Data interpreter for cleaning in Tableau - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Data interpreter for cleaning

Dashboard Goal

This dashboard helps you understand how Tableau's Data Interpreter cleans messy Excel data automatically. It shows the original data, the cleaned data after using Data Interpreter, and key metrics to compare both.

Sample Data

Raw Data
Report generated on 2024-06-01
Region,Product,Sales,Date
East,Widget A,100,2024-01-01
West,Widget B,200,2024-01-02
East,Widget C,150,2024-01-03
South,Widget A,120,2024-01-04

Note: The first two rows are extra text and blank rows that Data Interpreter removes.

Cleaned Data (After Data Interpreter)

Region	Product	Sales	Date
East	Widget A	100	2024-01-01
West	Widget B	200	2024-01-02
East	Widget C	150	2024-01-03
South	Widget A	120	2024-01-04

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales (Raw Data) - Shows total sales calculated from raw data (expected to be blank or zero because raw data is unstructured). Formula: SUM([Sales]) on raw data (will be null or zero).
• KPI Card: Total Sales (Cleaned Data) - Shows total sales after cleaning. Formula: SUM([Sales]) on cleaned data = 570.
• Table: Raw Data Preview - Shows first 7 rows of raw data including extra text and blank rows.
• Table: Cleaned Data Preview - Shows cleaned data with proper columns and rows.
• Bar Chart: Sales by Region (Cleaned Data) - Visualizes total sales per region after cleaning. Formula: SUM([Sales]) grouped by [Region]. Values: East=250, West=200, South=120.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
| Total Sales (Raw)    | Total Sales (Cleaned) |
|       [KPI]          |        [KPI]          |
+----------------------+----------------------+
| Raw Data Preview                         |
|               [Table]                    |
+-----------------------------------------+
| Cleaned Data Preview                     |
|               [Table]                    |
+----------------------+----------------------+
| Sales by Region (Cleaned) Bar Chart     |
|               [Bar Chart]                |
+-----------------------------------------+

Interactivity

The dashboard includes a Region filter that applies to the Cleaned Data Preview table and the Sales by Region bar chart. Selecting a region updates these components to show only data for that region.

The Total Sales KPIs update accordingly: Total Sales (Cleaned) changes based on filtered data, while Total Sales (Raw) remains unchanged because raw data is unstructured.

Self Check

Question: If you apply a filter to show only the East region, which components update and what is the new total sales in the Cleaned Data KPI?

Answer: The Cleaned Data Preview table, Sales by Region bar chart, and Total Sales (Cleaned) KPI update. The Total Sales (Cleaned) KPI shows 250 (100 + 150 sales for East region). The Raw Data Preview and Total Sales (Raw) KPI do not change.

Key Result

Dashboard demonstrating how Tableau's Data Interpreter cleans messy data and compares raw vs cleaned sales data with interactive filtering by region.