Tableau Desktop Specialist

About the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam and Program

Audience Description: Tableau Desktop Specialist

Purpose of this Exam Guide

About the Exam

Recommended Training and References

Exam Outline

Maintaining Your Certification

The Tableau Desktop Specialist certification is intended for individuals who have foundational knowledge and skills related to Tableau Desktop.

This credential validates core Tableau knowledge of employees, partners, customers, and freelancers, who need to work with Tableau Desktop.

There are no prerequisites for the exam. Upon successful completion of this exam, candidates are awarded the title of Tableau Desktop Specialist. This title does not expire.

Candidates for this exam have foundational knowledge of and skills with Tableau Desktop. They typically have a minimum 3 months experience applying this understanding in the product.

This exam guide is designed to help you evaluate if you are ready to successfully complete the Tableau Desktop Specialist 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 Desktop Specialist exam.

Exam Overview

• Number of questions: 45 multiple-choice and multiple-select items 
• Product Version: Currently testing on 2022.3
• Time Limit:  60 minutes (includes 3 minutes for reviewing the NDA). 
• Language(s) Offered: English and Japanese
• Passing Score: 750
• Results: Results are reported by email within 48 hours of completing the exam
• Prerequisite: None required
• Registration fee: USD $100 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. For questions, submit a case through Trailhead Help or visit tableau.com/certification.

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. 

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. 

Access to Materials, Applications, or Internet

Access to the internet, or any other outside application is prohibited during the entire 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 submitting a case 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, 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. 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 Courses:

• Desktop I: Fundamentals

We also recommend exploring these additional resources:

• Free How-To Training Videos
• Tableau Product Support
• Tableau Product Help
• Visual Analysis Best Practices Guidebook

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: Connecting to and Preparing Data

1.1 Create live connections and extracts

• 1.1.1 Create a live connection to a data source
• 1.1.2 Explain the differences between using live connections versus extracts
• 1.1.3 Create an extract
• 1.1.4 Save metadata properties in a .TDS
• 1.1.5 Create a data source that uses multiple connections

1.2 Create and manage the data model

• 1.2.1 Add relationships to a data source
• 1.2.2 Add joins and unions
• 1.2.3 Explain when to use a join versus a relationship

1.3 Manage data properties

• 1.3.1 Rename a data field
• 1.3.2 Assign an alias to a data value
• 1.3.3 Assign a geographic role to a data field
• 1.3.4 Change data type for a data field (number, date, string, Boolean, etc.)
• 1.3.5 Change default properties for a data field (number format, aggregation, color, date format, etc.)

Domain 2: Exploring and Analyzing Data

2.1 Create basic charts

• 2.1.1 Create a bar chart
• 2.1.2 Create a line chart
• 2.1.3 Create a scatterplot
• 2.1.4 Create a map using geographic data
• 2.1.5 Create a combined axis chart
• 2.1.6 Create a dual axis chart
• 2.1.7 Create a stacked bar
• 2.1.8 Create a density map
• 2.1.9 Create a chart to show specific values (crosstab, highlight table)

2.2 Organize data and apply filters

• 2.2.1 Create groups by using marks, headers, and the data pane
• 2.2.2 Create sets by using marks and the data pane
• 2.2.3 Organize dimensions into a hierarchy
• 2.2.4 Add a filter to a view
• 2.2.5 Add a date filter

2.3 Apply analytics to a worksheet

• 2.3.1 Add a manual or a computed sort
• 2.3.2 Add a reference line
• 2.3.3 Use a quick table calculation
• 2.3.4 Use bins and histograms
• 2.3.5 Create a calculated field (e.g. string, date, simple arithmetic)
• 2.3.6 Explain when to use a parameter
• 2.3.7 Display totals on a worksheet

Domain 3: Sharing Insights

3.1 Format view for presentation

• 3.1.1 Use color from the marks card
• 3.1.2 Configure fonts
• 3.1.3 Format marks as shapes
• 3.1.4 Configure viz animations
• 3.1.5 Change size of marks
• 3.1.6 Show and hide legends

3.2 Create and modify a dashboard

• 3.2.1 Add worksheets to a dashboard
• 3.2.2 Add interactive elements for consumers (e.g. show filters, data highlighter, tooltips)
• 3.2.3 Add dashboard actions (e.g. filter action, highlight action, parameter control, URL action)
• 3.2.4 Configure a dashboard layout and create device-specific dashboards
• 3.2.5 Create a story and a story point

3.3 View and share workbook data

• 3.3.1 Share a workbook (e.g. twbx as a PDF or an image, publish to Tableau Server)
• 3.3.2 View and export underlying data
• 3.3.3 Export to Microsoft PowerPoint

Domain 4: Understanding Tableau Concepts

4.1 Understand dimensions and measures

• 4.1.1 Explain what kind of information dimensions usually contain
• 4.1.2 Explain what kind of information measures usually contain
• 4.1.3 Explain the difference between dimensions and measures

4.2 Understand discrete and continuous fields

• 4.2.1 Explain how discrete fields are displayed
• 4.2.2 Explain how continuous fields are displayed
• 4.2.3 Explain the difference between discrete date parts and continuous date values

4.3 Understand aggregations

• 4.3.1 Explain the default aggregation for measures
• 4.3.2 Describe how an aggregated measure changes when dimensions are added to a view

This certification title does not expire and there are no maintenance requirements.