Tableau Certified Data Analyst

About the Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam and Program

Audience Description: Tableau Certified Data Analyst

Purpose of this Exam Guide

About the Exam

Recommended Training and References

Exam Outline

Maintaining Your Certification

The Tableau Certified Data Analyst certification is intended for individuals who enable stakeholders to make business decisions by understanding the business problem, identifying data to explore for analysis, and delivering actionable insights.

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 Desktop, Tableau Prep, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online.

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

Candidates for this exam have knowledge of the capabilities of Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online to:

• Connect to data source
• Perform data transformations
• Explore and analyze data
• Create meaningful visualizations that answer key business questions
• Share content and keep the content current by publishing, scheduling, and maintaining it on the web

The Data Analyst typically has a minimum 6 months of experience with Tableau and Tableau products including Tableau Prep, Tableau Desktop, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online.

The Data Analyst has the skills to pass Tableau Desktop Specialist (TDS) certification exam. The Data Analyst exam is an advancement of that skillset. Candidates will not be tested on the level of the TDS exam because they are assumed to possess the competencies covered in that exam.

This exam guide is designed to help you evaluate if you are ready to successfully complete the Tableau Certified Data Analyst 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 Data Analyst exam.

Exam Overview

• Content: 
  • Knowledge-based: 40-45 items of various types including multiple-choice, multiple-select, and active screen items. Prior to the start of your exam, there is a tutorial that shows examples of the various item types.
  • Performance-based: 8 - 10 hands-on lab items. The pre-exam tutorial also includes examples of what you will experience in the hands-on lab section.
• 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 and Japanese
• 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, 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. 

Exam Sections 

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

1. The first section is knowledge-based with 20-25 items of varying types, but no hands-on tasks. 
2. The second section of the exam is the hands-on lab with 6-10 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.

1. The third section resembles the first section with 20-25 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 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:

• Analyst 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: Connect to and Transform Data

1.1 Connect to Data Sources

• 1.1.1.   Choose an appropriate data source
• 1.1.2.  Choose between live connection or extract
• 1.1.3.   Connect to extracts
• 1.1.4.  Connect to spreadsheets
• 1.1.5.  Connect to .hyper files (or .tde files)
• 1.1.6.  Connect to relational databases
• 1.1.7.  Pull data from relational databases by using custom SQL queries
• 1.1.8.  Connect to a data source on Tableau Server
• 1.1.9.  Replace the connected data source with another data source for an existing chart or sheet

1.2.     Prepare data for analysis

• 1.2.1.  Assess data quality (completeness, consistency, accuracy)
• 1.2.2. Perform cleaning operations
• 1.2.3.  Organize data into folders
• 1.2.4. Use multiple data sources (establish relationships, create joins, union tables, blend data)
• 1.2.5. Prepare data by using Data Interpreter, pivot, and split
• 1.2.6. Create extract filters

1.3.     Perform data transformation in Tableau Prep

• 1.3.1.   Choose which data transformation to perform based on a business scenario
• 1.3.2.  Combine data by using unions
• 1.3.3.  Combine data by using joins
• 1.3.4. Shape data by using aggregations
• 1.3.5.  Perform filtering
• 1.3.6. Shape data by using pivots

1.4.    Customize fields

• 1.4.1.  Change default field properties (types, sorting, etc.)
• 1.4.2. Rename columns
• 1.4.3. Choose when to convert between discrete and continuous
• 1.4.4. Choose when to convert between dimension and measure
• 1.4.5. Create aliases

Domain 2: Explore and Analyze Data

2.1.     Create calculated fields

• 2.1.1. Write date calculations (DATEPARSE, DATENAME…)
• 2.1.2. Write string functions
• 2.1.3. Write logical and Boolean expressions (If, case, nested, etc.)
• 2.1.4. Write number functions
• 2.1.5. Write type conversion functions
• 2.1.6. Write aggregate functions
• 2.1.7. Write FIXED LOD calculations

2.2.   Create quick table calculations

• 2.2.1. Moving average
• 2.2.2. Percent of total
• 2.2.3. Running total
• 2.2.4. Difference and percent of difference
• 2.2.5. Percentile
• 2.2.6. Compound growth rate

2.3.    Create custom table calculations

• 2.3.1. Year to date
• 2.3.2. Month to date
• 2.3.3. Year over year
• 2.3.4. Index
• 2.3.5. Ranking
• 2.3.6. First-last

2.4.   Create and use filters

• 2.4.1. Apply filters to dimensions and measures
• 2.4.2. Configure filter settings including Top N, Bottom N, include, exclude, wildcard, and conditional
• 2.4.3. Add filters to context
• 2.4.4. Apply filters to multiple sheets and data sources

2.5.    Create parameters to enable interactivity

• 2.5.1. In calculations
• 2.5.2. With filters
• 2.5.3. With reference lines

2.6.   Structure the data

• 2.6.1. Sets
• 2.6.2. Bins
• 2.6.3. Hierarchies
• 2.6.4. Groups

2.7.    Map data geographically

• 2.7.1. Create symbol maps
• 2.7.2. Create heat maps
• 2.7.3. Create density maps
• 2.7.4. Create choropleth maps (filled maps)

2.8.   Summarize, model, and customize data by using the Analytics feature

• 2.8.1. Totals and subtotals
• 2.8.2. Reference lines
• 2.8.3. Reference bands
• 2.8.4. Average lines
• 2.8.5. Trend lines
• 2.8.6. Distribution bands
• 2.8.7. Forecast by using default settings
• 2.8.8. Customize a data forecasting model
• 2.8.9. Create a predictive model

Domain 3: Create Content

3.1.     Create charts

• 3.1.1. Create basic charts from scratch (bar, line, pie, highlight table, scatter plot, histogram, tree map, bubbles, data tables, Gantt, box plots, area, dual axis, combo)
• 3.1.2. Sort data (including custom sort)

3.2.    Create dashboards and stories

• 3.2.1. Combine sheets into a dashboard by using containers and layout options
• 3.2.2. Add objects
• 3.2.3. Create stories

3.3.    Add interactivity to dashboards

• 3.3.1. Apply a filter to a view
• 3.3.2. Add filter, URL, and highlight actions
• 3.3.3. Swap sheets by using parameters or sheet selector
• 3.3.4. Add navigation buttons
• 3.3.5. Implement user guiding sentences (click…, hover…, menu options)

3.4.   Format dashboards

• 3.4.1. Apply color, font, shapes, styling
• 3.4.2. Add custom shapes and color palettes
• 3.4.3. Add annotations
• 3.4.4. Add tooltips
• 3.4.5. Apply padding
• 3.4.6. Remove gridlines, row-level and column-level bands, and shading
• 3.4.7. Apply responsive design for specific device layouts

Domain 4: Publish and Manage Content on Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud

4.1.    Publish Content

• 4.1.1. Publish a workbook
• 4.1.2. Publish a data source
• 4.1.3. Print content
• 4.1.4. Export content

4.2.   Schedule data updates

• 4.2.1. Schedule data extract refreshes
• 4.2.2. Schedule a Tableau Prep workflow

4.3.   Manage Published workbooks

• 4.3.1. Create alerts
• 4.3.2. Create subscriptions

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