What is Tableau?
Tableau is one of the leading analytics platforms for business intelligence and data visualization. It allows users to simplify raw data into a format that’s easy to access and understand by those working at any level of an organization. Even non-technical Tableau users can create customized dashboards and worksheets with the help of this versatile tool. Some of Tableau’s most remarkable features include its capacity for data blending, real-time analysis, and data collaboration. It can be installed directly onto one’s hardware from a web download and be operational in just twenty minutes.
Which Tableau Chart is Right for You?
Once Data Analysts or Data Scientists have collected data and asked questions about the data, they then select the most effective visual method to present their findings to their target audience. Tableau provides users with a variety of graph chart types, some of which are more appropriate than others for certain types of data. In total, Tableau offers 24 graph and chart options so that users can select the one most suited to depicting the data.
The following list contains some of Tableau’s most popular graph and chart types, as well as a brief description of the situations in which they are applicable:
Highlight Table
Highlight tables in Tableau function similarly to text tables. However, the data displayed in highlight tables incorporate various colors based on categorical values. This simple chart type is one of the easiest to create in Tableau, but it is also one of the most powerful types of visualization. Highlight tables help users quickly find insights and also increase how accurate these insights are.
Scatter Plots
Scatter plots are commonly used to explore how different variables relate to one another, as well as to determine if variables change independently of one another, or if one variable can be used to predict another. Scatter plots are effective at displaying a variety of distinct data points, all in one place.
Area Chart
Area charts are a form of line chart in which the space between the axis and the line is filled in with color. This form of chart is commonly used to indicate accumulated totals over time.
Gantt Charts
Gantt charts are created to show the schedule of a project or any changes in a given activity during a specified time period. These charts also provide information on the necessary steps to complete before other phases of a project can begin, so that resources can be allocated accordingly.
Maps
Maps have a variety of uses when creating visualizations. They are particularly helpful for displaying location-specific information such as country names, postal codes, or state abbreviations. Maps can also be used to clearly indicate the correlation between location and data trends.
Density Maps
Density maps are a kind of Tableau map that are used to highlight concentrations or patterns that may not be noticeable using other visual display options where overlapping elements are present. They provide an effective option for users who wish to visually depict data with numerous data points in a relatively small geographical area.
Line Charts
Line charts, also known as line graphs, connect data points to one another to display the data’s evolution. This kind of chart provides a clear way to depict data trends that occur over time such as how many views a website has had during November. Line charts offer a clear and straightforward representation of the changes in a specific value, as well as how these fluctuations relate to one another.
Pie Charts
Pie charts are often used as a supplementary chart type in Tableau. Since pie charts alone cannot provide an accurate snapshot of the data because the user must create a context in which to view the chart, relying on just a pie chart for visualizations can result in the audience missing crucial data. This is why pie charts are often used as a supplement to other visualizations being depicted in Tableau.
Text Tables
Text tables provide a basic way to depict data via columns. They are also known as cross-tabs or pivot tables.
Histograms
Histograms function similarly to bar charts, but groups values into continuous ranges. Histograms are applicable in situations in which continuous data on an interval scale must be summarized. This graphing tool depicts the significant features of the data distribution.
Symbol Maps
Symbol maps are a kind of chart that uses quantitative values to stand for map locations using symbols. Symbol maps provide users with a helpful way to visually display geographical data via longitude and latitude. A mark is used to draw attention to the specified coordinates.
Bubble Charts
Bubble charts are not a distinct visualization type but are typically used to add details to maps or scatter plots in which the relationship between at least three measures is being depicted. In bubble charts, large volumes of data can be presented in a visually clear and engaging way by depicting it with circles in different colors and sizes.
Treemaps
Treemaps are a helpful tool for those who wish to relate one data segment to the whole. Within a treemap, each rectangle is split into smaller sub-branches that use space to visually depict the percent of the total for various categories.
Pareto Charts
Pareto charts are a sort of bar graph used to illustrate significant situations. Each value on a Pareto chart is displayed in descending order by bars (longest bars on the left and shortest on the right), and the line stands for the ascending cumulative total.
Heatmaps
Heatmapsuse color to depict data. They have a variety of applicants in data analytics but are often used to depict user behavior on a given website. Heatmaps can provide valuable insights into metrics such as how far users scroll down on a page, as well as where they click on a website.
Waterfall Charts
Waterfall charts are one of the more complex charts in Tableau. They illustrate the cumulative effect of positive and negative values in a sequence. Waterfall charts provide an effective means to illustrate how a starting value (such as a checking account balance), eventually becomes a final value (the value on the last day of the month) by incorporating a set of intermediate additions and subtractions.
With the help of these charts and graphs, as well as others, Tableau users have a range of powerful graphing tools available to help present their data in a visual, engaging, and interactive manner that’s best suited to the needs of their audience.
Hands-On Tableau & Data Visualization Classes
Are you interested in learning more about how to create stunning and helpful data visualizations? If so, Noble Desktop offers Tableau classes that are designed to prepare students to work with this industry-standard data visualization software.
Noble Desktop’s data analytics classes are open to students with no prior coding experience. These full-time and part-time courses are taught by top New York Data Analysts and provide timely and hands-on training for those wishing to learn more about topics that extend beyond data visualization such as Python, SQL, Excel, or data science, among others. In addition, Noble’s live online data visualization courses are designed for students who prefer learning in the virtual format.
Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool is designed for those who want to locate other data visualization courses in the area. These courses provide training for those who are new to working with data, as well as those with prior experience who hope to perfect their data visualization skills.