Creating bins in Tableau - Formula Evaluation Walkthrough

Sample Data

Sales amounts for 9 transactions.

Cell	Value
A1	Sales
A2	120
A3	250
A4	430
A5	310
A6	90
A7	600
A8	470
A9	150
A10	380

Formula Trace

IF [Sales] < 200 THEN 'Low' ELSEIF [Sales] < 400 THEN 'Medium' ELSE 'High' END

Step 1: Evaluate [Sales] for row 2: 120

Step 2: Check if 120 < 200

Step 3: Assign bin 'Low' for 120

Step 4: Evaluate [Sales] for row 3: 250

Step 5: Check if 250 < 200

Step 6: Check if 250 < 400

Step 7: Assign bin 'Medium' for 250

Step 8: Evaluate [Sales] for row 7: 600

Step 9: Check if 600 < 200

Step 10: Check if 600 < 400

Step 11: Assign bin 'High' for 600

Cell Reference Map

    A   
  +-----+
1 |Sales|
2 | 120 | --> Used in binning
3 | 250 | --> Used in binning
4 | 430 |
5 | 310 |
6 |  90 |
7 | 600 | --> Used in binning
8 | 470 |
9 | 150 |
10| 380 |

The formula uses the Sales values in column A to assign bins.

Result

    A      B    
  +-------+-------+
1 | Sales | Bin   |
2 | 120   | Low   |
3 | 250   | Medium|
4 | 430   | High  |
5 | 310   | Medium|
6 |  90   | Low   |
7 | 600   | High  |
8 | 470   | High  |
9 | 150   | Low   |
10| 380   | Medium|

Each sales value is assigned a bin: 'Low' for less than 200, 'Medium' for 200 to less than 400, and 'High' for 400 or more.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What bin is assigned to a sales value of 150?

A Medium

B Low

C High

D None

Key Result

IF [Sales] < 200 THEN 'Low' ELSEIF [Sales] < 400 THEN 'Medium' ELSE 'High' END