A Guide to Dashboard Interaction in Tableau

Introduction

In this article, we are going to talk about how you can interact with the dashboard those you have on the tableau server. Here, we will be talking about a lot of things from the user perspective like how they can use that I had a spot how they can interact with it how they can use story on the tableau server and multiple similar functionality and features. So, if you are a business user who uses or consumes the reports then this article is for you.

What is Tableau Dashboard?

A tableau dashboard is a set of worksheets arranged in a particular fashion to provide some meaningful information about the data. The dashboards are created in a way to provide some specific information and insight about the data.

Usually, Tableau Dashboard is a client deliverable and the developer shares the link of the dashboard with the users. The users can be of any category and if you are one among them then this article is for you.

Here, we will talk about how you can use the different interaction features with the report and how you should read the report.

Along with the tableau dashboard, sometimes we also provide the tableau story as the client deliverable to the users. Tableau story is like a PowerPoint presentation where developers convey how the dashboard or the report should be read.

You can use the tableau story to provide the presentation to the business user or let them know what all things you are covering on the dashboard. You can also use that story for the demonstration of your work. The best thing about the tableau story is the data will be refreshed in real-time and you can also write your own thoughts and explanation on the story. In this article, we are going to talk about how you can interact with both the tableau dashboard and a tableau story.

Tableau Dashboard Using a Bar Chart

Usually, the developers try to keep the dashboard as simple as possible so that the users can get the best of the insight. But to get the information from the report the user should be able to understand how they should use the chart.

Read: How and Why to Create a Pie Chart

Tableau Dashboard Examples of Bar Chart

For example, I am showing a basic bar chart where we have a graph for profit by State. As you can see most of the bars are blue while some of those are in orange as well.

Also,  if you focus on the label of these bars you will find all the blue bars are having positive profit while the orange bars are having a negative profit. This is how profit and loss statements are demonstrated.

So, the developer of this report has followed a good way to represent all the positives with one color and all the negatives with another color. This differentiation triggers the users to look for what they are looking for. The bar chart is majorly used for the comparison of the data and you should be using it for comparison purposes only. You can compare your profit with the profit of some other states. Then you can decide why your profit is up or down compared with other states.

Adding Filters to Tableau Dashboard

Add filter to tableau dashboard are an important part of any data visualization. Using the filter, you can make a subset of the report and can see the desired data in the report.

Tableau Dashboard Examples of Add Filter

For example, if a report has been created for all the states of the United States but you are only concerned about the Two locations - Chicago and California. Then, in this case, you might not be interested in what the values are for the other states. In this case from the location filter, you can only select the locations you are working on. This will make the report simpler and it will be easier for you to derive the analytics in a better and deeper way.

Read: Tableau Analyst Salary: Every Detail & Factors Affecting

Sometimes there will be multiple filters on the tableau dashboard. In such cases usually the filters depend on other filters.

For example, if you have two filters, one for the states and another for the city. In this case usually the developer will make the city filter dependent on the state filter. That means if state A has been selected,  in the city filter only that City will be shown which are from state A. So, if you are not able to see all the city in the city filter, just check the state filter and see if some filter has been applied on the state filter or not.

Also, while interacting with the filter you should understand what kind of filter has been applied to the report. Sometimes the filter can be in the form of a checkbox or it can be a dropdown or it can be a multiple selection dropdown, it can be a free text box or even it can be a slider.

So, show first look for what kind of filter has been applied for that particular report and select the value in the filter as per the format available. Remember, if you have applied one filter and then you are applying the other filter, the second filter will be dependent on the first filter. That means, first the data in the report will be filtered based upon the first filter and then the second filter will further filter the data of the first filter.

So, you should be very cautious while applying the filters on the report and should be understood by the devil what exactly you are trying to drive.

Using a parameter in the report 

Many times developers allow the user to change the value in the report dynamically. At that time the developer uses something called a parameter to accomplish that action. For example, let's say there is a report which shows the top N States based on the profit. In this case, the value of n can be anything. Now what a typical developer will do, they will add a parameter in the report which will take the value of n and the user can enter that value.

Now, if the user has entered the value of N as 5 then the top  5 states will be shown in the report. Similarly, if the user has put the value of N as 10, then the top 10  States will be shown in the report.

Read: Mastering Tableau's User Interface: A Beginner's Walkthrough

As you can see in the above report we have used a parameter which allows the user to select how many latest months they want to see. The parameter in tableau makes the report dynamic and allows the user to select the value of the parameter during runtime.

The parameter can also help to change the dimension value in the report. For example, you have a report that shows monthly data from some organizations. Now, if you want to provide the feasibility to make that report either monthly or weekly or yearly during the runtime you can create a parameter and using that parameter is there can select monthly or weekly or yearly. This saves a lot of time for the developer and user also.

Using the reference line

In the scattered bar chart, there will be different versions of the same bar chart showing different categories. For all those categories there will be the label displayed. Now the username wants to show the total of all the matches of the previous day also. To do that, developers add a reference line to all those scattered bar charts. This way,  there will be labels for all those parts of the bars along with the totals of all those. So you should be in the condition to understand which label is showing the part of it and which are for the total sum.

Using the trend line

Trendlines are the way to show how your values are increasing or decreasing over a period of time.  The trendline can be created either on the numerical access or on the access related to dates. So,  if the developer has shown the trend line in your chart try to understand how that has been created. Usually,  the trend line is created using the linear regression equation. So it will create a linear relationship between the data that has been presented. Further, you may also demand the forecasting of that data.

Using the tableau story

As I said above, tableau’s story is like a PowerPoint Presentation which is used to provide a demo or present to the business. The data in the tableau story is refreshed as you have created the connection to the dashboard and the story. You can even download the story in the form of a Powerpoint and use it for offline use. Remember, when using offline the data will no longer be updated.

Wrapping it up!

In this article, we talk about how a user can interact with the tableau dashboard and the story. We also talk about the different features a dashboard and history can have and being a business user how you should use those features for the best of the use.

Read: Know Average Tableau Developer Salary for Freshers & Experienced Professionals!

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