Analytics-Con-301 Salesforce Certified Tableau Consultant Questions and Answers

The problem:

The client wants:

Percent of total sales for each region compared to ALL regions,

even when Region is filtered.

However, the calculation currently behaves like a table calculation:

SUM([Sales]) / TOTAL(SUM([Sales]))

This recalculates the total after Region filters are applied, so removing a region changes the denominator.

Tableau Documentation — How to prevent recalculation:

To keep percent-of-total unchanged when filtering, Tableau’s recommended method is to use FIXED LOD expressions to lock the granularity.

Two values must be fixed:

Numerator: Sales for that specific region{ FIXED [Region] : SUM([Sales]) }

Denominator: Total sales across all regions, independent of filters{ FIXED : SUM([Sales]) }(FIXED with no dimension = entire data set)

Then compute the percentage:

{ FIXED [Region] : SUM([Sales]) } / { FIXED : SUM([Sales]) }

This ensures:

The region sales remain accurate.

The overall total remains constant, even if filters remove regions.

Region filtering no longer recalculates percent-of-total.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. {FIXED [Region]: SUM([Sales])} / SUM([Sales])

The denominator is still affected by filters → recalculates % of total.

B. {FIXED [Region]: SUM([Sales])} / { [Sales] }

{[Sales]} is not valid syntax and does not fix granularity.

D. {FIXED [Region]: SUM([Sales])}

This gives only the numerator — no percent-of-total calculation.

The only correct LOD solution is option C.

Tableau LOD Expression Guide: FIXED for filter-independent calculations.

Tableau Percent-of-Total Best Practices: use FIXED LOD to avoid recalculation when filters change.

Order of Operations: FIXED LODs occur before dimension filters, keeping totals stable.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Key details from the scenario:

The dashboard is on a command center screen.

The environment cannot access the internet.

The data source is real-time (live).

The dashboard must keep itself refreshed automatically.

No human interaction should be required.

From Tableau’s documentation:

✔ Dashboard Extension API

Tableau’s Extension API allows developers to create custom extensions that can automate refreshing a live dashboard at intervals.

The extension is hosted on the company’s internal web server, which solves the “no internet access” limitation.

This is the only method in the listed options that:

Works offline

Can auto-refresh the dashboard

Supports a “screen-based” live monitoring use case

Uses the existing live connection (no need for extracts)

Thus, A is correct.

Why the other options are wrong:

✘ B. Schedule a Prep Flow

Prep flows do not refresh dashboards.

They only refresh prepared data sources.

The dashboard still won’t auto-update unless reopened.

✘ C. Download an extension from Tableau Exchange

Tableau Exchange requires internet access, which the company does not have.

Also, “sandboxed extensions” cannot refresh the dashboard at timed intervals.

✘ D. Use extracts and scheduled extract refresh

Extracts require:

A Tableau Server / Cloud schedule

Internet access for Cloud

And extracts are not real-timeThis contradicts the requirement for real-time data and an offline environment.

To flag orders with sales higher than the regional average, the correct calculated field would compare the sum of sales for each order against the average sales of all orders within the same region:

Correct Formula: { FIXED [Order ID] : SUM([Sales]) } > { FIXED [Region] : AVG({ FIXED [Order ID] : SUM([Sales]) }) }

This calculation uses a Level of Detail (LOD) expression:

The left part of the formula { FIXED [Order ID] : SUM([Sales]) } calculates the total sales for each individual order.

The right part { FIXED [Region] : AVG({ FIXED [Order ID] : SUM([Sales]) }) } calculates the average sales per order within each region.

The > operator is used to compare these two values to determine if the sales for each order exceed the regional average.

References

This formula utilizes Tableau's LOD expressions to perform complex comparisons across different dimensions of the data, as explained in Tableau's official training materials on LOD calculations.

To ensure that each sales representative sees only data relevant to their territory, the best approach in the absence of a Tableau Data Management license involves using a joined data source with entitlements:

Data Source Configuration: Create a data source that joins the sales data table with an entitlements table. The entitlements table contains mappings of sales representatives to their respective territories.

