot in Tableau......Page 201
Chapter 30. How to Make a Symbol Map with Mapbox Integration......Page 207
How to Make a Symbol Map in Tableau......Page 208
How to Add Mapbox Maps......Page 209
Chapter 31. How to Make a Filled Map......Page 211
How to Make Filled Maps in Tableau......Page 212
Chapter 32. How to Make a Dual-Axis Map......Page 215
How to Map Paths in Tableau......Page 219
Chapter 34. How to Map Anything in Tableau......Page 223
Building Custom Background Maps in Tableau......Page 225
Chapter 35. How to Make Custom Polygon Maps......Page 231
Chapter 36. How to Make a Gantt Chart......Page 235
Chapter 37. How to Make a Waterfall Chart......Page 241
How to Make Slope Graphs in Tableau......Page 247
How to Make Dual-Axis Slope Graphs in Tableau......Page 250
Chapter 39. How to Make Donut Charts......Page 255
How to Make Donut Charts in Tableau......Page 256
Chapter 40. How to Make Funnel Charts......Page 263
Option 1: The Step Dimension......Page 264
Option 2: Separate Measures......Page 267
Chapter 41. Introducing Pace Charts in Tableau......Page 271
How to Create a Pace Chart with a Linear Pace in Tableau......Page 273
How to Make a Pareto Chart in Tableau......Page 281
How to Make Control Charts in Tableau......Page 289
How to Make Bump Charts in Tableau......Page 295
How to Make Tableau Dumbbell Charts......Page 307
Chapter 46. How and Why to Make Customizable Jitter Plots......Page 311
Part III. Tips and Tricks......Page 317
Chapter 47. How to Create Icon-Based Navigation or Filters......Page 319
How to Make Icon-Based Navigation/Filters in Tableau......Page 320
Chapter 48. How to Make a What-If Analysis Using Parameters......Page 325
Alert 1: Date Settings......Page 331
Alert 2: Dynamic Labels......Page 333
Alert 3: Heat Map Dashboard with Optional Tableau Server Email......Page 334
Chapter 50. How to Add Instructions or Methodology Using Custom Shape Palettes......Page 337
Use a Maximum of 12 Dashboard Objects......Page 343
Improve User Experience by Leveraging Dashboard Actions......Page 344
Keep Crosstab Widths to a Maximum of Ten Columns......Page 345
Choose Five or Fewer Colors for Your Dashboards......Page 346
Stick Mostly to Lines and Bars......Page 347
Bring Your Data Visualization to Life Using Segmentation......Page 348
Include Alerts of Exceptional or Poor Performance......Page 350
Chapter 52. Three Alternative Approaches to Pie Charts in Tableau......Page 351
Tableau Pie Chart Alternative #1: Bar Chart......Page 352
Tableau Pie Chart Alternative #2: Stacked Bars or Areas......Page 353
Tableau Pie Chart Alternative #3: My Recommended Approach......Page 356
Chapter 53. How to Create and Compare Segments......Page 359
This Is Awesome; Please Tell Me Other Ways This Can Be Used!......Page 362
Chapter 54. Five Design Tips for Enhancing Your Tableau Visualizations......Page 367
Layout......Page 370
Details......Page 371
The Color Wheel: Where It All Begins......Page 373
The Psychology of Color......Page 375
Using Custom Color Palettes in Tableau......Page 376
A Primer on Tableau Dashboard Actions......Page 377
Tableau Dashboard Action #1: Use Every Sheet as a Filter......Page 379
Tableau Dashboard Action #2: Embed YouTube Videos in a Dashboard......Page 382
Tableau Dashboard Action #3: Do a Google Search or Google Image Search from a Dashboard......Page 385
How to Use Legends Per Measure......Page 389
How to Conditionally Format in Tableau Like Excel......Page 391
The Solution: A Calculated “Placeholder” Field......Page 394
Tip #1: Think Strategically About the Data You Absolutely Need......Page 397
Tip #2: Limit Filters; Use the “Apply” Button......Page 398
Tip #4: Boolean → Integer → Float → Date → Date Time → String......Page 399
Tip #5: Reduce Sheets, Dashboards, and Data Sources......Page 400
