Tableau Interview Questions

Tableau Interview Questions
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With much hype around data analytics and visualization, it is important to get well-
versed with the tools simplifying the data journey. We have curated a list of interview
questions ranging from beginner’s level to expert to help you land a job in your
preferred expertise.
Basic Tableau Interview Questions

1. What is data visualization in Tableau?
Data visualization is a way to represent data that is visually appealing and
interactive. With advancements in technology, the number of business intelligence
tools has increased which helps users understand data, data sets, data points, charts,
graphs, and focus on its impact rather than understanding the tool itself.
2. What is the difference between various BI tools and Tableau?

The basic difference between the traditional BI tools and Tableau lies in the efficiency
and speed.
The architecture of Traditional BI tools has hardware limitations. While Tableau
does not have any sort of dependencies
The traditional BI tools work on complex technologies while Tableau uses
simple associative search to make it dynamic.
Traditional BI tools do not support multi-thread, in-memory, or multi-core
computing while Tableau supports all these features a er integrating complex
technologies.
Traditional BI tools have a pre-defined data view while Tableau does a predictive
analysis for business operations.
3. What are different Tableau products?

Tableau like other BI tools has a range of products:
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Tableau Desktop: Desktop product is used to create optimized queries out from
pictures of data. Once the queries are ready, you can perform those queries
without the need to code. Tableau desktop encompasses data from various
sources into its data engine and creates an interactive dashboard.
Tableau Server: When you have published dashboards using Tableau Desktop,
Tableau servers help in sharing them throughout the organization. It is an
enterprise-level feature that is installed on a Windows or Linux server.
Tableau Reader: Tableau Reader is a free feature available on Desktop that lets
you open and views data visualizations. You can filter or drill down the data but
restricts editing any formulas or performing any kind of actions on it. It is also
used to extract connection files.
Tableau Online: Tableau online is also a paid feature but doesn’t need exclusive
installation. It comes with the so ware and is used to share the published
dashboards anywhere and everywhere.
Tableau Public: Tableau public is yet another free feature to view your data
visualizations by saving them as worksheets or workbooks on Tableau Server.
4. What is a parameter in Tableau?

The parameter is a variable (numbers, strings, or date) created to replace a
constant value in calculations, filters, or reference lines. For example, you create a
field that returns true if the sales are greater than 30,000 and false if otherwise.
Parameters are used to replace these numbers (30000 in this case) to dynamically set
this during calculations. Parameters allow you to dynamically modify values in a
calculation. The parameters can accept values in the following options:
All: Simple text field
List: List of possible values to select from
Range: Select values from a specified range
5. Tell me something about measures and dimensions?

In Tableau, when we connect to a new data source, each field in the data source is
either mapped as measures or dimensions. These fields are the columns defined in
the data source. Each field is assigned a dataType (integer, string, etc.) and a role
(discrete dimension or continuous measure).

Measures contain numeric values that are analyzed by a dimension table. Measures
are stored in a table that allows storage of multiple records and contains foreign keys
referring uniquely to the associated dimension tables.
While Dimensions contain qualitative values (name, dates, geographical data) to
define comprehensive attributes to categorize, segment, and reveal the data details.
6. What are continuous and discrete field types?

Tableau’s specialty lies in displaying data differently either in continuous format or
discrete. Both of them are mathematical terms used to define data where
continuous means without interruptions and discrete means are individually
separate and distinct.
While the blue color indicates discrete behavior, the green color indicates continuous
behavior. On one hand, the discrete view defines the headers and can be easily
sorted, while continuous defines the axis in a graph view and cannot be sorted.
Discrete View Tableau
Image - tableau.com
7. What is aggregation and disaggregation of data?