Data Source Filter: Implement a data source filter that restricts data based on the current user’s access rights. This filter references the joined entitlements to dynamically control data visibility based on the logged-in user.

Publishing the Data Source: Publish this filtered data source to Tableau Server. All workbooks or dashboards connecting to this data source inherently respect the row-level security established by the data source filter.

References

This approach aligns with Tableau’s capabilities for implementing row-level security directly within the data source, as detailed in the Tableau security management and data modeling best practices.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

According to Tableau’s Performance Optimization guidance, rendering time becomes the largest bottleneck when excessive marks, dense data, or overly complex visualizations appear on worksheets. Rendering is the last stage in the Tableau Order of Operations and is directly affected by how many marks must be drawn and how visually complex each view is.

Tableau’s performance recommendations explain:

When a performance recording shows that Rendering is the slowest step, the most effective improvement is to reduce the number of marks (records) in the view.

Rendering time is determined by the number of marks, shapes, headers, labels, and visual elements Tableau must draw.

Reducing the amount of data displayed on each worksheet is the most impactful change when rendering is the dominant delay.

Option B directly aligns with this: updating worksheets to reduce the number of records displayed lowers the number of marks, reduces visual density, and improves rendering speed.

Option A is not effective because changing dashboard size does not reduce the number of marks.

Option C would degrade performance because live connections are typically slower than extracts.

Option D improves data preparation and may reduce extract load times, but it does not directly address rendering unless the unused data was contributing to marks in the view. The question indicates the bottleneck is specifically rendering, so reducing marks is the most appropriate action.

Therefore, the most effective solution to reduce rendering time is to reduce the number of records (marks) displayed on worksheets.

Tableau Performance Recording guidance describing rendering as the slowest stage when too many marks are present.

Tableau Performance Checklist recommending reducing the number of marks in views to improve rendering.

Tableau Desktop help sections on best practices for improving visualization performance when rendering dominates.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Tableau’s upgrade guidance identifies two major drivers for upgrading Tableau Server:

Version Compatibility with Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder

Tableau Server must be equal to or newer than the version used by Desktop and Prep Builder for publishing.

Organizations upgrading Desktop often must upgrade Server to avoid compatibility issues.

This is a core reason to update a year-old installation.

Security and Bug Fixes

Tableau regularly publishes security patches, bug fixes, and stability enhancements.

Older versions accumulate unresolved security issues that may be identified by security teams.

Tableau explicitly states that upgrading ensures the instance receives the latest security protections.

Option B is incorrect because upgrading does not reduce hardware requirements; in many cases hardware needs may increase.

Option C is incorrect because Tableau Cloud features do not require upgrading Tableau Server. Tableau Cloud enhancements are independent of Server versions.

Therefore, the two conditions that justify upgrading are maintaining compatibility and addressing security vulnerabilities.

Tableau’s version compatibility matrix requiring alignment between Tableau Server and Desktop/Prep.

Upgrade planning documents emphasizing security patches and bug fixes as key upgrade drivers.

Notes describing that performance complaints alone are not solved simply by upgrading.

To track which data sources are used most frequently across a site in Tableau Cloud, the client should use the GraphiQL engine and the Metadata API. The GraphiQL engine allows for interactive exploration of the metadata, making it easier to construct and test queries1. The Metadata API provides access to metadata and lineage of external assets used by the content published to Tableau Cloud, which is essential for tracking data source usage2.

When considering a migration from Tableau Server to Tableau Cloud, two critical factors to consider are the client’s need for single sign-on (SSO) and the volume of concurrent extract refreshes.

Single Sign-On (SSO): Tableau Cloud supports SSO, which can streamline user authentication and enhance security. If the client plans to leverage SSO, Tableau Cloud may be a suitable choice1.

Concurrent Extract Refreshes: The number of concurrent extract refreshes is a significant factor because it impacts performance and resource allocation. Tableau Server might be more appropriate if the client has a high volume of concurrent extract refreshes, as it allows for more control over the infrastructure to manage these workloads2.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Tableau allows certain calculations to be materialized in extracts, meaning they are precomputed and stored inside the .hyper file to improve performance.

