Tableau – Quick Tips & Tricks

Here are few Tips of Using Tableau :

Note: We have used a Sample Superstore Excel source for these examples.

TIP # 1: Right Click Drag: Quick Field Property Selection

Normally when you select a field you need to drop the Dimension, Measure or Set in first then apply the SUM, Average or alteration of Field Property. However if you want to save yourself a click, you can right click, drag a field onto a worksheet by using a right click, drag once you let go. You will be prompted with a window showing all the possible field dimensional properties or measure calculations.

Tableau-Drop-Field

 

TIP # 2: RUNNING TOTALS

Create a visualization using the Year/Month level of the Date Fields. Add the Sales measure twice, and use a Bar for one mark, and Line for the other one.

Tableau-Dashboard

To see a “running total since inception”, simply add a “Running Total”, quick table calculation to the second sales measure. Note this is a dual axis chart.

TIP # 3: Chart Types – Side-by-Side Bar Chart

To examine the side-by-side bar chart, let’s first take three rows of vertical bar charts. These represent sales volume by state and are divided into the three different departments of our fictional company.

Tableau-Graph

Third view has two primary deficiencies. First, it limits the comparison of the state-level performance within a specific department. In other words, Technology sales performance can be compared across the different states, but it is far more difficult to compare Technology to Office Supplies.

Here’s where the side-by-side bar chart really shines.

Tableau-Side-by-Side-bar

The side-by-side bar chart is a great way to compare each category in each state and department together as separate business units. Immediately, we can see that all the three departments in California are the best. Perhaps surprisingly, the fourth-best performer is Washington’s Technology department.

One can also format this chart in different ways to highlight different aspects of your data (i.e. to tell a different story). I choose to colour-code all of the product categories so that if you want to visually scan a comparison of category to category, it will be easier.

There you have it. Now with a side-by-side bar chart, we can easily compare individual department performance within each state as well as on the whole.

If you’re interested in implementing Tableau for your business, you can get in touch with us at sales@bistasolutions.com.

 

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