Visual Analytics with Tableau

Chapter 8Interactive Dashboards

Dashboards provide all the important information about a topic in one view. They are a popular tool for managers and subject‐matter experts alike, allowing them to stay up‐to‐date and to make better business decisions. Having the right dashboard available means you don't have to look for different data sources that may be distributed over multiple locations, and you have a one‐stop solution to the latest data available—assuming the underlying database provides updates in (near) real time.

A dashboard in Tableau typically consists of the charts from several worksheets and other elements. They can be made interactive by linking the individual charts, so that clicking a mark in one chart changes what you see in the other charts. This adds context and allows the end user to explore the data in various ways. For instance, imagine a bar chart with product categories and a world map with sales locations. Clicking the bar of a specific category could filter the map to only show the sales of that particular product. Adding such interactivity helps bring the data alive.

Other elements can be added to a dashboard, including titles, text boxes, images, web elements, and navigation buttons.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Combine several charts into one dashboard.
• Add interactivity with filter and highlight actions.
• Use URL actions to embed websites and allow email mailings.
• Follow an iterative process to further improve the design and usability ...