Creating parameters in Tableau - Dashboard Building Guide

Dashboard Mode - Creating parameters

Goal

Answer: How can we let users choose a sales target and see which products meet or exceed it?

Sample Data

Product	Category	Sales
Chair	Furniture	250
Desk	Furniture	450
Pen	Office Supplies	150
Notebook	Office Supplies	300
Phone	Technology	600
Monitor	Technology	400

Dashboard Components

• Parameter: Sales Target - A number parameter users can set to any value between 100 and 700 in steps of 50. Default is 300.
• Calculated Field: Meets Target - Formula: IF [Sales] >= [Sales Target] THEN 'Yes' ELSE 'No' END. This marks products that meet or exceed the chosen target.
• Bar Chart: Shows Product on X-axis and Sales on Y-axis. Bars colored by Meets Target (green for 'Yes', gray for 'No').
• KPI Card: Displays Number of Products Meeting Target - Formula: COUNT(IF [Sales] >= [Sales Target] THEN [Product] END). Shows how many products meet or exceed the chosen sales target.
• Data Table: Lists Product, Category, Sales, and Meets Target status for each product.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|      KPI Card        |    Sales Target      |
|  (Products Meeting)  |    Parameter Control |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Bar Chart                 |
|                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------+
|                 Data Table                     |
+-----------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

The Sales Target parameter lets users pick a sales goal number. When changed, it updates:

• The Meets Target calculated field for each product.
• The bar chart colors to highlight products meeting the target.
• The KPI card count of products meeting the target.
• The data table showing which products meet or miss the target.

This lets users explore how changing the sales goal affects product performance.

Self Check

If you set the Sales Target parameter to 400, which products are marked as meeting the target?

Answer: Desk (450), Phone (600), and Monitor (400) meet or exceed 400.

Which components update to reflect this?

• The bar chart colors these three products green.
• The KPI card shows 3 products meeting the target.
• The data table marks these products with 'Yes' in Meets Target.

Key Result

Dashboard lets users set a sales target parameter to see which products meet or exceed it, updating charts and KPIs dynamically.