Most Commonly Asked Tableau Interview Questions

In the near future, the world’s data generation will nearly double in amount than what it is now. According to a survey conducted by the IDC (International Data Corporation) by 2020 we will generate 50 times more data than in 2011. Now that such a gargantuan amount of data will be generated which will come with real-world business implications, thus, businesses around the world will require tools which should be capable to analyze this data and gather actionable insights from them. Tableau is a tool that helps organizations do exactly that, i.e. data mining and visualizing business opportunities to take requisite actions for amplifying revenue generation. So, it is understandable that the demand for personnel proficient in Tableau is expected to rise by manifolds in the next few years.

So, we India’s leading Tableau training institute have compiled a list of the most commonly asked interview questions for a position of Tableau operator/executive in this post. If you have more such questions that you have recently come across in an interview and would like to know the answer feel free to drop them in the comments below and our data science training faculty will get to them ASAP. And if you would like to take up a Tableau Certification course or take up an online Tableau training check out our curriculum on Tableau BI Certification.

Common interview questions on Tableau:

• Do you know the difference between Live Data and Extract Data in Tableau?

The best answer to this question: An ‘extract’ connection is a connection with a static database, which is refreshed every day/hour/period. In this case all data are copied from the data source to the Tableau Server. Refreshing the data source will not give you the latest data – you have to refresh the extract to get them.

A live connection will query the underlying data in the data source/database – refreshing the visualization will give you the latest results. In this case no data is copied to Tableau Server for pre-processing.

• Name a few of the different types of filters used in tableau.

The best answer to this question:

The 3 types of Filters in Tableau are:
1) Quick Filter
2) Data Source Filter
3) Context Filter

• Can you tell me the difference between parameters and filters in Tableau?

The best answer to this question: The difference actually lies in the application. Parameters allow users to insert their values these can be float, integers, string, date that can be used in calculations. However, filters receive only values users choose to ‘filter by’ the list this cannot be used to perform calculations.

Users can dynamically change measures and dimensions in parameter but filters do not support of this feature.

• How will you view underlying SQL Queries in Tableau?

The best answer to this question: Viewing underlying SQL Queries in Tableau can be done in two ways:

• Create a Performance Recording, to register performance information about the main events you interact with workbook. Users can view the performance metrics in a workbook created by Tableau.

Help> Settings and Performance> Start Performance Recording
Help> Setting and Performance > Stop Performance Recording

• Reviewing the Tableau Desktop Logs located at C:\Users\\My Documents\My Tableau Repository. For live connection to data source, you can check log.txt and tabprotosrv.txt files. For an extract, check tdeserver.txt file.

• Do you know the difference between .(dot) twb and .(dot) twbx?

The best answer to this question: The .(dot) twb is the most common file extension used in Tableau, which presents an XML format file and comprises all the data present in each dashboard and sheet like what fields are used in the views, styles and formatting that are applied to a sheet and dashboard.

But this workbook does not contain any data. The Packaged Workbook merges the data in a Tableau workbook with the local data available (which is not on server). A. (dot) twbx serves as a zip file this includes custom images if any. Packaged Workbook allows users to share their workbook information with other Tableau Desktop users and let them open it in Tableau Reader.

• How many maximum tables can you join in Tableau?

The best answer to this question: A maximum number of 32 tables can be joined in Tableau. A table size must also be limited to 255 columns (fields).

Here were the answers to the most commonly asked Tableau interview questions, for more such interesting data analytics news, job updates and discussions follow our daily uploads from DexLab Analytics. We have recently launched our new branch in Pune, so, now Maharashtrians can also get their data analytics certification from DexLab Analytics, we add values to dull data!

Best of luck for your Tableau interview!

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