Aggregation of data means displaying the measures and dimensions in an aggregated

form. The aggregate functions available in the Tableau tool are:
SUM (expression): Adds up all the values used in the expression. Used only for
numeric values.
AVG (expression): Calculates the average of all the values used in the
expression. Used only for numeric values.
Median (expression): Calculates the median of all the values across all the
records used in the expression. Used only for numeric values.
Count (expression): Returns the number of values in the set of expressions.
Excludes null values.
Count (distinct): Returns the number of unique values in the set of expressions.
Tableau, in fact, lets you alter the aggregation type for a view.
Disaggregation of data means displaying each and every data field separately.
8. What are the different types of joins in Tableau?

Tableau is pretty similar to SQL. Therefore, the types of joins in Tableau are similar:
Le Outer Join: Extracts all the records from the le table and the matching
rows from the right table.
Right Outer Join: Extracts all the records from the right table and the matching
rows from the le table.
Full Outer Join: Extracts the records from both the le and right tables. All
unmatched rows go with the NULL value.
Inner Join: Extracts the records from both tables.
Learn More

Joins in Tableau
9. Tell me the different connections to make with a dataset?

There are two types of data connections in Tableau:
LIVE: Live connection is a dynamic way to extract real-time data by directly
connecting to the data source. Tableau directly creates queries against the database
entries and retrieves the query results in a workbook.
EXTRACT: A snapshot of the data, extract the file (.tde or .hyper file) contains data
from a relational database. The data is extracted from a static source of data like an
Excel Spreadsheet. You can schedule to refresh the snapshots which are done using
the Tableau server. This doesn’t need any connection with the database.
10. What are the supported file extensions in Tableau?

The supported file extensions used in Tableau Desktop are:

Tableau Workbook (TWB): contains all worksheets, story points, dashboards,

etc.
Tableau Data Source (TDS): contains connection information and metadata
about your data source
Tableau Data Extract (TDE): contains data that has been extracted from other
data sources.
Tableau Packaged Workbook (TWBX): contains a combination of the
workbook, connection data, and metadata, and the data itself in the form of
TDE. It can be zipped and shared.
Tableau Packaged Data Source (TDSX): contains a combination of different
files.
Tableau Bookmark (TBM): to earmark a specific worksheet.
11. What are the supported data types in Tableau?

The following data types are supported in Tableau:

DataType Possible Values
Boolean True/False
Date Date Value (December 28, 2016)
Date & Timestamp values (December 28,

Date & Time 2016
06:00:00 PM)
Geographical
Geographical Mapping (Beijing, Mumbai)
Values
Text/String Text/String
Number Decimal (8.00)
Number Whole Number (5)
12. What are sets?

Sets are custom fields created as a subset of the data in your Tableau desktop. Sets
can be computed based on conditions or created manually based on the dimensions
of the data source.
For example, A set of customers that earned revenue more than some value. Now, set
data may update dynamically based on the conditions applied. Learn More
13. What are groups in Tableau?

Groups are created to visualize larger memberships using dimensions. Groups can
create their own fields to categorize values in that specific dimension.
14. What are shelves?

Tableau worksheets contain various named elements like columns, rows, marks,
filters, pages, etc. which are called shelves. You can place fields on shelves to create
visualizations, increase the level of detail, or add context to it.
15. Tell me something about Data blending in Tableau?

Data blending is viewing and analyzing data from multiple sources in one place.
Primary and secondary are two types of data sources that are involved in data
blending.
16. How do you generally perform load testing in Tableau?

Load testing in Tableau is done to understand the server’s capacity with respect to its
environment, data, workload, and use. It is preferable to conduct load testing at least
3-4 times in a year because with every new user, upgrade, or content authoring, the
usage, data, and workload change.
Tabjolt was created by Tableau to conduct point-and-run load and performance
testing specifically for Tableau servers. Tabjolt:
Automates the process of user-specified loads
Eliminates dependency on script development or script maintenance
Scales linearly with an increase in the load by adding more nodes to the cluster
17. Why would someone not use Tableau?

