Tableau Report Developer's Guide

Questions?
Contact the GovPro Analytics Team

Ready to Add a New Dashboard?

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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 Chec​klists

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?