Introduction

Tableau is a powerful, intuitive, and widely-used data visualization tool designed for business intelligence and data analysis. As organizations increasingly rely on data-driven decisions, the ability to create meaningful, interactive, and visually appealing dashboards is essential. Tableau enables users to connect to various data sources, transform data, and create insightful visualizations with ease.

This 5-day Tableau for Data Visualization training course is designed for professionals seeking to master Tableau’s powerful features for transforming raw data into clear, interactive reports and dashboards. Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience with Tableau, this course will provide a comprehensive understanding of Tableau’s capabilities and best practices for creating dynamic visualizations that drive insights and decision-making.

Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the core features and user interface of Tableau Desktop.
• Connect to various data sources including databases, spreadsheets, and cloud-based data sources.
• Cleanse, transform, and structure data for meaningful analysis using Tableau Prep.
• Create and customize a variety of visualizations, including bar charts, line graphs, heat maps, and scatter plots.
• Use Tableau calculations to perform aggregations, filtering, and advanced data analysis.
• Build interactive and visually engaging dashboards with multiple views and actions.
• Optimize dashboards for performance and usability.
• Share Tableau reports and dashboards through Tableau Server and Tableau Online for collaboration and distribution.
• Implement advanced visual analytics such as geospatial mapping, forecasting, and trend analysis.

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

• Data Analysts and Business Analysts who want to enhance their data visualization skills to present data more effectively.
• Business Intelligence Professionals who need to use Tableau for creating insights, reports, and dashboards.
• Managers and Executives who want to leverage Tableau to make data-driven decisions.
• Project Managers who require an understanding of data visualization techniques for tracking project performance.
• Data Scientists who want to use Tableau for exploratory data analysis and reporting.
• Consultants who need to develop BI solutions for clients using Tableau.

Day 1: Introduction to Tableau and Data Connections

• What is Tableau?

  • Overview of Tableau’s role in data visualization and business intelligence.
  • Comparing Tableau with other BI tools and understanding its strengths.
  • Key components: Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, and Tableau Online.

• Tableau Interface and Workspace

  • Navigating the Tableau Desktop workspace: shelves, data pane, worksheet, and view.
  • Understanding the difference between Dimensions and Measures.
  • Customizing Tableau interface and settings to fit your workflow.

• Connecting to Data

  • Connecting to various data sources: Excel, SQL databases, Google Analytics, and cloud sources like Google BigQuery and Salesforce.
  • Importing and blending data from multiple sources using Tableau’s Data Connection tools.
  • Using live connections vs. extracts for performance optimization.

• Data Prep in Tableau

  • Introduction to Tableau Prep for data cleaning and transformation.
  • Combining, splitting, and filtering data for more effective analysis.
  • Structuring data for reporting and analysis with Tableau.

• Hands-on Lab:

  • Connecting to an Excel file and a database to import data into Tableau.
  • Exploring the Tableau interface and creating basic visualizations (e.g., bar chart, line chart).

Day 2: Creating Basic Visualizations

• Basic Chart Types and Visualization Principles

  • Creating basic visualizations: bar charts, line charts, scatter plots, and pie charts.
  • Best practices for choosing the right chart type for your data and audience.
  • Customizing chart elements: axes, labels, and tooltips.

• Using Dimensions and Measures

  • Working with Dimensions (categorical data) and Measures (quantitative data).
  • Aggregating data and creating summaries with Tableau’s built-in aggregation functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, COUNT).
  • Sorting and filtering data for better insights.

• Enhancing Visualizations

  • Applying color, size, and shape to highlight key insights.
  • Using filters to focus on specific segments of data.
  • Creating dual-axis charts and combination charts to visualize multiple data sets together.

• Working with Dates and Time

  • Visualizing time-based data: working with date fields, time series analysis, and period-over-period comparisons.
  • Understanding date hierarchies and creating calendar views.

• Hands-on Lab:

  • Creating bar and line charts to analyze sales performance over time.
  • Building scatter plots to examine relationships between different data points.

Day 3: Advanced Visualizations and Calculations

• Advanced Chart Types and Visualizations

  • Creating heat maps, tree maps, and bullet charts for in-depth analysis.
  • Visualizing geographical data with maps and geo-coding.
  • Creating waterfall charts, funnel charts, and histograms.

• Tableau Calculations and Formulas

  • Introduction to Tableau Calculations: aggregations, row-level calculations, and table calculations.
  • Using Calculated Fields to create new measures and dimensions based on business logic.
  • Working with Level of Detail (LOD) expressions for more granular control over aggregations.

• Creating Filters and Parameters

  • Using filters to refine your analysis and create more focused views.
  • Building interactive parameters for dynamic dashboard filters.
  • Creating filter actions for interactivity between visualizations.

• Forecasting and Trend Lines

  • Visualizing trends with trend lines and reference lines.
  • Using forecasting to predict future values based on historical data.

• Hands-on Lab:

  • Creating advanced visualizations such as heat maps and scatter plots to analyze customer data.
  • Using Calculated Fields and Level of Detail (LOD) expressions to segment data.

Day 4: Building Dashboards and Interactivity

• Designing Interactive Dashboards

  • Best practices for designing dynamic dashboards: storytelling, layout, and user experience.
  • Combining multiple visualizations into a single dashboard.
  • Adding actions to dashboards (e.g., filter actions, highlight actions, and URL actions).

• Optimizing Dashboard Performance

  • Tips for improving the performance of dashboards (e.g., reducing extract size, optimizing calculations).
  • Using Data Extracts to enhance dashboard performance.
  • Troubleshooting performance issues with Performance Recording.

• Dashboard Customization

  • Customizing tooltips, color schemes, and fonts for better presentation.
  • Adding dynamic titles and text boxes to improve dashboard clarity.
  • Creating parameterized dashboards for user-specific insights.

• Sharing and Collaboration

  • Publishing dashboards to Tableau Server and Tableau Online for sharing and collaboration.
  • Configuring user permissions and access control for dashboards.
  • Exporting visualizations to PDF and images.

• Hands-on Lab:

  • Building an interactive sales performance dashboard with multiple visualizations and actions.
  • Publishing a dashboard to Tableau Server/Online for sharing.

Day 5: Advanced Features and Final Project

• Advanced Geospatial Analytics

  • Creating maps with geospatial data: using latitude/longitude and custom geocoding.
  • Visualizing geographical patterns with heat maps and filled maps.
  • Using custom shapes and map layers for more detailed mapping.

• Tableau Prep for Data Shaping

  • Advanced data shaping techniques with Tableau Prep: join, union, and pivot.
  • Handling data quality issues and preparing data for analysis.

• Final Project: Building a Complete Tableau Solution

  • Applying all skills learned throughout the course to build a complete end-to-end Tableau solution.
  • Creating a dashboard with multiple visualizations, calculated fields, filters, and interactivity.
  • Publishing and sharing the final dashboard with colleagues or clients.

• Course Wrap-Up & Certification

  • Review of key concepts and techniques covered in the course.
  • Q&A session to address any outstanding questions.
  • Certification of completion.