The limitations of using Tableau are:

Not cost-effective: Tableau is not that cost-effective when we compare it well

with the other available data visualization tools. In addition to this, it has
so ware upgrades, proper deployment, maintenance, and also training people
for using the tool.
Not so secure: When it comes to data, everyone is extra cautious. Tableau
focussed on security issues but fails to provide centralized data-level security. It
pushes for row-level security and creates an account for every user which makes
it more prone to security glitches.
BI capabilities are not enough: Tableau lacks basic BI capabilities like large-
scale reporting, building data tables, or creating static layouts. It has limited
result-sharing capabilities, email notification configuration is limited to admins,
and the vendor doesn’t support trigger-based notifications.
Intermediate Questions
18. What is Tableau data engine?
An analytical database that computes instant query responses, predictive analysis of
the server, and integrated data. The data engine is useful when you need to create,
refresh, or query extracts. It can be used for cross-database joins as well.
19. What are the various types of filters in Tableau?

Tableau has 6 different types of filters:
Extract Filter: This filter retrieves a subset of data from the data source.
Dimension Filter: This filter is for non-aggregated data (discrete).
Data Source Filter: This filter refrains users from viewing sensitive information
and thus reduces data feeds.
Context Filter: This filter creates datasets by applying presets in Tableau.
Measure Filter: This filter applies various operations like sum, median, avg, etc.
Table Calculation Filter: This filter is applied a er the view has been created.
20. What are dual axes?

Dual axes are used to analyze two different measures at two different scales in the
same graph. This lets you compare multiple attributes on one graph with two
independent axes layered one above the other.
To add a measure as a dual-axis, drag the field to the right side of the view and drop it
when you see a black dashed line appear. You can also right-click (control-click on
Mac) the measure on the Columns or Rows shelf and select Dual Axis.
21. What is the difference between a tree and heat map?

Both the maps help in analyzing data. While a heat map visualizes and compares
different categories of data, a treemap displays a hierarchical structure of data in
rectangles. Heat map visualizes measures against dimensions by depicting them in
different colors. Similar to a text table with values defined in different colors.

Heatmap In Tableau
Treemap visualizes the hierarchy of data in nested rectangles. Hierarchy levels are
displayed from larger rectangles to smaller ones.
Example - Below treemap shows aggregated sales totals across a range of product
categories:

TreeMap in Tableau
Image - tableau.com
22. What are extracts and schedules in Tableau server?

Data extracts are the subsets of data created from data sources. Schedules are
scheduled refreshes made on extracts a er publishing the workbook. This keeps the
data up-to-date. Schedules are strictly managed by the server administrators.
23. What are the components in a dashboard?

The components displayed in a dashboard are:
Horizontal: Horizontal view allows the users to combine the worksheets and
dashboard elements from le to right and edit the height of the elements.
Vertical: Vertical view allows the users to combine the worksheets and
dashboard elements from top to bottom and edit the width of the elements.
Text: All the textual fields.
Image Extract: To extract an image Tableau applies some code, extracts the
image, and saves it in a workbook in the XML format.
Web URL: Hyperlink that points to a web page, file, or other web resources
outside of Tableau

24. What is a TDE file?

TDE is Tableau Desktop Extension with extension .tde. TDE file points to a file that
contains data from external sources like MS Excel, MS Access, or CSV files. TDE makes
it easier to analyze and discover data.
25. What is the story in Tableau?

Creating a story is effective in Tableau which is created by combining various charts
to portray a plot of viewers. A story is a sheet that contains all the methods used to
create those worksheets. To create a story:
1. Click the New Story on the dashboard.
2. Choose the right size of the story from the bottom-le corner or choose a
custom size.
3. Start building the story by double-clicking the sheet and add it to the story
point.
4. Add a caption to the story by clicking Add a caption.
5. You can update the highlights by clicking Update in the toolbar. You can also add
layout options, format a story, or fit the story to your dashboard.
26. What are different Tableau files?

