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

If you’re just getting started with Tableau software—or already know the basics—this practical book will take you to the next level for building compelling, interactive data visualization applications. Author Ryan Sleeper is one of the most qualified Tableau consultants in the world, having earned the titles of Tableau Zen Master (2016/17), Tableau Iron Viz Champion (2013), and author of the Tableau Public Visualization of the Year (2015). Practical Tableau takes you beyond web posts and videos to give you a firm understanding in Tableau for finding valuable insights in data.

You’ll start with the fundamentals—either to learn them for the first time or to brush up on key concepts—and then dive into a strategic framework for data visualization and storytelling techniques. You’ll also learn valuable tips and tricks created by the author.

Practical Tableau is organized into five sections:

• Fundamentals: get started using Tableau from scratch
• Framework: explore the INSIGHT framework, a proprietary process for building Tableau dashboards
• Storytelling: learn tangible tactics for storytelling with data
• Chart Types: use step-by-step tutorials to build a variety of charts in Tableau
• Tips & Tricks: learn innovative uses of parameters, color theory, making your Tableau workbooks run efficiently, and more

Table of Contents

I. Fundamentals
1. How to Learn Tableau: My Top Five Tips
2. Which Tableau Product Is Best for Me?
3. An Introduction to Connecting to Data
4. Shaping Data for Use with Tableau
5. Getting a Lay of the Land
6. Dimension Versus Measure
7. Discrete Versus Continuous
8. Five Ways to Make a Bar Chart/An Introduction to Aggregation
9. Line Graphs, Independent Axes, and Date Hierarchies
10. Marks Cards, Encoding, and Level of Detail
11. An Introduction to Filters
12. An Introduction to Calculated Fields
13. An Introduction to Table Calculations
14. An Introduction to Parameters
15. An Introduction to Sets
16. An Introduction to Level of Detail Expressions
17. An Introduction to Dashboards and Distribution

II. Chart Types
18. A Spreadsheet Is Not a Data Visualization
19. How to Make a Highlight Table
20. How to Make a Heat Map
21. How to Make a Dual-Axis Combination Chart
22. How to Make a Scatter Plot
23. How to Make a Tree Map
24. How to Make Sparklines
25. How to Make Small Multiples
26. How to Make Bullet Graphs
27. How to Make a Stacked Area Chart
28. How to Make a Histogram
29. How to Make a Box-and-Whisker Plot
30. How to Make a Symbol Map with Mapbox Integration
31. How to Make a Filled Map
32. How to Make a Dual-Axis Map
33. How to Map a Sequential Path
34. How to Map Anything in Tableau
35. How to Make Custom Polygon Maps
36. How to Make a Gantt Chart
37. How to Make a Waterfall Chart
38. How to Make Dual-Axis Slope Graphs
39. How to Make Donut Charts
40. How to Make Funnel Charts
41. Introducing Pace Charts in Tableau
42. How to Make a Pareto Chart
43. How to Make a Control Chart
44. How to Make Dynamic Dual-Axis Bump Charts
45. How to Make Dumbbell Charts
46. How and Why to Make Customizable Jitter Plots

III. Tips and Tricks
47. How to Create Icon-Based Navigation or Filters
48. How to Make a What-If Analysis Using Parameters
49. Three Ways to Add Alerts to Your Dashboards
50. How to Add Instructions or Methodology Using Custom Shape Palettes
51. Ten Tableau Data Visualization Tips I Learned from Google Analytics
52. Three Alternative Approaches to Pie Charts in Tableau
53. How to Create and Compare Segments
54. Five Design Tips for Enhancing Your Tableau Visualizations
55. Leveraging Color to Improve Your Data Visualization
56. Three Creative Ways to Use Dashboard Actions
57. How to Conditionally Format Individual Rows or Columns
58. Five Tips for Creating Efficient Workbooks
59. Using Level of Detail Expressions to Create Benchmarks
60. Designing Device-Specific Dashboards
61. How to Make a Stoplight 100-Point Index
62. The Case for One-Dimensional Unit Charts
63. How to Highlight a Dimension
64. Allow Users to Choose Measures and Dimensions
65. How to Dynamically Format Numbers
66. How to Change Date Aggregation Using Parameters
67. How to Equalize Year-Over-Year Dates
68. How to Filter Out Partial Time Periods
69. How to Compare Two Date Ranges on One Axis
70. How to Compare Unequal Date Ranges on One Axis
71. How to Make a Cluster Analysis
72. Five Tips for Making Your Tableau Public Viz Go Viral
73. Three Ways to Make Beautiful Bar Charts in Tableau
74. Three Ways to Make Lovely Line Graphs in Tableau
75. Three Ways Psychological Schemas Can Improve Your Data Visualization

IV. Framework
76. Introducing the INSIGHT Framework for Data Visualization
77. Identify the Business Question
78. Name KPIs
79. Shape the Data
80. Initial Concept
81. Gather Feedback
82. Hone Dashboard
83. Tell the Story

V. Storytelling
84. Introduction to Storytelling
85. A Data Visualization Competition—That’s Also an Analogy for the Data Visualization Process
86. Tip #1: Know Your Audience
87. Tip #2: Smooth the Excel Transition
88. Tip #3: Leverage Color
89. Tip #4: Keep It Simple
90. Tip #5: Use the Golden Ratio
91. Tip #6: Retell an Old Story
92. Tip #7: Don’t Neglect the Setup
93. Tip #8: Don’t Use Pie Charts
94. Tip #9: Provide Visual Context
95. Tip #10: Use Callout Numbers
96. Tip #11: Allow Discovery
97. Tip #12: Balance Data and Design
98. Tip #13: Eliminate Chartjunk (But Not Graphics)
99. Tip #14: Use Freeform Dashboard Design
100. Tip 15: Tell a Story