Top N filters in Tableau - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants to see the top 5 products by total sales for the last quarter to focus marketing efforts.

📊 Data: You have sales data including Product Name, Sales Amount, and Sale Date for the last year.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a Tableau dashboard showing the top 5 products by total sales for the last quarter using a Top N filter.

Sample Data

Product Name	Sales Amount	Sale Date
Alpha	1200	2024-03-15
Beta	850	2024-03-20
Gamma	1500	2024-02-10
Delta	700	2024-01-25
Epsilon	950	2024-03-05
Zeta	400	2024-03-18
Eta	1300	2024-02-28
Theta	600	2024-03-22
Iota	1100	2024-01-30
Kappa	500	2024-02-15

1

Step 1: Connect Tableau to the sales data source containing Product Name, Sales Amount, and Sale Date.

No formula needed; just connect the data source.

Expected Result

Data source is connected and visible in Tableau.

2

Step 2: Create a calculated field to filter sales for the last quarter (Jan-Mar 2024).

Create calculated field named 'Last Quarter Sales' with formula: IF DATEPART('quarter', [Sale Date]) = 1 AND DATEPART('year', [Sale Date]) = 2024 THEN [Sales Amount] ELSE 0 END

Expected Result

Calculated field 'Last Quarter Sales' correctly identifies sales in Q1 2024.

3

Step 3: Create a new worksheet and drag 'Product Name' to Rows and 'Last Quarter Sales' to Columns.

Drag fields as described; set aggregation of 'Last Quarter Sales' to SUM.

Expected Result

Bar chart shows total sales per product for Q1 2024.

4

Step 4: Apply a Top N filter to show only the top 5 products by total sales in the last quarter.

Right-click 'Product Name' in Rows, select Filter > Top tab, choose 'By Field', Top 5 by SUM of 'Last Quarter Sales'.

Expected Result

Only the 5 products with highest total sales in Q1 2024 are displayed.

5

Step 5: Format the chart with clear titles and labels for accessibility and clarity.

Add chart title 'Top 5 Products by Sales - Q1 2024', label axes, ensure color contrast is good.

Expected Result

Chart is easy to read and understand.

6

Step 6: Create a dashboard and add the worksheet to it for presentation.

Drag the worksheet onto a new dashboard, adjust size for readability.

Expected Result

Dashboard shows the top 5 products by sales for the last quarter clearly.

Final Result

Dashboard: Top 5 Products by Sales - Q1 2024

Product Name | Total Sales
--------------------------
Gamma        | ██████████████ 1500
Eta          | ████████████ 1300
Alpha        | ██████████ 1200
Iota         | █████████ 1100
Epsilon      | ████████ 950

(Note: Bars represent relative sales amounts)

✓Gamma is the top-selling product in Q1 2024 with $1500 in sales.

✓The top 5 products together account for the majority of sales in the last quarter.

✓Products outside the top 5 have significantly lower sales.

Bonus Challenge

Add a parameter to let users select the number N for the Top N filter dynamically.

Show Hint

Create a parameter for N, then use it in the Top filter by selecting 'By Field' and referencing the parameter value.