Workbooks: Workbooks contain one or more worksheets and dashboard
elements.
Bookmarks: Contains a single worksheet that is easier to share.
Packaged Workbooks: Contains a workbook along with supporting local file
data and background images.
Data Extraction Files: Extract files that contain a subset of data.
Data Connection Files: Small XML file with various connection information.
Tableau Interview Questions For Experienced

27. How do you embed views into webpages?

You can easily integrate interactive views from your Tableau Server or Tableau online
onto webpages, blogs, web applications, or internet portals. But to have a look at the
views, the permissions demand the viewer to create an account on the Tableau
Server. To embed views, click the Share button on the top of the view and copy the
embed code to paste it on the web page.
You can also customize the embedded code or Tableau Javascript APIs to embed
views.
28. What is the maximum no. of rows Tableau can utilize at one
time?
The maximum number of rows or columns is indefinite because even though Tableau
contains petabytes of data, it intelligently uses only those rows and columns which
you need to extract for your purpose.
29. Mention what is the difference between published data

sources and embedded data sources in Tableau?
Connection information is the details of data that you want to bring into Tableau.
Before publishing it, you can create an extract of the same.
Published Data Source: It contains connection information that is independent of
any workbook.
Embedded Data Source: It contains connection information which is connected to a
workbook
30. What is the DRIVE Program Methodology?

DRIVE program methodology creates a structure around data analytics derived from
enterprise deployments. The drive methodology is iterative in nature and includes
agile methods that are faster and effective.
31. How to use groups in a calculated field?

Add the ‘GroupBy’ clause to SQL queries or create a calculated field in the data
window to group fields.

Using groups in a calculation. You cannot reference ad-hoc groups in a

calculation.
Blend data using groups created in the secondary data source: Only calculated
groups can be used in data blending if the group was created in the secondary
data source.
Use a group in another workbook. You can easily replicate a group in another
workbook by copy and pasting a calculation.
32. Explain when would you use Joins vs. Blending in Tableau?
While the two terms may sound similar, there is a difference in their meaning and use
in Tableau:
While Join is used to combine two or more tables within the same data source.
Blending is used to combine data from multiple data sources such as Oracle, Excel,
SQL server, etc.
33. What is Assume referential integrity?

In some cases, you can improve query performance by selecting the option to
Assume Referential Integrity from the Data menu. When you use this option, Tableau
will include the joined table in the query only if it is specifically referenced by fields in
the view.
34. What is a Calculated Field, and How Will You Create One?
Calculated fields are created using formulas based on other fields. These fields do not
exist but are created by you.
You can create these fields to:
Segment data
Convert the data type of a field, such as converting a string to a date.
Aggregate data
Filter results
Calculate ratios
There are three main types of calculations that you can create:

Basic Calculations: Transform values of the data fields at the source level
Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions: Transform values of the data fields at the
source level like basic calculations but with more granular access
Table Calculations: Transform values of the data fields only at the visualization
level
To create calculate fields:
In Tableau, navigate to Analysis>Create a calculated field. Input details in the
calculation editor.
And, done!
35. How Can You Display the Top Five and Bottom Five Sales in
the Same View?
You can see top five and bottom five sales with the help of these functions:
1. Drag ‘customer name’ to row and sales to the column.
2. Sort Sum(sales) in descending order.
3. Create a calculated field ‘Rank of Sales’.
36. What is the Rank Function in Tableau?

Rank function is used to give positions (rank) to any measure in the data set. Tableau
can rank measure in the following ways:
Rank: The rank function in Tableau accepts two arguments: aggregated measure
and ranking order (optional) with a default value of desc.
Rank_dense: The rank_dense also accepts the two arguments: aggregated
measure and ranking order. This assigns the same rank to the same values but
doesn’t stop there and keeps incrementing with the other values. For instance, if
you have values 10, 20, 20, 30, then ranks will be 1, 2, 2, 3.
Rank_modified: The rank_modified assigns the same rank to similar values.
Rank_unique: The rank_unique assigns a unique rank to each and every value.
For example, If the values are 10, 20, 20, 30 then the assigned ranks will be
1,2,3,4 respectively.

