FREE TABLEAU DASHBOARDS LEARNING PATH

WikiFree original practice workbook

The visual storyhouse

CASE STATUS: fictional/synthetic teaching material. Do not present the example as real research, employment experience or measured business performance.

OUTCOME
Build a Tableau dashboard that explains monthly bicycle-library usage and survives filtering, total checks and an accessibility review.

BEFORE YOU START
Comfort with spreadsheet tables and access to Tableau Public or a licensed Tableau installation you already use.

CASE
The fictional Larch Bicycle Library lends bicycles in two neighborhoods. The six monthly counts are synthetic and safe to use in a public practice workbook.

INPUTS
Month,Neighborhood,Loans
2026-01,North,40
2026-01,South,20
2026-02,North,30
2026-02,South,50
2026-03,North,50
2026-03,South,40


ENTRY CHECK

Question: Should months sort alphabetically?

Self-check: No. Use a real date or an explicit chronological order.

Question: Can a chart title change the implied population?

Self-check: Yes. Keep the selected neighborhood and period visible.

Question: Is Tableau Public appropriate for confidential data?

Self-check: Do not place confidential data in a public practice workflow.

STAGE 1: Connect and define the grain

Prerequisite: Comfort with spreadsheet tables and access to Tableau Public or a licensed Tableau installation you already use.

Instruction: One row represents one neighborhood-month, not one individual loan. Set month as a date and loans as a number. A six-row source can produce 230 loans without containing 230 records. That distinction controls aggregation and chart labeling. Keep a plain CSV source and check that both neighborhoods have all three months before designing the dashboard.

Practice task: Connect the CSV, verify date order and build a text table with neighborhood, month and loans.

Deliverable: A validated source and data table.

Acceptance check: Six records represent 230 loans across three months and two neighborhoods.

If stuck: Do not use Number of Records as the loan-volume measure.

Record your work, decisions and evidence:




Record your result against the acceptance check:



STAGE 2: Choose the question and views

Prerequisite: Bring your previous output: A validated source and data table.

Instruction: Use a line or column view for change over ordered months and a bar view for neighborhood totals. Each view should answer a named question. A chart comparing total loans is not a per-resident participation rate because population is absent. Do not invent denominators to make neighborhoods look comparable.

Practice task: Sketch a trend view, a neighborhood comparison and a detail table. Explain the question each answers.

Deliverable: A three-view dashboard plan.

Acceptance check: The plan uses loan counts and discloses that neighborhood populations are unknown.

If stuck: Replace a population-rate title with a count title unless population data is added.

Record your work, decisions and evidence:




Record your result against the acceptance check:



STAGE 3: Build and reconcile the views

Prerequisite: Bring your previous output: A three-view dashboard plan.

Instruction: Reconcile each visual to a text table. North totals 120 and South 110; month totals are 60, 80 and 90. Avoid truncated bar axes that exaggerate small differences. Labels and tooltips should reveal exact values, units and the relevant month. These checks turn a persuasive picture into a traceable report.

Practice task: Create the planned views and a grand-total check. Label axes, period and aggregation explicitly.

Deliverable: Three reconciled Tableau worksheets.

Acceptance check: Every view reconciles to 230 and months appear January through March.

If stuck: If a chart shows six loans, inspect the chosen aggregation rather than styling the axis.

Record your work, decisions and evidence:




Record your result against the acceptance check:



STAGE 4: Make filtering understandable

Prerequisite: Bring your previous output: Three reconciled Tableau worksheets.

Instruction: A dashboard filter changes the question being answered. Apply the neighborhood selection consistently to related views and make the active state visible. A reset option helps reviewers return to the baseline. Test one neighborhood, all neighborhoods and a narrow date range; no interaction should leave a headline that describes a broader population than its data.

Practice task: Assemble the dashboard and test North-only, February-only and the reset state. Record expected totals before clicking.

Deliverable: An interactive dashboard and filter test sheet.

Acceptance check: North-only is 120, February-only is 80 and reset is 230.

If stuck: If a headline remains 230 after filtering, align its scope or clearly label it as an unfiltered benchmark.

Record your work, decisions and evidence:




Record your result against the acceptance check:



STAGE 5: Review the story and share safely

Prerequisite: Bring your previous output: An interactive dashboard and filter test sheet.

Instruction: Use readable contrast, direct labels and more than color to identify series. Write a short description that a person can understand without hovering. Tableau Public is intended for public work; only these synthetic rows belong in the exercise. Save a copy and document the tool version and source so the portfolio result can be reproduced.

Practice task: Add an accessible text summary and a handover note. Review the smallest intended dashboard layout and remove clipped labels.

Deliverable: A dashboard with a text alternative and reproducibility note.

Acceptance check: The text states the 230 total and the 60-to-90 monthly change without claiming a causal explanation.

If stuck: Do not infer why usage increased from a table that contains no causal variables.

Record your work, decisions and evidence:




Record your result against the acceptance check:



WORKED CASE
Loans increase from 60 in January to 90 in March, a 50% increase in this synthetic period. North contributes 120 and South 110 overall. These are counts, not neighborhood participation rates or proof that an intervention worked.

FINAL PROJECT
Deliver the workbook or verified public practice link, source CSV, three filter checks, text summary and a design rationale. Add April counts of North 45 and South 35 and verify the new total of 310.

REQUIRED CRITICAL CHECK
Dashboard totals and filter states reconcile and no private data enters a public workbook.

SCORING
Score each of the five stage acceptance checks from 0–16 (0 missing/incorrect; 8 partially supported; 16 complete and evidenced). Score the final integrated project from 0–20 (0 missing; 10 incomplete handover; 20 complete, reproducible and consistent with the case). Target: at least 80/100 AND the critical check must pass. A total score never overrides a failed critical check.

SCOPE LIMIT
This is a focused dashboard project, not the complete six-course Tableau sequence or an advanced calculations credential.

SOURCES AND ACCESS
Tableau Public offers a free route for public practice. Use only the supplied synthetic data. An existing licensed Tableau installation is also suitable; no paid subscription is required to study the videos.

Tableau Data Visualization: Free Course
WikiFree: https://wikifree.com/courses/free-learn-skills-daily-tableau-data-visualization/
Official source: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoyECfvEFOjYIEUwDV1_SIDlcTZPm7kg0
Why selected: The first two public Tableau lessons establish the interface and dashboard skills. Later provider lessons remain optional; the bicycle-library case is original.

Stage 1 selected lessons:

1. Tableau Data Visualization Beginner (1:56:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSarlW_ZcWQ&list=PLoyECfvEFOjYIEUwDV1_SIDlcTZPm7kg0&index=1

Stage 2 selected lessons:

2. Tableau Data Visualization Intermediate (1:42:01)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Ddz0BXNwY&list=PLoyECfvEFOjYIEUwDV1_SIDlcTZPm7kg0&index=2

Tableau Public
https://www.tableau.com/products/public

REUSE
Original WikiFree teaching text and synthetic fixtures are supplied for personal learning and adaptation with attribution. Provider lessons remain on their original sites and retain their own terms. No provider certificate is included.