Book Image

Data Modeling with Tableau

By : Kirk Munroe
Book Image

Data Modeling with Tableau

By: Kirk Munroe

Overview of this book

Tableau is unlike most other BI platforms that have a single data modeling tool and enterprise data model (for example, LookML from Google’s Looker). That doesn’t mean Tableau doesn’t have enterprise data governance; it is both robust and highly flexible. This book will help you effectively use Tableau governance models to build a data-driven organization. Data Modeling with Tableau is an extensive guide, complete with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts, practical examples, and hands-on exercises. As you progress through the chapters, you’ll learn the role that Tableau Prep Builder and Tableau Desktop each play in data modeling. You’ll also explore the components of Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud that make data modeling more robust, secure, and performant. Moreover, by extending data models for Ask and Explain Data, you’ll gain the knowledge required to extend analytics to more people in their organizations, leading to better data-driven decisions. Finally, this book will guide you through the entire Tableau stack and the techniques required to build the right level of governance into Tableau data models for the correct use cases. By the end of this Tableau book, you’ll have a firm understanding of how to leverage data modeling in Tableau to benefit your organization.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
1
Part 1: Data Modeling on the Tableau Platform
4
Part 2: Tableau Prep Builder for Data Modeling
9
Part 3: Tableau Desktop for Data Modeling
14
Part 4: Data Modeling with Tableau Server and Online

Using Tableau virtual connections to manage access and security

We were introduced to Tableau virtual connections in Chapter 2. Virtual connections are enabled in Tableau Server and Cloud with Data Management. Virtual connections allow us to create an additional layer between our database(s) and Tableau data models. This feature makes sense when an organization delegates the building of data models to individuals who understand data in organizational content but may not understand database structures. The person who creates the virtual connection can perform tasks such as hiding and renaming columns in the database. The data modeler from the organization can then create a published or embedded data source of the virtual connection.

One of the other features of virtual connections is data policies. Data policies work in a very similar manner to the ones we described in the previous section on entitlement tables. Using a virtual connection in this manner also moves security closer...