Category: Tableau

Have you been working with Tableau for some time but want to take your skills to the next level? The absolute best way to do that is by creating Tableau dashboards because you learn by doing.

The problem is that it can be tough to know EXACTLY where you should start.

Well, I’ve got good news…

I did a bunch of research over the past few weeks and have compiled all of my notes into a handy guide for you.

Based on my experience working with Tableau for the past two years, I found there are 5 steps you need to create Tableau dashboards that are sure to impress your coworkers and colleagues..

I put everything into the guide below and even created a walk-through video and bonus PDF cheat sheet.

Here’s are the 5 steps…

1. Collect your data: How to take data you’re familiar with and use it in Tableau
2. Create your metrics: Thinking ahead to create a few measures that will make your Tableau dashboards actually useful
3. Connect the dots: Impress your co-workers with powerful visualizations
4. Communicate your story: Build Tableau dashboards that get the point across quickly and effectively
5. Collaborate with your team: Publish your work to Tableau to share with your team – and across the world!

Bonus Materials

Want to save some time? Download the PDF checklist of this post + 5 Beginner Mistakes that Every Tableau Dashboard Developer Must Avoid

Download now

Let’s dive in…

(more…)

Pretty much everyone knows that bar charts are a great way to visualize your data.

Really, one of the best.

There are LOTS of reasons why bar charts are just plain awesome, but the two MAIN REASONS are:

1. everyone understands them starting in grade school. People know how bar graphs work.
2. everyone can quickly estimate values to spot check the numbers displayed in the bar chart.

Now, most people have created lots of bar charts for school projects or maybe in Excel.

Tableau is a great tool for making bar charts and there are a few techniques worth learning.

In this guide, you will learn:

• How to make a basic bar chart, even if it’s your first time using Tableau
• How to make clustered bar charts (or grouped bar charts) using multiple measures
• Instructions for making stacked bar charts in Tableau
• All about dual axis bar charts (also known as bullet charts)
• How you can create a regular bar chart next to a stacked bar chart side-by-side
• How to create diverging bar charts (kinda tricky but worth it!)
• Tips, tricks, and techniques to wow your colleagues!

(more…)

Ever wanted to build a quick visualization based on data you have in Google Sheets? Well, you’re not alone.

Yes, there are some charts and graphs built in, but they are pretty limited.

Here’s the thing…

Starting with Tableau 10, you can now connect directly to any Google sheet with a few clicks and start visualizing you data within a few minutes.

In this step by step guide, you will learn

1. How to upload your data into Google Sheets
2. Connecting to Google Sheets from Tableau
3. Create a quick dashboard with Tableau and Google Sheets

Before you get started, you’ll need two things….
(more…)

Everyone knows that Tableau is the fastest way to analyze your data.

However, there are a bunch of tools that make working with Tableau even easier.

I did a bunch of research and compiled a massive list of Tableau tools that will help you work with Tableau more efficiently every single day.

In this article, you will learn about:

1. 20 different tools to make Tableau even more useful
2. What each of the tools is and how they can be used
3. Helpful links for you to research more as needed

The guide is split up into 3 parts:

Part 1: Tableau Desktop Tools
Part 2: Tableau Server Tools
Part 3: Third Party Tools & Apps

(more…)

Tableau web data connectors is one of the biggest shortcuts I’ve seen in a while. It was just added in Tableau 9.1 and it’s a game changer if you work with data found on the web.

I’m a big fan of short cuts. Most people are.

Here’s the thing

Taking a shortcut can save you lots of time, but can also hurt you in the long run if you aren’t smart about it. I did a bunch of research and have compiled all of my notes to show you the short cuts and still giving some background information so you know what’s going on behind the scenes (which is important!)

In this guide, you’ll learn:

1. How to get started with Tableau Web Data Connectors
2. How to share your Tableau Web Data Connectors with the world
3. A short cut to get data from pretty much any website into Tableau

(more…)

Tableau is a great tool for quickly looking at your data, but it requires a different way of thinking about your data and visualizations. Many people are used to working a certain way with specific tools and then can’t quite figure out how to use Tableau in the same way.

Here’s a list of five mistakes that you can avoid when getting started with Tableau so you don’t waste time or get frustrated.

(more…)