My successful experience with the online Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam

My Tableau Desktop Specialist Badge

What is the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam?

It is the Associate level Tableau certification that will test and validate the basic foundational knowledge and skills in Tableau Desktop alone.
This requirement is different from the Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam (TDA exam) where we will be tested in other Tableau products including Tableau Prep, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online/Tableau Cloud.

Although the official Tableau Exam Prep Guide mentions that there no specific 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 (% of Exam Content mentioned in brackets)

Connecting to and Preparing Data (23%)

Exploring and Analyzing Data (37%)

Sharing Insights (25%)

Understanding Tableau Concepts (15%)

In addition it would be great if you have a decent amount of hands on experience in Tableau Desktop (at least 3 to 4 months although not mandatory).

Upon successful completion of this exam, candidates are awarded the title of Tableau Desktop Specialist. The added attraction of this certification exam is that this title does not expire.

Why did I take up the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam?

I had already cleared this exam around 2 years back in the older format when the online exam was being handled by another organization.
In the previous format there was access to Tableau Desktop so it was somewhat easier. Of course this is my point of view.

Getting certified validates my Tableau skills and it helps me stay relevant with the latest updates in the TDS exam format and topics.

How did I prepare for the Exam and what are the suggested resources?

The preparation style will surely 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 2 years 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 TDS exam with confidence and crack it.

1. Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification book by Adam Mico published by Packt

2. Tableau Desktop Specialist Practice Exam Questions Playlist by Big Tech Mindset

Tableau Desktop Specialist Practice Exam Questions Playlist

Apart from these resources the below mentioned YouTube Channels are excellent places to stay updated in Tableau topics (not restricted to only the TDS exam)

Tableau Tim

sqlbelle

Data Viz Canvas

AllAboutDATA

Xpressurdata

NOTE: Although there is plenty of content available regarding Tableau in YouTube I have specifically mentioned these Channels as they cover a range of useful Tableau topics.

What are the key focus areas for the TDS Exam?

As per the TDS exam rules I cannot mention the actual questions that I had got in the exam but I can suggest certain key focus areas (in no specific order)

1. Standard chart types and their typical use cases e.g: Bar Chart, Line Chart, Scatter Plot etc.
2. Histograms and bins
3. Formatting options at Worksheet and Workbook level
4. Connection Types i.e. Live and Extract
5. Types of Extract refreshes i.e. Full and Incremental Refreshes
6. Dimensions, Measures, Discrete, Continuous, Blue and Green Pills
7. Aggregation and Granularity of Data
8. Aggregation options for Measures and Dimensions
9. Rename and Aliases
10. Data Types
11. Relationships, Unions, Joins and Blends
12. Logical Layer and Physical Layer in a Data Model
13. Tableau File Types e.g: .tds, .tdsx, .twb, .twbx, .hyper etc.
14. Date Parts and Date Values of Date fields
15. Marks card options e.g: Color, Size, Label, Detail, Tooltip, Shape, Path, Angle
16. Story and Story Point
17. Dashboard Objects e.g: Containers, Web Page, Blank, Text, Image, Extensions etc.
18. Typical Dashboard Actions e.g: Filter, Highlight, Go to URL etc.
19. Different Color palettes based on the field type e.g: Categorical, Continuous, Diverging etc.
20. Highlighter Legend
21. Filter Modes based on the field type e.g. Discrete and Continuous field
22. Date field behavior in Rows/Columns shelf, Filters shelf etc.
23. Variations of a Standard Bar Chart e.g: Stacked Bar Chart
24. Groups and Sets
25. Automatic and Custom Hierarchies
26. Headers and Axes in a view
27. Highlight Tables
28. Concatenating fields
29. Geographic fields and the default Geographic Roles
30. Types of Calculations i.e. Basic expressions (Row-level & Aggregate), Table Calculations and Level Of Detail (LOD) Expressions
31. Dual Axis , Blended Axis and Individual Axis Charts
32. Trend Lines and Reference Lines
33. Cross-database joins
34. Creating Extracts
35. Types of Legends e.g: Color, Size, Shape etc.
36. Context Filters
37. Sorting options in a view
38. Device Layout options in a Dashboard i.e. Default, Desktop, Tablet, Phone
39. Parameters
40. My Tableau Repository
41. String & Logical Functions
42. Export and Saving options in Tableau Desktop
43. Animations
44. Various types of Connectors in Tableau Desktop e.g: Microsoft Excel, Text file, PDF file, MySQL, Tableau Server etc.

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 chosen the online delivery option.

Points to take care before taking the exam:

1. Ensure that you have a clean desk
2. Before even checking-in re-start your system and then run a system test to avoid any last minute issues e.g. issues with Network connectivity, Speakers, Microphone, Webcam etc.
3. Keep your approved original ID proof handy as it would be required during the pre-exam checks

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. Once you complete the initial pre-exam checks ensure to keep your mobile and other electronic devices at a significant distance.
Then I had to wait for my proctor to check the documents that I had submitted and release my exam. My proctor wanted to re-confirm few things regarding my workspace.

Once the exam is released ensure that you do not move away from the Webcam as the Proctor will be monitoring your behavior throughout the exam.

Finally, when the exam started I took close to 5 minutes to answer my first question. I would suggest that in case you get stuck in any question then please mark it for review later and come back to it finally instead of wasting time on that one nagging question.

The exam consists of 45 Knowledge-based questions.
The question types include multiple-choice (radio buttons) and multiple-select (checkboxes).
In the updated TDS exam format there are no Hands-on questions.
NOTE: Although the new format consists of only Knowledge-based questions it is a bit tricky as we do not have access to any outside application including the Tableau Desktop software.

Given below are some tips while answering the questions:

1. We can mark any question it for review later.
2. As we will not have any access to the Tableau Software we need to rely entirely on our memory in terms of remembering all the key GUI menu options, steps to carry out typical tasks, processes etc.
3. There is only one section in this TDS exam hence we need not worry about not being able to navigate to a previous or different section (people who have appeared for the TDA Exam may be familiar with this requirement)
4. The multiple-select (checkboxes) questions were quite tough and we need to be careful when answering them. We need to be sure of our choices as they can be quite misleading.
   For these type of questions the number of options to be selected would be explicitly mentioned e.g: Select 2 or Select 3.
5. The multiple-choice (radio buttons) questions were much easier as we can decide the best possible answer by the process of elimination.

The total exam duration is 60 minutes which I felt was quite sufficient as I was able to complete the exam approximately 20 minutes before time.
After ending the exam you will be required to fill-in a survey regarding your overall exam experience on the platform.
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. In general, the Exam results will be updated in your certification account within 24 hours of receiving this score report email.

I passed the exam with a very good score thanks to the fact that I have been working in Tableau for sometime now and that I had prepared for the critical topics (of each Domain) mentioned in the Exam Prep guide of the TDS exam.

My Score Report for the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam

In my case since I had already passed the TDS exam (in the older format) there was no reissue of certificate. This is evident from the ISSUE DATE in my certificate. It shows the date as 1/24/2021, this is when I had first taken the TDS exam when it was being handled by another organization. In addition it is mentioned that there is NO EXPIRATION for this title.

My Tableau Desktop Specialist certificate

I feel super excited in sharing my journey with respect to preparation and taking up the TDS exam and I hope this article will be useful for anyone planning to take up the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam!!!

References:

Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide

https://www.tableau.com/learn/certification/tableau-desktop-specialist-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 article.

Disclaimer:

These points are only with respect to my own Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam preparation and certification and this article is meant to act as a reference or guide to others who want to get certified in this exam.