Last Updated: 2026-04-21 18:04:36
Tableau Report Developer's Guide
Questions?
Contact the GovPro Analytics Team
Please complete our Portal Intake Form. Not Sure? Please review the details below for requirements and tips.
Security is applied in Tableau Server. Choose the appropriate Users and Group permission levels.
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Ready to Add a New Dashboard?
Please complete our Portal Intake Form. Not Sure? Please review the details below for requirements and tips.
Workbook Permissions
Security is applied in Tableau Server. Choose the appropriate Users and Group permission levels.
Workbook Publishing Requirements
- Published Tableau objects must be dashboards. Stand-alone Tableau sheets cannot be run via the Portal.
- Please also include a good Description in the Publish Workbook to Tableau Server dialog. This helps users find and understand your dashboard in the Portal and Report Catalog.
- When publishing a workbook to the Tableau Server, you must check the Show Sheets as tabs item in the Publish Workbook to Tableau Server dialog.
Helpful Checklists
Self-Review Checklist
How to Use
This checklist can be used in multiple ways:
- Early in the development process to help with dashboard design
- Late in the development process to validate design and decisions
Checklist - Tasks
Documentation
- Dashboard Overview - Write a short description of the dashboard goals, data source, and visualizations and save it with other project documentation. This will be used in the Peer Review process.
Checklist – Dashboard Review
Audience
- Do I understand my customer’s goals and questions they’re looking to answer using this dashboard?
- Is the dashboard terminology written in business language my customer understands?
- Has sufficient explanatory text or Help been provided?
- Would a portal tutorial be beneficial?
Data
- Was the data reviewed and/or cleaned up for missing values, duplicates, or outliers?
- Has text data been reviewed and/or cleaned for typos, leading/trailing whitespace, or line breaks?
- Is there any concern for bias in the data?
- Is the data date range appropriate for meeting the dashboard goals?
- Is the data date range communicated to users?
- Are the data types appropriate?
- Have aggregations, calculated fields, table calculations, level of detail calculations been tested?
- Is there an ongoing need to refresh the data? Is there an automated process in place for this?
Security
- Do only the appropriate users have access to the dashboard and its underlying data sources?
Filters
- Are filters used for appropriate dimensions?
Layout and Text Context
- Are dashboard elements aligned?
- Are titles descriptive?
- Are dashboard colors appropriate and consistent?
- Are dashboard fonts and font hierarchy appropriate and consistent?
- Any typos or grammatical errors?
Visualizations
- Are tooltips use effectively?
- Are chart legends present where helpful?
- Are borders and grid lines minimized for a clean look?
- Are data annotations used effectively?
- Is interactivity effectively communicated to users?
Views
- Are there multiple views for the dashboard? If so, are they organized in a way that the user understands what content is available and how to use each?
- Tableau dashboard objects perform better in the GovPro portal. Are any stand-alone Tableau views deployed?
Performance
- Does the dashboard load and update in a reasonable amount of time (~15 sec or less)?
- Do filters use an Apply button for updates?
Deployment
- Is a data refresh scheduled? If so, does the refresh cadence match the temporal design (i.e., weekly, monthly)?
- Will the new dashboard be published to the same location as an existing dashboard (preserving links or bookmarks)?
- If the dashboard replacement has a new location, would it be helpful to modify the existing dashboard to contain a forwarding link to the new dashboard (preserving links or bookmarks)?
- Should any replaced dashboard or data source be deleted?
Peer Review Checklist
How to Use
This checklist is used after the developer has built the dashboard and completed the Self-Review checklist.
Steps
- Read the Dashboard Overview document or briefly discuss dashboard goals with developer
- Review the checklist items against the dashboard design. Make notes of any findings.
- Meet with the dashboard developer and constructively discuss checklist findings
Checklist
Dashboard Goals
- Is the purpose of the dashboard clearly communicated?
Data
- Are there any concerns about bias?
- Has the report undergone data quality analysis (accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, validity)?
Security
- Do only the appropriate users have access to the dashboard and its underlying data sources?
Layout and Text Content
- Are dashboard items grouped in a logical fashion?
- Are dashboard colors appropriate and consistent?
- Are dashboard fonts and font hierarchy appropriate and consistent?
- Are there any elements that use horizontal scrolling?
- Are sections of the dashboard labelled as needed?
- Are images used? Are the aspect ratio and resolution appropriate?
- Are the elements aligned and spaced appropriately?
- Do the content elements have enough space and/or separation?
- Any typos or grammatical errors?
Visualizations
- Are the types of visualizations selected appropriate for communicating the goals?
- Do any items highlight trends or annotate certain data points? Are there opportunities for additional data callouts?
- Do items drill through to other views? If so, does the transition work as expected? Is there a return path – if appropriate?
- Do numbers generally look correct and reasonable?
- Are dates formatted appropriately?
- Do numbers include units and are they formatted appropriately?
- Do tooltips contain useful information and good formatting?
- Are any embedded actions working correctly?
Filters
- Are global filters and visualization element filters used in appropriate ways?
- Is the scope of each filter clear? In other words, does a filter impact the visualization(s) expected?
Help
- Does any Help or explanatory text provided on the dashboard appear sufficient?
- Is a portal tutorial recommended?
Portal
- Has the dashboard been placed in an appropriate section of the portal?
- Is the dashboard displayed correctly when viewed in the portal?
Performance
- Does the dashboard load and update in a reasonable amount of time (~15 sec or less)?
- Do filters use an Apply button for updates?
Deployment
- Is a data refresh scheduled? If so, does the refresh cadence match the temporal design (i.e., weekly, monthly)?
- Will the new dashboard be published to the same location as an existing dashboard (preserving links or bookmarks)?
- If the dashboard replacement has a new location, would it be helpful to modify the existing dashboard to contain a forwarding link to the new dashboard (preserving links or bookmarks)?
- Are there any old, related dashboards/data sources that are no longer needed and can be deleted?
User Acceptance Checklist
How to Use
This can be completed by a business customer independently or in discussion with the dashboard developer
Checklist
- Does the dashboard meet my goals?
- Is the dashboard sized appropriately for the device I intend to use?
- Do I understand the terminology used on the dashboard?
- Do I understand the visualization elements?
- Are the text elements readable?
- Do I understand the interactivity features off the dashboard?
- Can I filter the data the way I would like?
- Does the dashboard load and update in a reasonable amount of time?
- Do I know who to contact if I have questions about the dashboard?