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5 Advanced Tableau Techniques

Tableau Techniques

By RykabhattryPublished 9 months ago 3 min read
Tableau certification

Tableau is one of the best products to build interactive visual dashboards. Basic charts and filters are sufficient for newcomers, but power users can utilize advanced techniques to elevate their data storytelling. The five such advanced techniques in Tableau that can be utilized to elevate your dashboards are

Calculated Fields

Utilize calculated fields to design your own metrics and interactive visualizations. Calculated fields facilitate advanced mathematical and logical operations beyond the straightforward data columns, allowing you to customize the insights according to your requirements.

Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions

LOD expressions assist you in managing the granularity level of data in visualizations. They enable you to determine how the data rolls up across different levels, and thus you can compare different metrics even in cases of dealing with complex data.

Parameters

Parameters enable users to engage with the data by selecting inputs that can influence your visualization. This creates more interactive dashboards where users can filter, modify, and manipulate data without needing to open several versions of the dashboard.

Dual-Axis Charts

Placing two distinct types of charts (a line and bar chart) on a single axis gives additional context and comparison between various data points, making your dashboard more informative.

Heat Maps and Geospatial Analysis

Heat maps and geospatial analysis provide you with a graphical means of detecting trends in big data sets, such as determining regional trends or finding areas of high activity.

IN DETAIL

1. Level of Detail (LOD) Expression Mastery

LOD expressions offer control over data granularity. Unlike standard aggregations, LOD expressions allow you to compute values on different levels of detail in a single view.

Use Case Example: Suppose you must compute average sales per customer and compare overall sales regionally. A standard AVG calculation will not do. Instead, use an LOD expression:

{FIXED [Customer ID] : AVG([Sales])}

Pro Tip: Use FIXED for accurate management, INCLUDE for necessary breakdowns, and EXCLUDE to keep views uncomplicated.

2. Dynamic Dashboards with Parameters

Tableau parameters enable users to dynamically control views. They are not tied to a field and are thus easily utilized in calculation, filtering, and reference lines.

Example Use Case: Add a parameter control to disable sales and enable profit measurement.

Steps to Implement

Make a parameter (e.g., "Choose Metric") with fields such as Sales, Profit,

Make a calculated field based upon a CASE statement against the parameter

Modify axis or filters through this calculated field

3. Tableau Prep for More Complicated Data

makes complicated dashboards possible. Tableau Prep provides a graphical interface for cleaning, joining, and reshaping data prior to loading into Tableau Desktop.

Data pivoting (rows to columns and columns to rows)

Multi-source unions and joins

Regex pattern extraction

Pro Tip: Automate frequent Prep processes for common reports and schedule them using Tableau Prep Conductor.

4. Custom Table Calculations for Deeper Insight

Table calculations enable you to calculate over data in table form—perfect for trends, ranks, and percentage of total.

Examples:

Running Total

Percent Difference

Rank by Category

How to Use:

Right-click on a field → Quick Table Calculation → Choose type

Fine-tune with Edit Table Calculation for fine-grained control

Common Mistake: Table calculations are view layout (dimension)-specific, so inspect addressing and partitioning.

5. Creating Advanced Chart Types (Beyond Defaults)

While Tableau's default views are lovely, building custom chart types can make your dashboards stand out.

Examples:

Sankey Charts to examine flow

Radar Charts to compare relative measures

Waterfall Charts to examine contributions

Implementation Tip: All but a few of the new charts need two axes, data reshaping, or innovative use of calculated fields. There are a number of community tutorials and templates to simplify that.

Mastering Tableau extends well beyond drag-and-drop dashboards. More advanced users employ LOD expressions, dynamic parameters, data prep steps, table calculations, and custom visualizations to tell more engaging data stories.

With these capabilities, you'll be able to learn more profound insights and report your findings more convincingly. Be curious. try new features, and continue to hone your data visualization skills

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About the Creator

Rykabhattry

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