Introduction
Tableau data visualisation training often stops at drag-and-drop charts, so teams publish workbooks that break when a filter changes, return wrong totals at a different level of detail and load slowly on Tableau Server. The cause is usually how data sources are shaped and how calculations interact with the order of operations. This Core Concept course takes analysts through connections, relationships and extracts, calculated fields, table calculations and LOD expressions, parameters, maps, dashboard actions and publishing. Working hands on in Tableau Desktop, participants build a Published Tableau Workbook with an interactive dashboard and story on their own data.
Course Objectives
- Connect Tableau Desktop to spreadsheets, databases and cloud sources, and shape them with relationships, joins, unions and Hyper extracts
- Build sheets that use dimensions and measures, discrete and continuous fields and date hierarchies correctly
- Write calculated fields, table calculations and FIXED, INCLUDE and EXCLUDE LOD expressions that return correct results under the Tableau order of operations
- Add parameters, context filters, sets and groups so that business users can explore a workbook without editing it
- Design dashboards with filter, highlight, go to sheet, change parameter and change set values actions, and sequence them into a story
- Publish workbooks and data sources to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud with project permissions, extract refresh schedules and tuned performance
Target Audience
- Data analysts who build workbooks and visual analyses for business functions
- Reporting specialists who move recurring spreadsheet reports into Tableau
- Business intelligence specialists who publish and maintain shared Tableau data sources
- Finance, sales and operations analysts who maintain KPI views for their departments
- Research and planning specialists who analyse geographic and time-series data
Course Outline
Day 1: Tableau Workspace, Data Connections and Field Types
- Tableau Product Family: Desktop, Prep Builder, Server, Cloud and Public
- VizQL Query Generation and the Workbook, Sheet, Dashboard and Story Hierarchy
- Connecting to Excel, Text Files, Relational Databases and Cloud Sources
- Dimensions Versus Measures and Discrete Versus Continuous Pills
- Data Interpreter, Pivot, Split and Field Data Type Corrections
Day 2: Data Source Architecture and the Order of Operations
- Logical Layer Relationships Versus Physical Layer Joins and Unions
- Live Connections Versus Hyper Extracts and Extract Filters
- Blending Secondary Sources on Linking Fields
- Tableau Order of Operations: Data Source, Context, Dimension and Measure Filters
- Default Properties, Hierarchies, Groups, Sets and Bins in the Data Pane
Day 3: Calculations, Parameters and Chart Building
- Row-Level and Aggregate Calculated Fields with IF, CASE and Date Functions
- Quick Table Calculations: Running Total, Percent of Total and Rank
- Compute Using, Addressing and Partitioning for Table Calculations
- Parameters for What-If Values and Dynamic Measure Switching
- Bar, Line, Dual-Axis, Scatter and Highlight Table Construction
Day 4: LOD Expressions, Maps, Advanced Charts and Publishing
- FIXED, INCLUDE and EXCLUDE LOD Expressions for Cohort and Share Analysis
- Filled and Symbol Maps with Geographic Roles and Custom Geocoding
- Bullet, Box Plot, Pareto and Waterfall Charts with Reference Lines
- Publishing to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud: Projects, Permissions and Refresh Schedules
- Workbook Performance Recorder and Extract and Calculation Tuning
Day 5: Dashboard Lab and the Published Tableau Workbook
- Dashboard Layout with Tiled and Floating Containers and Device Designer
- Filter, Highlight, Go to Sheet and Change Parameter Dashboard Actions
- Story Points Sequencing for a Retail and a Public Service Data Set
- Own-Data Workbook Build and Certified Data Source Publication
- Workbook Demonstration and Peer Review Against a Performance Checklist
Skills You Will Gain
- Data Source Shaping
- Relationship and Join Modelling
- Calculated Field Writing
- Level of Detail Analysis
- Interactive Dashboard Design
- Geospatial Visualisation
- Tableau Server Content Governance
- Workbook Performance Tuning
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Published Tableau Workbook, including an interactive dashboard, a story and a certified data source built on your own data
- Stop totals changing between views by knowing where each filter and calculation sits in the order of operations
- Hand business users dashboards they can explore through actions and parameters instead of requesting new reports
- Compare Tableau build practice with analysts from other sectors and countries who work with similar data
Conclusion
A dependable Tableau dashboard rests on a well-shaped data source, calculations placed correctly in the order of operations and disciplined publishing. The course moves from connections and field types, through relationships, extracts and filters, to calculated fields, table calculations and parameters, and then to LOD expressions, maps, advanced charts and Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud publishing. The final day is spent in Tableau Desktop, and participants leave with a Published Tableau Workbook ready for their own users.