According to Tableau’s extract documentation:

Materializable calculations must be compatible with the extract engine and must not depend on dynamic, view-based, or post-query logic.

Only row-level calculations and aggregation-level calculations without dependencies on runtime context can be materialized.

Tableau cannot materialize any calculation containing:

Table calculation functions

Functions requiring post-aggregation logic

View-dependent elements

Parameters that need runtime evaluation

Evaluation of the choices:

A. A row-level calculation — Correct

Row-level calculations operate on each record individually before aggregation.

Tableau documentation specifies that these calculations can be pushed down into the extract and materialized because they do not depend on the visualization or user interaction.

Examples include concatenation, arithmetic, string manipulation, and row-based logic such as:

[Sales] * [Quantity] or IF [Region] = 'West' THEN 1 END

These can be precomputed inside the extract, improving performance.

B. A calculation that contains table calculation functions — Not allowed

Table calculations (WINDOW_SUM, INDEX, RUNNING_SUM, RANK, etc.) depend on the table structure after aggregation and query execution.

Therefore, Tableau documentation states they cannot be materialized in extracts.

C. A calculation that contains parameters — Not allowed

Parameters are evaluated at runtime, meaning the user can change their value.

Because of this, Tableau cannot permanently compute and store such a calculation inside an extract.

D. A calculation that contains an aggregation — Generally not materialized

Aggregated calculations often depend on query context and cannot always be materialized.

Only simple, context-free aggregations might be materialized, but Tableau explicitly warns that aggregations are not guaranteed candidates for extract materialization.

Thus, this is not the best answer compared to row-level logic.

Conclusion

Only row-level calculations meet Tableau’s exact requirements for materialization in extracts.

References From Tableau Consultant Documentation

Tableau Extract documentation describing materializable calculation types.

Tableau guidance stating table calculations and parameter-dependent calculations cannot be materialized.

Extract optimization guidelines describing row-level logic as eligible for materialization.

The Workbook Optimizer is a tool specifically designed to evaluate a workbook against performance best practices. It provides feedback on key design characteristics and offers concrete guidance on how to improve workbook performance. This tool is beneficial for both new and experienced Tableau users to ensure their dashboards are optimized for performance1.

When migrating content between Tableau servers, certain types of content may require special consideration or different tools for migration:

Tableau Prep Flows: These are specific to Tableau Prep and are not included in the standard content migration capabilities of the Tableau Content Migration Tool. Tableau Prep flows often require separate processes for migration due to their distinct setup and integration with data sources and workflows.

Published Data Sources and Workbooks: These can typically be migrated directly using the Tableau Content Migration Tool, which supports moving published data sources (both live connections and extracts) and workbooks without requiring additional tools.

To compute the required calculations and update the worksheet in Tableau Desktop, follow these steps:

Compute Average Sales by Segment for Each Category and Year:

Open the CC workbook and navigate to the Categorical Sales worksheet.

Drag the 'Sales' field to the Rows shelf if it's not already there.

Drag the 'Segment' field to the Rows shelf as well, placing it next to 'Category' and 'Year'.

Right-click on the 'Sales' field in the Rows shelf and select 'Quick Table Calculation' > 'Average'. This will compute the average sales for each segment within each category and year.

Create a Calculation for Year-over-Year Percentage Change:

Right-click in the data pane and select 'Create Calculated Field'.

Name the calculated field something descriptive, e.g., "YoY Sales Change".

Enter the formula to calculate the year-over-year percentage change:

(ZN(SUM([Sales])) - LOOKUP(ZN(SUM([Sales])), -1)) / ABS(LOOKUP(ZN(SUM([Sales])), -1))

Click 'OK' to save the calculated field.

Replace the Original Measure with the Year-over-Year Percentage Change in the Crosstab:

Remove the original 'Sales' measure from the view by dragging it off the Rows shelf.

Drag the newly created "YoY Sales Change" calculated field to the Rows shelf where the 'Sales' field was originally.

Format the "YoY Sales Change" field to display as a percentage. Right-click on the field in the Rows shelf, select 'Format', and adjust the number format to percentage.

