Preface

The Tableau community is full of individuals passionate about the software. We use software every day—web browsers, word processors, e-mail applications, instant messaging, and numerous other apps. What is it about Tableau that inspires people to write books and blogs and spend hours volunteering to help others visualize their data?

Tableau is unique in several ways. It is easy and transparent. You can immediately connect to nearly any data source and start asking and answering questions about your data in a visual way. It's also intuitive. Its interface allows hands-on interaction with data, it's easy to get into a flow, and every action uncovers new insights. It's fun! It allows creativity and gives freedom. You're not locked into chart types and wizards that give only one path to a solution. Tableau designers feel like artists, with data as paint and Tableau as a blank canvas.

At the same time, Tableau introduces a paradigm vastly different from traditional BI tools. This book presents the fundamentals for understanding and working within that paradigm. It will equip you with the foundational concepts that will help you use Tableau to explore, analyze, visualize, and share the stories contained in your data.