37. What is the difference between Tableau and other similar

tools like QlikView or IBM Cognos?
Tableau is different than QlikView or IBM Cognos for various reasons:
Tableau is an intuitive data visualization tool simplifying the story creation by
simple drag and drop techniques. On the other hand, BI tools like QlikView or
Cognos convert data into metadata to let the users explore data relations. If
your presentation runs around presenting data in aesthetic visualizations then
opt for Tableau. If not, and might need a full BI platform then go for
Cognos/QlikView
The ease of use or extracting data details is easier in Tableau than compared to
extensive BI tools like Cognos. With Tableau, your team members, be it a guy
from sales can easily read the data and give insights. But with Cognos, only
members with extensive tool knowledge are appreciated and welcomed.
Tips to clear an interview
To clear interview for Tableau, follow these tips:

Focus on the fundamentals: What is Tableau and its working. How calculations
work or how a query is processed when visualization is created.
Thoroughly know about Dimensions and Measures because that is one of the
important concepts in Tableau.
Get acquainted with the best practices of creating dashboards and visualizations
and also discrete and continuous views.
Explain why you like Tableau or how it differs from other similar tools like
QlikView or IBM Cognos. Your interest in BI tools will put you ahead in the
competition.
What are the scenarios where you’ll use Live connection or Data extract in
Tableau?
How dashboards are deployed on the Server.
What was the maximum amount of data you have handled in Tableau? If you are
learning Tableau, while practicing, check the size of your visualization or the
TDE file.
Create some visualization stories for sample work.
How you will take requirements before creating a dashboarding application.
What was your development methodology: Waterfall or Agile?
How much time it takes you to create a dashboard.

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Tableau Interview Questions

To view the live version of the

Basic Tableau Interview Questions

2. What is the diﬀerence between various BI tools and Tableau?

3. What are diﬀerent Tableau products?

Page 5 © Copyright by Interviewbit

4. What is a parameter in Tableau?

5. Tell me something about measures and dimensions?

Page 6 © Copyright by Interviewbit

6. What are continuous and discrete field types?

Discrete View Tableau

7. What is aggregation and disaggregation of data?

Page 7 © Copyright by Interviewbit

Aggregation of data means displaying the measures and dimensions in an aggregated

8. What are the diﬀerent types of joins in Tableau?

Page 8 © Copyright by Interviewbit

9. Tell me the diﬀerent connections to make with a dataset?

10. What are the supported file extensions in Tableau?

Page 9 © Copyright by Interviewbit

Tableau Workbook (TWB): contains all worksheets, story points, dashboards,

11. What are the supported data types in Tableau?

Page 10 © Copyright by Interviewbit

DataType Possible Values

Date Date Value (December 28, 2016)

Date & Timestamp values (December 28,

Number Decimal (8.00)

Number Whole Number (5)

12. What are sets?

13. What are groups in Tableau?

14. What are shelves?

Page 11 © Copyright by Interviewbit

15. Tell me something about Data blending in Tableau?

16. How do you generally perform load testing in Tableau?

17. Why would someone not use Tableau?

Page 12 © Copyright by Interviewbit

Not cost-eﬀective: Tableau is not that cost-eﬀective when we compare it well

19. What are the various types of filters in Tableau?

20. What are dual axes?

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21. What is the diﬀerence between a tree and heat map?

Page 14 © Copyright by Interviewbit

Page 15 © Copyright by Interviewbit

22. What are extracts and schedules in Tableau server?

23. What are the components in a dashboard?

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24. What is a TDE file?

25. What is the story in Tableau?

26. What are diﬀerent Tableau files?

Tableau Interview Questions For Experienced

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29. Mention what is the diﬀerence between published data

30. What is the DRIVE Program Methodology?

31. How to use groups in a calculated field?

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Using groups in a calculation. You cannot reference ad-hoc groups in a

33. What is Assume referential integrity?

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36. What is the Rank Function in Tableau?

Page 20 © Copyright by Interviewbit

37. What is the diﬀerence between Tableau and other similar