Save Your Changes:

From the File menu, click 'Save' to ensure all your changes are stored.

To shape the data in the "US Population Estimates" data source and enter the total number of records into the "Total Records" parameter in Tableau Desktop, follow these steps:

Open the CC Workbook and Access the Worksheet:

From the desktop, double-click on the CC workbook to open it in Tableau Desktop.

Navigate to the Population worksheet by selecting its tab at the bottom of the window.

Format and Shape the Data:

Ensure the data types match those specified in the requirements: Sex, Origin, Race as strings; Year, Age, Population as whole numbers.

To verify or change the data type, click on the dropdown arrow next to each field name in the Data pane and select "Change Data Type" if necessary.

Calculate Total Number of Records:

Create a new calculated field named "Total Records". To do this, right-click in the Data pane and select "Create Calculated Field".

Enter the formula COUNT([Record ID]) or SUM([Number of Records]) depending on how the data source identifies each row uniquely.

Drag this new calculated field onto the worksheet to display the total number of records.

Enter the Value into the Total Records Parameter:

Locate the "Total Records" parameter in the Data pane. Right-click on the parameter and select "Edit".

Manually enter the number displayed from the calculated field into the parameter, ensuring accuracy to meet the data shaping requirement.

Save Your Changes:

From the File menu, click 'Save' to ensure all your changes are stored.

To modify the Percent Contribution calculated field to use a Level of Detail (LOD) expression and accurately calculate the percentage contribution of each manufacturer to the total quantity, follow these steps:

Open the CC Workbook and Access the Worksheet:

Double-click on the CC workbook from the desktop to open it in Tableau Desktop.

Navigate to the Manufacturers worksheet by selecting its tab at the bottom of the window.

Modify the Percent Contribution Calculated Field:

Navigate to the Data pane and find the "Percent Contribution" calculated field.

Right-click on the "Percent Contribution" field and select 'Edit'.

Modify the formula to incorporate an LOD expression that calculates the total quantity across all manufacturers and the specific quantity per manufacturer:

{FIXED [Manufacturer]: SUM([Quantity])} / {SUM([Quantity])}Quantity])}

This formula uses {FIXED [Manufacturer]: SUM([Quantity])} to compute the total quantity contributed by each manufacturer, regardless of other dimensions in the view. The total quantity {SUM([Quantity])} calculates the grand total across all manufacturers. The division calculates the percentage contribution.

Click 'OK' to save the updated calculated field.

Enter Percentage for Newell:

With the updated "Percent Contribution" field, drag it onto the view to update the chart or table.

Identify the value corresponding to 'Newell' in the updated visualization.

Round this value to the nearest hundredth of a percent as required.

Enter this value into the "Newell % Contribution" parameter. To do this, locate the parameter in the Data pane or on the dashboard, right-click it, and choose 'Edit'. Enter the calculated percentage for Newell.

Save Your Changes:

From the File menu, click 'Save' to store all the modifications you have made to the workbook.

To record the performance of the Property Transactions dashboard in the NYC Property Transactions.twbx workbook and analyze it using a bar chart, follow these detailed steps:

Open the NYC Property Transactions Workbook:

From the desktop, double-click the NYC Property Transactions.twbx workbook to open it in Tableau Desktop.

Start Performance Recording:

Before doing anything else, navigate to the 'Help' menu in Tableau Desktop.

Select 'Settings and Performance', then choose 'Start Performance Recording'.

Open the Property Transactions Dashboard and Reset Filters:

Navigate to the Property Transactions dashboard within the workbook.

Reset all filters to show all values. This usually involves selecting the dropdown on each filter and choosing 'All' or using a 'Reset' button if available.

Stop the Performance Recording:

Go back to the 'Help' menu.

Choose 'Settings and Performance', then select 'Stop Performance Recording'.

Tableau will automatically open a new tab displaying the performance recording results.

Save the Performance Recording:

In the performance recording results tab, go to the 'File' menu.

Click 'Save As' and navigate to the C:\CC\Data\ directory.

Save the file, ensuring it is stored in the desired location.

Create a New Worksheet for Performance Analysis:

Return to the NYC Property Transactions workbook and create a new worksheet by clicking on the 'New Worksheet' icon.

