How to analyze KPIs using Sparklines in Tableau Software – Skill Pill Video

Data analytics is extremely important when we need to find out the movements that take place in our company and its performance. Also, data analytics tools reveal interesting insights in terms of streamlining the way companies choose to operate. Today we are talking about another way to visualize and explore a company performance, through KPIs. We will discuss how we can use KPIs and sparklines in Tableau Software to communicate and highlight different trends or patterns in our data.

KPIs are mainly used when we want to quickly analyze the overall performance of some departments, campaigns, or various actions in our company. In Tableau Software there are countless ways to display KPIs and evaluate them. One of the most useful is to use Sparklines, which we will discuss below.

KPIs and Sparklines in Tableau

Sparklines are usually small, concentrated graphics that offer no context when used alone. Being condensed graphs, they are always used next to certain texts or are grouped to provide context for analysis and to display trends. Displaying KPIs using sparklines is a very useful technique for quickly communicating trends or patterns.

Also, including sparklines in a KPIs performance analysis provides a pleasant visual experience. The results are displayed in an organized way and quickly provides information about changes that take place over time. Frequently, sparklines are used in dashboards in which we want to summarize the situation of the KPIs followed.

Sparklines are a great method to display outcomes in a compact and easy to understand way. It should be noted that using sparklines without a context such as KPIs, company performance or stock market will not reveal much information. They do not use axes or other coordinates and therefore do not reveal many perspectives without a specific context. But sparklines are often used in dashboards when they are accompanied by texts, images, or various figures.

Below you will find all the steps you need to follow to use sparklines in Tableau. In our example you will see how you can reduce the number of worksheets used in a dashboard to make it easier to maintain.

Step 1: Connect to data

→ In Tableau Desktop, connect to Sample Superstore – dataset provided by Tableau.

Step 2: Create the visualization

→ Create a Line chart with sales by each month of 2020:
• Add Continuous Month of Order Date on Columns
• Sales on Rows and on Label (line ends)
• Year of Order Date on Filter, keep 2020
• Uncheck Show Headers from axes, remove Grid Lines, Zero Lines, Axis Rulers

→ Create the following calculated fields:
Sales CY
{FIXED : SUM(if YEAR([Order Date])={MAX(YEAR([Order Date]))} Then Sales END)}

Sales PY
{FIXED : SUM(if YEAR([Order Date])={MAX(YEAR([Order Date]))}-1 Then Sales END)}

% Change Sales
(SUM([Sales CY])-SUM([Sales PY]))
/
SUM([Sales PY])

Default number format for % Change Sales: custom +0.0%;-0.0%

→ Add Sales CY and % Change Sales on Detail

→ Edit Title and include the KPIs: Sales CY and % Change Sales
Format this Title a little bit

→ Duplicate twice the SALES worksheet and create the PROFIT and QUANTITY worksheets

→ Duplicate the calculated fields used for SALES KPIs and just replace SALES with PROFIT or QUANTITY in the formulas

→ Replace also the fields used in marks, rows, columns, title

→ Create a dashboard with custom size 900 x 300. Include all 3 worksheets into a horizontal container and apply some padding, borders, background

By Sergiu Rotaru

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