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

Distributions


Analyzing distributions can be quite useful. We've already seen that certain calculations are available for determining statistical information such as averages, percentiles, and standard deviations. Tableau also makes it easy to quickly visualize various distributions including confidence intervals, percentages, percentiles, quantiles, and standard deviations.

You may add any of these visual analytic features using the Analytics pane (alternately, you can right-click an axis and select Add Reference Line). Just like reference lines and bands, distribution analytics can be applied within the scope of a Table, Pane, or Cell. When you drag and drop the desired visual analytic, you'll have options for selecting the scope and the axis. In the following example we've dragged and dropped Distribution Band from the Analytics pane onto the scope of Pane for the axis defined by Sum(Price):

Once you have selected the scope and axis, you will be given options to change settings. You may...