Distribution in Tableau In the business world, you’ll hear averages get referenced all the time. “What’s the average number of admissions per day?” or “What’s the average profit per month?” or “How are we trending compared to our average?” Those are all fine – even vital – things to know. But they obscure insights hidden in the data. It assumes…
The Data pane contains a few fields that are not part of your data, two of which are Tableau Measure Names and Tableau Measure Values. The Measure Values field always appears at the bottom of the Tableau Measures area of the Data pane and contains all the measures of your data collected into one field. The Tableau Measure Names field always appears at…
After all your effort in learning how to analyze data and present it effectively in charts and dashboards, we are going to evolve our thinking even further by learning how to tell a story with data and analytics. Chip and Dan Heath in their classic book Made to Stick, said: “Statistics are rarely meaningful in and of themselves. Statistics will, and…
Combo and Dual Axis Tableau Charts present two different variables on the same graph. For example, sales and profits. These are different than one metric, like sales, with multiple dimensions or segments (i.e. Consumers, Enterprise, SMBs). Dual Axis Tableau Charts compare two different metrics, which often have different scales. If not presented correctly, they can lead to wrong data interpretation.…
Up to this point, we’ve mostly looked at how data can be segmented by some dimension or over time. However, looking at correlation in Tableau by looking between numbers, and how one metric affects another, is an extremely valuable skill in analytics. Correlation analysis in Tableau compares two or more quantitative variables to see if values in one vary systematically…
People love maps in Tableau. It’s true. They look cool and plotting data on top of them is even cooler, just check the World Corruption Map here. Open a copy of the New York Times on almost any given day and you’ll find a map graphic. Any time you have any data that is related to geography – zip codes,…
Tableau can quickly and easily add Tableau totals and Tableau subtotals to a table or chart. It enables you to show just Tableau totals, just Tableau subtotals, or both together. Additionally, you can specify which fields you want Tableau subtotals on, and at what level of aggregation (i.e. sum, avg, etc.). How to Find Tableau Subtotals and Tableau Grand Totals…
Tableau has a variety of built-in solutions for Tableau ranking values in a data set. For most simple sorts, simply use the sort icons at the top. For more advanced cases, we use either the Tableau Index or Tableau Rank Calculated Fields. This is our first foray into the world of Tableau calculations. Using the Tableau Rank Calculated Field In…
Today, we will go through the different ways you can connect data in Tableau: from simple Tableau data connections to Advanced Tableau data connections using extracts. Simple Tableau Data Connections and the Data Connection Interface Download the detailed and updated “Superstore” Excel file below. (You can use your own data for this as well!) Open Tableau. In Tableau, click the Connect to Data text…
Tableau Parameters are some of the most flexible, and frankly, most awesome features of Tableau. A Tableau parameter allows you or your end-user to change the content that appears in worksheets and dashboards. This can be something simple like a value or something much more advanced. Here we’ll cover several of the most commonly used examples of Tableau parameters. Pre-defined…