Tableau Desktop: Part 1
Course Overview
As technology progresses and becomes more interwoven with our businesses and lives, more and more data is collected about business and personal activities. This era of “big data” has exploded due to the rise of cloud computing, which provides an abundance of computational power and storage, allowing organizations of all sorts to capture and store data. Leveraging that data effectively can provide timely insights and a competitive advantage.
The creation of data-backed visualizations is a key way data scientists or any professional can explore, analyze, and report insights and trends from data. Tableau® software is designed for this purpose. Tableau was built to connect to a wide range of data sources and allows users to quickly create visualizations of connected data to gain insights, show trends, and create reports. Tableau’s data connection capabilities and visualization features go far beyond those that can be found in spreadsheets, allowing users to create compelling and interactive worksheets, dashboards, and stories that bring data to life and turn data into thoughtful action.
Course Length
Target Audience
This course is designed for professionals in a variety of job roles who are currently using a desktop or web-based data-management tools to perform numerical or general data analysis. This includes capturing and reporting on data to peers, executives, and clients. These professionals must also provide data visualizations in reports or explain data analysis through visualizations.
This course is also designed for students who plan to obtain Tableau Desktop Qualified Associate certification, which requires candidates to pass the Tableau Desktop Certified Associate exam.
Course Prerequisites
To ensure your success in this course, you should have experience managing data with Microsoft® Excel® or Google Sheets™. You can obtain this level of skills and knowledge by taking the following Logical Operations courses:
- Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™/2019: Part 1
- Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™/2019: Part 2
Optionally, having experience with other data analytics tools, such as Google Analytics™ or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, as well as an understanding of database design concepts or a background in statistical analysis, will help you get even more out of Tableau. The following courses are helpful but not required:
- Google Analytics™: Foundation (Second Edition)
- Database Design: A Modern Approach
- Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™: Dashboards
Course-specific Technical Requirements
Hardware:
For this course, you will need one computer for each student and one for the instructor. Each computer will need the following minimum hardware configurations:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) 64-bit (x64) processor.
- 4 gigabytes (GB) of Random Access Memory (RAM).
- 32 GB available storage space.
- Monitor capable of a screen resolution of at least 1,024 × 768 pixels, at least a 256-color display, and a video adapter with at least 4 MB of memory.
- Bootable DVD-ROM or USB drive.
- Keyboard and mouse or a compatible pointing device.
- Fast Ethernet (100 Mb/s) adapter or faster and cabling to connect to the classroom network.
- IP addresses that do not conflict with other portions of your network.
- Internet access (contact your local network administrator).
- (Instructor computer only) A display system to project the instructor’s computer screen.
Software:
- Microsoft® Windows® 10
- Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft® 365/2019
- Microsoft® PowerPoint® for Microsoft® 365/2019
- Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
- Tableau® Desktop 2020.2
- Tableau® Prep Builder 2020.2
- Any web browser.
- Students will need a valid email address that they can access during the course.
- If necessary, software for viewing the course slides. (Instructor machine only.)
Learning Outcomes / Objectives
In this course, you will visualize data with Tableau. You will:
- Identify and configure basic functions of Tableau.
- Connect to data sources, import data into Tableau, and save Tableau files.
- Create views and customize data in visualizations.
- Manage, sort, and group data.
- Save and share data sources and workbooks.
- Filter data in views.
- Customize visualizations with annotations, highlights, and advanced features.
- Create and enhance dashboards in Tableau.
- Create and enhance stories in Tableau.
Topic List
Lesson 1: Tableau Fundamentals
Topic A: Overview of Tableau
Topic B: Navigate and Configure Tableau
Lesson 2: Connecting to and Preparing Data
Topic A: Connect to Data
Topic B: Build a Data Model
Topic C: Save Workbook Files
Topic D: Prepare Data for Analysis
Lesson 3: Exploring Data
Topic A: Create Views
Topic B: Customize Data in Visualizations
Lesson 4: Managing, Sorting, and Grouping Data
Topic A: Adjust Fields
Topic B: Sort Data
Topic C: Group Data
Lesson 5: Saving, Publishing, and Sharing Data
Topic A: Save Data Sources
Topic B: Publish Data Sources and Visualizations
Topic C: Share Workbooks for Collaboration
Lesson 6: Filtering Data
Topic A: Configure Worksheet Filters
Topic B: Apply Advanced Filter Options
Topic C: Create Interactive Filters
Lesson 7: Customizing Visualizations
Topic A: Format and Annotate Views
Topic B: Emphasize Data in Visualizations
Topic C: Create Animated Workbooks
Topic D: Best Practices for Visual Design
Lesson 8: Creating Dashboards in Tableau
Topic A: Create Dashboards
Topic B: Enhance Dashboards with Actions
Topic C: Create Mobile Dashboards
Lesson 9: Creating Stories in Tableau
Topic A: Create Stories
Topic B: Enhance Stories with Tooltips
Appendix A: Tableau Web Authoring and Interaction
Appendix B: Mapping Course Content to the Tableau Desktop Certified Associate Certification Objectives
Appendix C: Mapping Course Content to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification Objectives