Tableau Certified Architect

About the Tableau Certified Architect Exam and Program

Audience Description: Tableau Certified Architect

Purpose of this Exam Guide

About the Exam

Recommended Training and References

Exam Outline

Maintaining Your Exam

The Tableau Certified Architect certification is intended for individuals who manage Tableau Server infrastructure. They have knowledge, skills, and experience in designing, deploying, monitoring, and maintaining a scalable Tableau platform, as well as migrations to Tableau Cloud. This role implements complex deployments of Tableau Server in enterprise-level environments.

This credential validates both core Tableau knowledge and hands-on development skills of employees, partners, customers, and freelancers, who need to work with various Tableau products including Tableau Cloud and Server.

There are no prerequisites for the exam. Upon successful completion of this exam, candidates are awarded the title of Tableau Certified Architect. This title is valid for two years.

Candidates for this exam collaborate with customers to design, deploy, monitor, and maintain a scalable Tableau platform that meets best practices and drives business value. They integrate Tableau with other products and create custom enterprise solutions. They provide strategic recommendations for the Tableau platform, including scaling, security, governance, complex customizations, and automation. They configure and maintain all services of Tableau Server, including services used by all Tableau products.

The Technical Architect typically has a minimum 1 year of experience with Tableau and Tableau products including Cloud, Server, and Bridge and has deployed Tableau Server on at least one cloud platform environment.

This exam guide is designed to help you evaluate if you are ready to successfully complete the Tableau Certified Architect exam. This guide provides information about the target audience for the exam, the recommended training and documentation, and a complete list of exam objectives. We highly recommend a combination of on-the-job experience, course attendance, and self-study to maximize your chances of passing the exam.

Read on for details about the Tableau Certified Architect exam.

Exam Overview

Content:

• Knowledge-based: 40-45 multiple-choice and multiple-select items
• Performance-based: 6-8 hands-on lab tasks

Product Version: Currently testing on 2022.3

Time Limit: 120 minutes (includes 3 minutes for reviewing the NDA and 5 minutes for tutorial).

Language(s) Offered: English

Passing Score: 750

Results: Results are reported by email within 48 hours of completing the exam

Prerequisite: None required

Registration fee: USD $250 plus applicable taxes as required by local law

Reschedule fee: USD $25 plus applicable taxes as required by local law

Delivery options: Proctored exam delivered onsite at a Pearson VUE testing center or in an online proctored environment.

Exam Check-in: Check-in begins 30 minutes before the scheduled exam time.

References: No hard-copy or online materials may be used during the exam

Exam Registration, Scheduling, and System Preparation

Registration and Scheduling

1. Create and/or log in to your Tableau Certification Account
2. Navigate to "Schedule My Exam"
3. Choose "Schedule or Manage my exam with Pearson"
4. On your Pearson Dashboard, you will select the exam you would like to take and proceed with scheduling.

System Preparation

For a successful exam experience, ensure your computer, network, and the physical environment are properly configured. This includes performing a system test before the exam. Be sure to conduct the system test in the same conditions under which you will take the test (e.g., time of day, number of people connecting to the system, etc.)

Review the Technical Requirements for complete details. Larger monitors are recommended to result in the best testing experience for exams that include hands-on lab items. For questions, visit tableau.com/learn/certification, or submit a case through Trailhead Help. 

Check-in Process

During the check-in process you must show a valid government-issued ID in its original form (not a photocopy). The name on your ID must match the name on your exam registration and must include a recent, recognizable photo. More information on ID requirements can be found here. Failure to meet ID requirements will result in the termination of your exam session.

Find additional information about the check-in process and testing experience for each method here.

Exam Structure

Timeliness

Completing a task effectively and efficiently has become a standard that organizations expect from employees. This exam is timed as a critical competency of successful candidates.

Exam Sections

The Tableau Certified Architect exam has 3 sections and some sections have more questions than others.

1. The first section is knowledge-based with approximately 25 items of varying types, but no hands-on tasks.
2. The second section of the exam is the hands-on lab with 6-8 tasks. This section requires the candidate to demonstrate their skills using Tableau.

   Time Management Consideration: It is recommended to allow yourself 30-45 minutes to complete the hands-on lab section of the exam.

     3. The third section resembles the first section with approximately 25 knowledge-based items but no hands-on lab tasks.

Note: Candidates are not allowed to go back to a previous section of the exam once they have moved on to the next section.

Access to Materials, Applications, or Internet

Access to the internet, or any other outside application is prohibited during the entire exam. The first and third sections of the exam containing the knowledge-based questions are administered without access to the Tableau Platform. The second, hands-on lab section of the exam requires the candidate to use the Tableau Platform to perform the required tasks. Candidates will have access to the .pdf version of Tableau Help during this section of the exam.

Comments

Candidates have the ability to comment on items in the exam. Please note that you will not receive a direct response to your comment(s). The Certification Team reviews all comments submitted and considers this feedback along with item statistical performance before the release of new versions of the exam.

