Tableau Strategies

Chapter 12. Building Dashboards and Data Products

For much of the book, we’ve focused on creating various chart types. In this chapter, we will change our focus from creating chart types to building and developing dashboards that are useful for our audiences. In this chapter, you will learn how to bring together worksheets and components for visual systems and learn how to format them to give your audience the best experience possible.

In This Chapter

Unlike in previous chapters, in which you’ve been asked to create dashboards from scratch, this time you will start with an existing Tableau workbook. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to do the following:

• Ask your audience questions when gathering information for dashboard development

• Consider four dashboard types when developing a dashboard

• Create a curated dashboard so your audience feels like they are in charge

• Build unique desktop and mobile views on the same dashboard by using device designer

• Design for those with cognitive challenges like dyslexia

• Design for individuals with color impairments

• Ensure that your dashboard designs are consistent

Dashboard Design

Good dashboard design starts with understanding your audiences, the context in which they use the data, and the consequences that come with the decisions made. For novice developers, the typical dashboard creation process starts by creating a few sheets and then deciding to place the sheets on a dashboard. When the developer creates a dashboard, they add a new dashboard, ...