Book Image

Learning Tableau 10 - Second Edition

Book Image

Learning Tableau 10 - Second Edition

Overview of this book

Tableau has for some time been one of the most popular Business Intelligence and data visualization tools available. Why? Because, quite simply, it’s a tool that’s responsive to the needs of modern businesses. But it’s most effective when you know how to get what you want from it – it might make your business intelligent, but it isn’t going to make you intelligent… We’ll make sure you’re well prepared to take full advantage of Tableau 10’s new features. Whether you’re an experienced data analyst that wants to explore 2016’s new Tableau, or you’re a beginner that wants to expand their skillset and bring a more professional and sharper approach to their organization, we’ve got you covered. Beginning with the fundamentals, such as data preparation, you’ll soon learn how to build and customize your own data visualizations and dashboards, essential for high-level visibility and effective data storytelling. You’ll also find out how to so trend analysis and forecasting using clustering and distribution models to inform your analytics. But it’s not just about you – when it comes to data it’s all about availability and access. That’s why we’ll show you how to share your Tableau visualizations. It’s only once insights are shared and communicated that you – and your organization – will start making smarter and informed decisions. And really, that’s exactly what this guide is for.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)
8
8. Deeper Analysis – Trends, Clustering, Distributions, and Forecasting

Overview of the three main types of calculations

The groupings of functions mentioned in the preceding section are important for understanding what kind of functionality is possible. However, the most fundamental way to understand calculations in Tableau is to think of the three different levels of calculations:

  • Row Level calculations: These calculations are performed for every row of underlying data. For example, you might calculate the number of days between the start date and end date. The resulting value would be calculated and available for each row of data.
  • Aggregate Level calculations: These calculations are performed at an aggregate level. The view level of detail is defined by fields used as dimensions in the view. You might add or change the dimension in the view, and the Aggregate calculation will be re-calculated to give the result at the new view level of detail.
  • Table calculations: These calculations are performed at an aggregate level on the table of aggregate data, which has...