My successful experience with the online Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam
What is the Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam?
It is the professional level Tableau certification that will test and validate the core Tableau knowledge and hands-on development skills in various Tableau products including: Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online/Tableau Cloud.
The Data Analyst exam is an advancement of the skillset that are validated in the Tableau Desktop Specialist (TDS) certification exam. This exam also technically replaces the retired Tableau Desktop Certified Associate exam.
Although the official Tableau Exam Prep Guide mentions that there no prerequisites for this exam I would recommend that you need to be aware of the various concepts as per the 4 Domains of the Exam and it would be great if you have a decent amount of hands on experience in Tableau Desktop (at least 1 year although not mandatory).
Upon successful completion of this exam, candidates are awarded the title of Tableau Certified Data Analyst. This title will be valid for two years.
Why did I take up the Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam?
My Tableau Desktop Certified Associate title got expired this year and I had to get a valid professional level of Tableau certification. Although I did not have much experience in Tableau Prep Builder and Tableau Server, I decided to challenge myself and start preparing for the exam.
Getting certified validates my Tableau skills and it helps me to stay relevant with the latest advancements and changes in the Tableau product range.
How did I prepare for the Exam and what are the suggested resources?
The preparation style can be different for each person based on his/her expertise and experience in Tableau. In my case I have been using Tableau for close to a year now. I was already aware of most of the key areas but given below are some of the resources that I would suggest anyone who wants to take up the exam with confidence and crack it.
- Certified Data Analyst Exam Prep Playlist by Daria Kirilenko (DSCOVR Analytics)
2. Get Ready to Pass the Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam with These Tips by Anthony B. Smoak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep_tZwOrqJ4
3. If you need a structured course then check out the below course by Maven Analytics
https://www.udemy.com/course/tableau-certification-prep/
4. For a detailed walkthrough of the process of the exam refer to the below blog by Jason Khu
https://jason-khu.com/my-online-tableau-certified-data-analyst-exam-experience/
Apart from these resources the below mentioned YouTube Channels are excellent places to stay updated in Tableau topics
What are the key focus areas for the Exam?
As per the DA exam rules, I cannot mention the actual questions that I had got in the exam but I can however suggest few key focus areas (in no specific order)
- The working of the Table Calculations Functions FIRST(), LAST() and INDEX() in various scenarios
- What are Parameters and how to use them in a view i.e. in Filter, in Calculated Field or in a Reference Line?
- How to implement a Top N Filter in a view?
- How does the Context Filter work along with Dimension Filters?
- How to create a Combined Set?
- How to build different chart types (Bar Chart, Histogram, Scatter Plot, Pie Chart) and what are the building blocks?
e.g: What is the Mark type? What is in the Rows/Columns shelf? What is in the Color of Marks card? What is in the Detail of Marks card? etc. - What are the different types of Automated Grouping options in a Clean Step in Tableau Prep Builder i.e. Pronunciation, Common Characters and Spelling and when to use each type?
- What are the Filter options in a Clean Step based on the Data Types in Tableau Prep Builder?
e.g. String Data Types will have the Filter options as Selected Values, Calculation, Wildcard Match and Null Values - What is the use of Data Roles in Tableau Prep Builder?
- What are the steps to replace a Data Source in an existing Worksheet in Tableau Desktop?
- What are the steps to create an Alert and Subscription in Tableau Server/ Tableau Online?
- What are the steps to build a Filled Map or Choropleth Map?
- When do you choose the specific tool for Data Preparation i.e. either Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder?
- How work with Show/Hide Button option in Dashboards?
- How does the Scope (or Partition) and Direction (or Addressing) affect any Table Calculation in a Table/Chart View e.g. Percent Difference?
- What are the export options available in Tableau Desktop i.e. File Menu and Worksheet Menu?
- What are the different options w.r.t Dashboard Filter Actions i.e. how to achieve interactions between the different views in a Dashboard?
- How to carry out Number Formatting as per the field e.g: Currency etc.
How to create a Density/ Heatmap in Tableau Desktop? - What are the various computation options while adding a Distribution Band in Tableau? E.g: Percentages, Percentiles, Quantiles, Standard Deviation
- How to add Trend Lines to a view and how to interpret the Trend Line?
- How to add a Forecast to a view and how to customize it?
- How to carry out a SPLIT on a string field using the Transform options and the Calculated Field Editor option?
- How do the various types of RANK Table Calculation Functions differ e.g: RANK, RANK_DENSE, RANK_MODIFIED, RANK_UNIQUE etc.?
- What is the difference between DATENAME, DATEPART and DATETRUNC functions?
- How to build a Dual Axis Chart?
- Basics of FIXED LODs
- How to work with Hierarchies in Tableau?
- Advantages of working with Extracts in Tableau
NOTE: These topics are not an exhaustive list and are provided only as a guide for the exam.
My exam experience and result
I had checked in 30 minutes before my exam start time and this was required as there were a lot of pre-exam checks to be done i.e. photo of self, photo of testing space (front, back, left side and right side), photo of ID etc. Then I had to wait for my proctor to check the documents and release my exam.
Finally, when the exam started I took close to 10 minutes to answer my first question. I would suggest that in case you get stuck in any question within a section then please mark it for later and come back to it finally instead of wasting time on that one nagging question.
The exam consists of 3 sections i.e. 2 Knowledge-based and 1 Performance-based (lab based questions) sections. The Knowledge-based section various types including multiple-choice, multiple-select, and active screen items. In my exam I got the Performance-based section as the middle section in between the 2 Knowledge-based sections.
Personally, I felt that the Hands-on performance-based portion of the exam were very straight forward as the questions were quite simple. The multiple choice and multiple select questions were a bit tricky as you need to remember various tool and menu options etc. You would need to recollect how to perform various operations to answer many of the knowledge-based questions especially the multiple-select and active screen items.
The tip that I would give to anyone taking the exam is to review all the questions before finishing each section (there are 3 sections) as we cannot navigate back to a previous section. Also scroll down completely and go through the full question and other details before selecting the answer.
The total exam duration is 120 minutes which I felt was quite sufficient as I was able to complete the exam approximately 30 minutes before time. But I had to wait close to an hour after the scheduled end time of my exam to receive the score report on my registered email. I passed the exam with a decent score thanks to the dedicated preparation time that I had set apart for it (close to over 3 months). In general, the Exam results will be updated in your certification account within 24 hours of receiving this score report email.
I feel excited in sharing my journey with respect to preparation and taking up the exam and I hope this blog will be useful for anyone planning to take up the Tableau Certified Data Analyst exam!!!
References:
Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam Guide
https://www.tableau.com/learn/certification/tableau-certified-data-analyst-exam-guide
NOTE: The other resources are mentioned in the “How did I prepare for the Exam and what are the suggested resources?” section of this blog.
Disclaimer:
These points are only with respect to my Tableau Certified Data Analyst exam preparation and certification and this blog is meant to act as a reference or guide to others who want to get certified in this exam.
