Overall Satisfaction with Tableau Desktop
Tableau is used by my organization to uncover data trends from a variety of scientific literature databases. The powerful abilities to map data, chart trends, and the recent addition of word clouds, is invaluable to quickly determining what is being done in the world. Being able to quickly and easily filter data allows users to delve deeper into specific areas of interest, yet not lose the bigger picture. The trends and analysis Tableau produces has been instrumental in determining how multi-million dollar budgets are being directed and allocated. Another great feature is the ability to produce Tableau workbooks in Desktop, and then send that file to users with users with the free version, Tableau Reader. Users can utilize Reader to view the file, and apply the filters that the creator included. This has been extremely useful for allowing clients to manipulate and explore the data on their own, without the cost and learning time of using the full version of the software.
- Ease of use. It is extremely easy to drag and drop fields and create a quick dashboard in minutes. After loading data, you can quickly adjust fields to figure out which formats offer the best insights into your data.
- Powerful mapping and charting abilities. There are a wide variety of options available for displaying data, from geographic maps, heat maps, word bubbles, line graphs, bar charts, histogram, bubble chart, scatter plots, area chart, pie charts, etc.
- Customization. With the simple click of a button, you can adjust the colors, sizes, text, and formats of your worksheets. This is especially useful when comparing information on multiple levels of detail, from geographic region, to company type, etc. Its also a great way to customize your reports for you customer, and utilize their specific color scheme.
- There are a few things Tableau could do better, I would like to see even more mapping options, including web or spider maps. I have clients who would be very interested in that view of data, however tableau does not currently offer an easy way to represent the data accordingly.
- It is very easy to add data into Tableau, and for the most part easy to manipulate data within the program, however some fields must be in the proper format to be read correctly. For example, date fields must be in the excel data format (ex:36892 is the value for 1/1/2001), and it will not just read a 4 digit year as a year. Its not the hardest thing to deal with, but can be frustrating needing to return to the original data source to modify date values.
- Tableau has provided my clients with the information necessary to allocate multi-million dollar research budgets effectively, ensuring the company is getting the most bang for its buck.
- Tableau has given my office the ability to present data quickly and easily in a professional format that customers can understand, and has them returning frequently for additional analysis and projects.
Tableau Desktop Feature Ratings
Tableau Desktop Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Tableau Desktop Support
Pros | Cons |
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Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
When I renewed my subscription, I mentioned a few features that I would like to see in future Tableau releases. A few hours later, he had emailed me links on how to accomplish my desires in the current version. It might not be the easiest solution, but it is available. He has also passed my request on to the programmers, and it will be potentially included and made simpler in a future version of the product.
Using Tableau Desktop
Pros | Cons |
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Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Drag and Drop
- Switching between layouts
- Connecting to data
- Formatting data
- Occasionally, laying out data in a useful manner
Yes, but I don't use it