Technical Issues

If you encounter technical issues during the exam, please contact the proctor. In many cases, the only course of action the proctor can recommend or take, is to restart the exam. More than one restart may be needed. However, if you are not seeing a resolution in a timely manner and you feel your results will be negatively affected or you will not be able to finish the exam, ask the proctor to stop the exam and log a case with Pearson VUE. Once the exam has been stopped, please follow up with the Tableau Certification Team by logging a case about your experience through Trailhead Help. 

Results and Scoring

Results

Candidates will receive an email when their score report is available (within 48 hours of completing the exam.) To navigate to that score report, log into your certification account. Once you are logged in, click on Schedule My Exam/Schedule or Manage my exam with Pearson then, GO TO PEARSON. In your Pearson VUE account dashboard, click on my Exam History or View Exam Results to download your score report.

Scaled Scoring

Scaled scores are a mathematical conversion of the number of items that a candidate answers correctly so that there is a consistent scale used across all forms of the exam. A relevant example is the process of converting pounds to kilograms. The weight of the object has not changed, only the units being reported.

Tableau exam results are reported as a score from 100 to 1000. The score shows how the candidate performed on the examination as a whole and the pass or fail designation. Scaled scoring models are used to equate scores across multiple exam forms that may have slightly different difficulty levels.

Score reports are sent when a candidate fails the exam. This report contains a table of categories of performance at each section level. This information is designed to provide general feedback concerning examination performance. The examination uses a compensatory scoring model, which means candidates do not need to “pass” the individual sections, only the overall examination. Each section of the examination has a specific weighting, some sections have more questions than others. The scoring table contains general information, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. Section level feedback should be interpreted with candidate caution and paired with other available forms of remediation before retaking the exam.

Scoring Insight

Please keep in mind that your final score is based on the number of questions answered or tasks performed correctly. If you leave a question unanswered or a lab task not performed, you will not receive credit. Furthermore, you do not receive partial credit. For example, if a question requires you to select three correct options, you do not receive credit for selecting one or two of the three options that are correct. Also, for lab tasks, there may be multiple ways to perform the task correctly. You are only graded on whether or not all of the requirements are met in your final response.

Unscored Content

This examination includes unscored items. These items are placed on the exam to gather statistical information to verify their validity for future use. These items are not identified on the exam and do not affect the scoring of the exam.

We recommend a combination of hands-on experience, training course completion, and self-study in the areas listed in the Exam Outline section of this guide.

In addition to experience, candidates are also strongly encouraged to be familiar with the content of the following Tableau training and resources:

Instructor Led Sessions:

• Site Admin Learning Path
• Server Admin Learning Path
• Server Architect Learning Path

As a reference, this exam guide includes test domains, coverage percentages and objectives only. The table below lists the main content domains and their weightings.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a comprehensive listing of the content on this examination.

Domain 1: Design a Tableau Infracture

1.1 Gather requirements for implementing a complex Tableau deployment

• 1.1.1 Evaluate requirements for users and their role distributions
• 1.1.2 Identify relevant constraints and requirements, including future growth
• 1.1.3 Identify requirements for and recommend a strategy for licensing, including ATR (Authorization-to-Run)
• 1.1.4 Assess the need for high availability and disaster recovery
• 1.1.5 Map the features and capabilities of the Tableau Server Add-Ons to requirements

1.2 Plan and implement Tableau Cloud

• 1.2.1 Plan and implement Tableau Bridge
• 1.2.2 Plan and implement authentication
• 1.2.3 Plan and implement automated user provisioning, including System for Cross-Domain Identity Management (SCIM)
• 1.2.4 Troubleshoot advanced configuration issues

1.3 Plan a migration

• 1.3.1 Plan a migration of Tableau Cloud to Tableau Server
• 1.3.2 Plan a migration of Tableau Server to Tableau Cloud
• 1.3.3 Plan a migration from Windows to Linux
• 1.3.4 Plan a migration from one identity store to another
• 1.3.5 Plan a consolidation of multiple Tableau servers or sites into one
• 1.3.6 Plan a migration from one Tableau Server environment to another
• 1.3.7 Create scripts for migration
• 1.3.8 Use the Tableau Content Migration Tool

1.4 Design an appropriate process topology

• 1.4.1 Specify process counts (sizing)
• 1.4.2 Specify node count
• 1.4.3 Specify service-to-node relationships, including service isolation and service collocation
• 1.4.4 Specify when to use external services

1.5 Recommend a Tableau Server configuration

• 1.5.1 Recommend an appropriate identity store and authentication configuration
• 1.5.2 Recommend specific configuration keys and values to suit a given use case
• 1.5.3 Recommend a configuration to address security requirements such as encryption at rest and encryption over the wire
• 1.5.4 Recommend hardware and network specifications
• 1.5.5 Create a disaster recovery strategy

