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

Tableau roles – Viewer, Explorer, and Creator

The method Tableau uses for product licensing is important to understand as it has ramifications on the data modeling capabilities available to the user of the Tableau platform.

For Tableau Cloud and most Tableau Server deployments, Tableau’s first and primary licensing method is by user role. The three Tableau roles are:

  • Viewer – This role is aimed at executives and other information consumers. A person who is assigned a Viewer role has a robust set of capabilities available to them for exploring and sharing data. As the Viewer role is aimed at the information consumer, it does not allow for the creation and maintenance of the data modeling capabilities we will learn in this chapter and throughout this book.
  • Explorer – This role is aimed at business users. A person who is assigned an Explorer role can create data visualizations for themselves and others and do everything someone with a Viewer...