Drag the 'Command Name' field to the Columns shelf.

Drag the 'Elapsed Time' field to the Rows shelf.

Ensure that the 'Worksheet' field is also included in the analysis to break down the time by individual sheets within the dashboard.

Choose 'Bar Chart' from the 'Show Me' options to display the data as a bar chart.

Customize and Finalize the Bar Chart:

Adjust the axes and labels to clearly display the information.

Format the chart to enhance readability, applying color coding or sorting as needed to emphasize sheets with longer load times.

Save Your Work:

Once the new worksheet and the performance recording are complete, ensure all work is saved.

Navigate to the 'File' menu and click 'Save', confirming that changes are stored in the workbook.

To add a line showing the cumulative percentage of sales contributed by each product to the incremental sales in the Incremental worksheet of your Tableau Desktop, follow these detailed steps:

Open the CC Workbook and Access the Worksheet:

From the desktop, double-click on the CC workbook to open it in Tableau Desktop.

Navigate to the Incremental worksheet by clicking on its tab at the bottom of the window.

Calculate Cumulative Sales Percentage:

Create a new calculated field to compute the cumulative percentage of sales. Right-click in the Data pane and select 'Create Calculated Field'.

Name this field "Cumulative Sales Percentage".

Enter the following formula to calculate the running sum of sales as a percentage of the total sales:

(RUNNING_SUM(SUM([Sales])) / TOTAL(SUM([Sales])) [Sales]))

Click 'OK' to save the calculated field.

Add the Cumulative Sales Percentage Line to the Chart:

Drag the "Cumulative Sales Percentage" field to the Rows shelf, placing it next to the existing Sales measure.

Ensure that the cumulative line appears as a continuous line. Right-click on the "Cumulative Sales Percentage" field on the Rows shelf, select 'Change Chart Type', and choose 'Line'.

Adjust the axis to synchronize or dual-axis if necessary. Right-click on the axis of the "Cumulative Sales Percentage" and select 'Synchronize Axis' if it's on a dual-axis setup.

Format the Cumulative Sales Percentage Line:

Click on the "Cumulative Sales Percentage" line in the visualization.

Navigate to the 'Format' pane to adjust the line style, thickness, and color to make it distinct from other data in the chart.

Save Your Changes:

From the File menu, click 'Save' to ensure all your changes are stored.

To complete the Pareto chart in the "City Pareto" worksheet of your Tableau Desktop and add reference lines to illustrate how the data compares to the Pareto principle, follow these steps:

Open the CC Workbook and Access the Worksheet:

From the desktop, double-click on the CC workbook to open it in Tableau Desktop.

Navigate to the City Pareto worksheet by selecting its tab at the bottom of the window.

Construct the Pareto Chart:

Ensure that sales data is aggregated by city. If not, drag the 'City' dimension to the Columns shelf and the 'Sales' measure to the Rows shelf.

Sort the sales data in descending order to properly align the cities according to their sales contribution.

To create a running total of sales, right-click on the 'Sales' measure on the Rows shelf, select 'Quick Table Calculation', and choose 'Running Total'.

Drag the 'Number of Records' field to the Rows shelf next to the Sales running total. Right-click on it, select 'Quick Table Calculation', and choose 'Running Total'. Set its calculation to 'Percent of Total' from the 'Edit Table Calculation' option to represent the percentage of cities.

Add Reference Lines for the Pareto Principle:

Click on the Analytics tab in the sidebar.

Drag a 'Reference Line' element and drop it onto the chart area.

Set the Reference Line for the Sales axis at 80% to represent the typical Pareto cutoff where 80% of effects come from 20% of causes.

Add another Reference Line on the axis representing the percentage of cities, set at 20%, to visually assess the Pareto principle.

Adjust the Appearance of the Chart:

Format the reference lines by right-clicking on them, selecting 'Edit', and choosing a distinct style or color to make them stand out.

Ensure the chart is clear and labels are appropriately adjusted for easy understanding of the data visualization.

Save Your Changes:

From the File menu, click 'Save' to ensure all your changes are stored.