Over on Tableau Public, Judit Bekker create this fantastic directory of charts to help you pick the one that's most appropriate for your analysis.

Check it out below.

Beginners and advanced designers alike get stuck deciding which chart is right for their data. Next time you're stuck, try this chart guide by Damola Ladipo.

Check it out on Tableau Public here. Click the image below for a hi-res version to print.

I don't believe in complexity in data visualization. I stick with simple charts when you needs to compare measures to add context.

Tableau workbook here.

Have you ever wondered how to compare sales performance between two sets of weekdays? 

In this video, I'll show you how to calculate and compare sales for the last 10 weekdays against the prior 10 weekdays—all while excluding weekends. 

What You Will Learn:

1. Setting up your data source for comparison
2. Creating calculated fields for two sets of weekdays
3. Configuring table calculations to get only the days you need
4. Filtering out weekends from both data sets
5. Implementing advanced date functions for comparison
6. Visualizing and comparing sales for both sets of weekdays

Background Context:

Tableau enables you to conduct intricate data analyses, but comparing specific sets of weekdays can be tricky. This tutorial simplifies that process, focusing on comparing the last 10 weekdays' sales with the 10 weekdays preceding them.

Assumptions:

1. You have a foundational knowledge of Tableau.
2. Your sales data contains date information.
3. You've previously worked with calculated fields in Tableau.

Related Videos:

1. Tableau for Beginners: Link
2. Everything you need to know about table calcs: Link

Resources:

How many people power the Forbes Cloud 100? Is there a correlation between company rank and employee size? Have they expanded or contracted.

Learn how to build 28 charts in 60 minutes that compare two years.

In this tip learn when to use of dashed lines. Through this video, I'll walk you through 8 distinct examples, demonstrating the effectiveness and clarity that dashed lines can bring to your data representation:

1. Line Chart with Dashed Elements: Understand the basics of creating dashed lines.
2. Multiple Lines Differentiation: Explore how to distinguish multiple measures using varied dashed patterns.
3. Line/Area Chart Combination: Integrate dashed lines with filled areas.
4. Comparison to a Moving Average: Learn how dashed lines can contrast raw data against its moving average, helping in trend analysis.
5. Current Year vs. Prior Year: Used dashed lines to make year-on-year comparisons.
6. Combination Chart: Combine several chart types, using dashes to maintain clarity.
7. Barbell Chart Analysis: Learn how dashes can link data points in a barbell chart, highlighting change and consistency.
8. Forecast vs. Actuals: Create a forecast with dashed lines.

What is a KPI?

KPIs are measurable values that indicate how well a business is performing in achieving its key objectives and goals. They provide a clear and concise snapshot of critical areas within a business.

KPIs help to:

• Monitor progress

• Identify areas of improvement

• Make data-driven decisions

In order to do this, KPIs must be tailored to specific goals and strategies.

Making KPIs Actionable

Here are 8 suggestions to ensure that KPIs are actionable and impactful.

1. Align with business objectives
   

2. Focus on relevance and simplicity

3. Set measurable targets

4. Collect accurate and timely data

5. Visualize your KPIs

6. Regularly review and update

7. Add context

8. Drill down

Actionable KPIs are vital for measuring performance and achieving results. You can drive your business forward by aligning data with goals and simplifying and visualizing KPIs effectively

Read more about KPIs in my newsletter here. Sign up so you don't miss any future newsletters at andykriebel.com.

⏬ DOWNLOAD the data, and starter and solution workbooks here. I would appreciate your support to continue making videos for you.

In a previous tip, I showed you how to calculate day over day change and build 3 KPI cards.

However, this does not cover the case when you need to ignore weekends. In this #Tableau tip, I show you how to calculate daily change excluding the weekends.

You can copy/paste the calculations from below the video. Enjoy and good luck!

Calculations

Are you looking for ways to improve how you visualize comparisons between 2 to 3 performance measurements in Tableau? 

In many performance monitoring dashboards, you need to make comparison of actual values to budget or target. In this video, I will show you effective ways of making these comparisons. 

I will also show you how to compare your performance to prior year (PY) to see if performance is improving year over year. 

One thing you'll notice in these examples is the consistent use of color. Make sure your metrics use the same colour throughout your dashboards, reports and worksheets. The colors should be easy to differentiate. 

I have 4 designs that you can apply to make any comparison look better and easier to understand. 

Download the workbook for a bonus 5th chart type that compares these three metrics over time.

I've showed you in several videos and WatchMeViz live streams how to create a 2 level drill down. And naturally the follow up question is always, how can I go one level deeper? This tip has exactly what you're looking for. I show you how to create a 3 level drill down in Tableau.

This example shows you how to drill down from Category to Sub-Category to Segment. All you need to do for your situation is replace the dimensions I'm using with yours. This will work with any combination of 3 dimensions.

Check out the interactive version below the video.

This type is inspired by this example from Lindsey Poulter - https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/lindsey.poulter8872/viz/SetActionDrilldown/ChooseaMetric

This week's data set was pretty simple. We had 21 baseball seasons and a column for each pitch type. Pivoting the metrics made it much easier to work with for me as I could then split the view by pitch type.

During #WatchMeViz (below), I create a trellis view, showed how to create groups, sets, set actions, sparklines, LODs, custom number formatting, creating a mobile view, and more.

Thank you for tuning in. Here's the video and below is my visualization.