Domain 2: Deploy Tableau Server

2.1 Implement production-ready Tableau Server deployments

• 2.1.1 Deploy, configure and troubleshoot Tableau Server processes
  • 2.1.1.1 Configure an external file store
  • 2.1.1.2 Configure an external repository
  • 2.1.1.3 Configure an external gateway
  • 2.1.1.4 Configure an unlicensed node
  • 2.1.1.5 Configure a coordination ensemble
  • 2.1.1.6 Configure a backgrounder process with a specific node role
  • 2.1.1.7 Configure Tableau for a load balancer
  • 2.1.1.8 Configure the Metadata API
• 2.1.2 Install in an air-gapped environment
• 2.1.3 Validate a disaster recovery/high availability test strategy
• 2.1.4 Perform a blue-green deployment
• 2.1.5 Locate and interpret Tableau Server installation logs
• 2.1.6 Install and configure Resource Monitoring Tool server and agents

2.2 Configure and troubleshoot supported authentication methods

• 2.2.1 Configure and troubleshoot SAML
• 2.2.2 Configure and troubleshoot Kerberos
• 2.2.3 Configure and troubleshoot OpenID Connect
• 2.2.4 Configure and troubleshoot Mutual SSL
• 2.2.5 Configure and troubleshoot trusted authentication
• 2.2.6 Configure and troubleshoot Connected App authentication
• 2.2.7 Configure and troubleshoot LDAP
• 2.2.8 Configure and troubleshoot Azure Active Directory
• 2.2.9 Identify dependencies between authentication methods and Tableau environments, including Tableau Cloud

2.3 Implement encryption

• 2.3.1 Implement SSL encryption
• 2.3.2 Implement database encryption
• 2.3.3 Implement extract encryption
• 2.3.4 Set up service principal names (SPNs) for Kerberos

2.4 Install and verify Tableau Server on Linux

• 2.4.1 Install Tableau Server on Linux by using CLI or the Installation Wizard
• 2.4.2 Identify and resolve issues with installation on Linux
• 2.4.3 Identify and resolve issues with operating system and networking configurations
• 2.4.4 Identify and resolve issues with interfaces and interactions with external systems
• 2.4.5 Identify and resolve issues with proxy issues
• 2.4.6 Identify appropriate operating system logs and Tableau logs for troubleshooting
• 2.4.7 Verify system groups and file system permissions

2.5 Install and verify Tableau Server on Windows

• 2.5.1 Install Tableau Server on Windows by using CLI or the Installation Wizard
• 2.5.2 Identify and resolve issues with installation on Windows
• 2.5.3 Identify and resolve issues with operating system and networking configurations
• 2.5.4 Identify and resolve issues with interfaces and interactions with external systems
• 2.5.5 Troubleshoot proxy issues
• 2.5.6 Identify appropriate operating system logs and Tableau logs for troubleshooting
• 2.5.7 Verify system groups and file system permissions
• 2.5.8 Use the Run As service account

Domain 3: Monitor and Maintain a Tableau Deployment

3.1 Create custom administrative views

• 3.1.1 Interpret the repository schema and the event types
• 3.1.2 Build admin dashboards for common scenarios

3.2 Perform load testing

• 3.2.1 Recommend a load testing strategy
• 3.2.2 Configure and use a load testing tool such as TabJolt
• 3.2.3 Configure a test environment
• 3.2.4 Create appropriate test plans
• 3.2.5 Interpret load test results and determine the appropriate action

3.3 Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks

• 3.3.1 Troubleshoot complex performance issues related to workbooks, data sources, and other types of content
• 3.3.2 Perform resource analysis, latency analysis, and workload analysis to determine root cause of performance issues
• 3.3.3 Create an action to resolve issues identified in performance recordings
• 3.3.4 Optimize caching for Tableau Server

3.4 Maintain and tune a Tableau Server environment by using observability data

• 3.4.1 Map the features and capabilities of the Tableau Server Resource Monitoring Tool to observability requirements
• 3.4.2 Recommend a strategy for collecting and analyzing Tableau Server logs
• 3.4.3 Recommend a strategy for collecting and analyzing Tableau Server process metrics
• 3.4.4 Recommend a strategy for collecting and analyzing operating system and hardware-related metrics
• 3.4.5 Interpret observability data
• 3.4.6 Revise architecture based on observability data
• 3.4.7 Troubleshoot connectivity in multi-node environments, especially database connectivity

3.5 Automate server maintenance functions

• 3.5.1 Manage and change Tableau Server resources programmatically, including Tableau Services Manager (TSM), REST APIs, and tabcmd
• 3.5.2 Recommend a script deployment method, including Windows Scheduler and cron
• 3.5.3 Recommend automated deployment methods for Tableau Server, Tableau Desktop, and Tableau Prep
• 3.5.4 Design an automated complex disaster recovery process
• 3.5.5 Plan and implement multi-node server upgrades
• 3.5.6 Automate maintenance tasks, such as cleanup and backup

3.6 Manage server extensions

• 3.6.1 Schedule content automation tasks by using webhooks, tabcmd, REST, or Hyper APIs
• 3.6.2 Implement and configure dashboard extensions and web data connectors
• 3.6.3 Configure trusted tickets and connected apps for a custom embedded solution

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