How to Use Tableau Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions to Create Benchmarks......Page 401
Chapter 60. Designing Device-Specific Dashboards......Page 407
What Is a Stoplight Index?......Page 415
How to Set Up a 100-Point Index......Page 416
Adding Color to a 100-Point Index Table......Page 420
What If Outperforming the Comparison Is Bad?......Page 423
Chapter 62. The Case for One-Dimensional Unit Charts......Page 427
How to Make One-Dimensional Unit Charts in Tableau......Page 430
How to Add a Reference Line to a Dimension......Page 433
How to Use Parameters to Select a Measure in Tableau......Page 439
How to Use Parameters to Select a Dimension in Tableau......Page 442
How to Dynamically Format Numbers in Tableau......Page 445
How to Change Date Aggregation Using Parameters......Page 451
Chapter 67. How to Equalize Year-Over-Year Dates......Page 455
How to Equalize Year-Over-Year Dates in Tableau......Page 457
How to Filter Out Partial Time Periods in Tableau......Page 461
How to Compare Any Date Range to the Previous Date Range on the Same Axis in Tableau......Page 465
Chapter 70. How to Compare Unequal Date Ranges on One Axis......Page 471
Chapter 71. How to Make a Cluster Analysis......Page 479
Chapter 72. Five Tips for Making Your Tableau Public Viz Go Viral......Page 483
Tip #3: Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO)......Page 484
Tip #4: Network......Page 486
Tip #5: Use Reddit......Page 487
Approach #1: Use Formatting Available in Tableau......Page 489
Approach #2: Use Axis Rulers to Add a Baseline......Page 497
Approach #3: Add Caps to Bars......Page 501
Approach #1: Use Formatting Available in Tableau......Page 507
Approach #2: Maximize the Data-Ink Ratio......Page 512
Approach #3: Leverage the Dual-Axis......Page 515
Chapter 75. Three Ways Psychological Schemas Can Improve Your Data Visualization......Page 519
Schema #1: Spatial Context......Page 520
Schema #2: Icons/Shapes/Symbols......Page 521
Schema #3: Color......Page 523
Part IV. Framework......Page 525
Chapter 76. Introducing the INSIGHT Framework for Data Visualization......Page 527
Chapter 77. Identify the Business Question......Page 531
Chapter 78. Name KPIs......Page 535
So How Do You Name the KPIs?......Page 536
Chapter 79. Shape the Data......Page 539
Joining and Aggregating Data......Page 540
Shaping Data for the Iron Viz Example......Page 541
Chapter 80. Initial Concept......Page 543
Creating an Initial Concept......Page 544
Chapter 81. Gather Feedback......Page 547
Chapter 82. Hone Dashboard......Page 549
Chapter 83. Tell the Story......Page 551
Part V. Storytelling......Page 555
Chapter 84. Introduction to Storytelling......Page 557
Chapter 85. A Data Visualization Competition—That’s Also an Analogy for the Data Visualization Process......Page 561
Chapter 86. Tip #1: Know Your Audience......Page 563
Chapter 87. Tip #2: Smooth the Excel Transition......Page 565
A Few Benefits of Leveraging Color in Your Data Visualization......Page 569
Customizing Your Use of Color Is Easy with Tableau......Page 570
Chapter 89. Tip #4: Keep It Simple......Page 575
Chapter 90. Tip #5: Use the Golden Ratio......Page 577
Chapter 91. Tip #6: Retell an Old Story......Page 579
Chapter 92. Tip #7: Don’t Neglect the Setup......Page 583
Chapter 93. Tip #8: Don’t Use Pie Charts......Page 585
Chapter 94. Tip #9: Provide Visual Context......Page 589
Chapter 95. Tip #10: Use Callout Numbers......Page 591
Chapter 96. Tip #11: Allow Discovery......Page 593
Chapter 97. Tip #12: Balance Data and Design......Page 597
Chapter 98. Tip #13: Eliminate Chartjunk (But Not Graphics)......Page 599
Chapter 99. Tip #14: Use Freeform Dashboard Design......Page 603
Chapter 100. Tip 15: Tell a Story......Page 607
Index......Page 609
Colophon......Page 624