Tableau Tutorial: Learn from Experts

When thinking about data, the first thing to pop up in anyone’s mind is a series of numbers. However, data can be much more than that. Other than numbers, it can include measurements, words, observations, and likewise. Moreover, data is the building block for any modern-day organization, making it essential to understand its sources. 

Understanding data with our human eye is an impossible task because data comes in a raw form. Therefore, it has to be processed with software to make it legible for a commoner, and here come data visualization tools, Tableau being one among them. 

This software was designed in 2003 to explore and analyze data cubes and relational databases. Tableau tools are designed to blend every kind of data, for instance, unstructured, relational, etc., for processing. Learning this software via a Tableau tutorial helps beginners get started on this data visualization tool. In this tableau tutorial for beginners, you get a chance to explore the tableau products, their applications, their learning importance, and many more.

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Data visualization: What is it?

Data visualization is a process to represent data and information graphically. It makes use of visual aids like charts, tables, maps, graphs, etc. The use of visual aids makes the data presentation more appealing and instructive.

Every type of industry deals with Big Data, which creates a dire need for precise data handling tools. These data visualization tools interpret the data chunks and ensure data-driven verdicts.

Tableau: What is it?

Tableau is a unique data visualization tool, a visual analytics engine that has revolutionized how data is used for problem-solving. It is a tool that helps in visualizing and understanding raw data in a matter of minutes. In the form of dashboards and worksheets, Tableau generates interactive visual analytics, which allows amateur analysts with zero technical knowledge to understand data easily.

Tableau can perform its functions with any data type, be it structured, semi-structured, or completely unstructured. It is a user-friendly, fast software that simplifies analyzing and reporting enormous data volumes. 

Tableau Products

Within the Tableau family, multiple products are working in conjunction. These are:

Tableau Desktop

Tableau Desktop lets you perform functions like connecting data across diversified sources, building workbooks, dashboards, etc. For queries on the Tableau desktop, you don’t have to write pages of code. Instead, simply write your columns, put in the data visualization type of your choice, and it will perform the query. It also lets you import and integrate data in a single place. 

Tableau Server

The workbooks reports created via Tableau desktop are published through the Tableau server. No matter your location, the Tableau server lets you access these workbooks. Another unique feature of the Tableau server is that it provides you live access to another user’s report and workbook. To maintain security, an administrator is responsible for the authorization settings of the projects. 

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Tableau Online

There is also a cloud platform within the Tableau family, making the publication and sharing of dashboards easier. This feature is the Tableau online and allows multiple users to work simultaneously on a project.

Tableau Public

Tableau public is a free product from the Tableau family, which, as the name suggests, is publically accessible. Any workbook or report you create or save cannot be saved locally on the server and is open for everyone.  

Tableau Reader

Tableau reader is a free tool that allows you to open and go through the reports created via Tableau desktop. 

What can I create using Tableau?

After taking a tableau tutorial, you can create several data visualizations via Tableau. The following types of charts, graphs, maps are a few of the data visualizations generated by Tableau.

• Heat Map: Heat maps are also termed density maps, which allow you to spot trends. 
• Choropleth Map: Statistical geographical data which share a common pattern is shown by choropleth maps. You can use this Tableau feature to look at climatic changes or literacy levels.
• Spider Map: These maps show routes for multiple destinations originating at a single point. For instance, you can use this feature to visualize migrant data.
• Symbol Map: This map aids in visualizing data with the help of bubbles.
• Pie Chart: This chart helps visualize two or more data variables simultaneously.
• Scatter Plot: You can use this Tableau feature to explore the affinity between two variables. 
• Gantt Chart: This Tableau feature helps analyze an activity’s duration.

Apart from these charts and maps, you can also prepare bubble charts, area charts, flow maps, symbol maps, etc.

Applications of Tableau

Before opting for a tableau tutorial, you should know its applications. This powerful data visualization tool has made its way into every kind of industry owing to its ability to work with various data. Some of its applications are:

• Data collaboration and visualization
• Data blending
• Business intelligence
• Creation of no-code data queries
• Importing and managing Big Data
• Data analysis

Why should I use Tableau? 

Now that you know the fields of tableau application, here are a few reasons to use this software:

• Using Tableau in the real world helps to draw faster data visualizations. It can give useful insight into disparate data sources.
• Understanding data and its meaningful analysis have never been easier. Data from multiple sources are analyzed by transforming and extracting.
• Tableau supports an array of Database features. These databases can be object-oriented databases, RDBMS, NoSQL, etc.
• For proper data handling and management, community support plays a vital role, which is extensively available in the case of Tableau. There are multiple user types, communities, and forums with diversified technical knowledge that comes in the users’ aid. 
• Tableau comes with a customizable report generation technique. It can manipulate the data as per the customer requirement, making things easier for your potential client. It further helps to ease their business applications.
• Tableau can connect different data sources, thus comes with data pulling flexibility and its analysis.

Why should I opt for a tableau tutorial for beginners? 

A tableau tutorial for beginners comes with its unique advantages, which we have listed here for you.

• No technical knowledge is required beforehand to understand this software.
• Tableau allows dataset blending. This means that whatever be your data structure, relational, structured, or any other variety, you will not have to integrate them way ahead.
• For setting up this software, you won’t need any complex setup. Tableau comes with easy installation techniques. 
• Tableau requires little scripting, and to use its features, and you will not have to write pages. Be it trend lines, charts or graphs, simply drag and drop to use any of these features.
• With Tableau, you don’t have to worry about hardware-software configurations because Tableau works well in most types of devices. 
• Tableau Mobile is an excellent feature from the tableau family, which provides mobile software support.
• Tableau gives you an opportunity for real-time peer collaboration.  

Summing Up

Opting for a tableau tutorial for beginners is just the first stepping stone to becoming a Data Scientist. And to fulfill that dream, upGrad is a perfect choice. upGrad, with its collaboration with the University of Maryland, has launched the Professional Certificate Program in Data Science. This course is covered in a 9-month duration via online platforms, which aids in strengthening your decision-making capabilities.

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• 500+ hours of learning (Weekly 10-12 hours of learning)
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• Live sessions of more than 100 hours 
• 20+ assignments, case studies
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