Top Most Frequently Asked Tableau Interview Questions (with Short Answers) set 3

 

31. What is the difference between Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud?

Tableau Server

• Hosted on-premises by the organization.
• Managed by the company's IT team.

Tableau Cloud

• SaaS solution hosted by Tableau.
• No infrastructure maintenance required.

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32. What is the difference between Published Data Source and Embedded Data Source?

Published Data Source

• Stored on Tableau Server/Cloud.
• Can be reused across multiple workbooks.
• Centralized governance.

Embedded Data Source

• Exists only inside a workbook.
• Cannot be shared independently.

Interview Tip: Enterprises prefer Published Data Sources.

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33. What is the difference between Measure Names and Measure Values?

Measure Names

• Contains the names of all measures.
• Used to display multiple measures.

Measure Values

• Contains the values of selected measures.

Example:

Sales
Profit
Quantity

Displayed together in a single table or chart.

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34. What are Generated Fields in Tableau?

Fields automatically created by Tableau.

Examples:

• Number of Records
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Measure Names
• Measure Values

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35. What is the difference between a Worksheet, Dashboard, and Story?

• Worksheet: A single visualization.
• Dashboard: Multiple worksheets combined.
• Story: A sequence of dashboards/worksheets telling a business story.

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36. What are Table Calculations? Name some commonly used ones.

Table calculations are computed on the data already displayed in the visualization.

Common functions:

RUNNING_SUM()

RANK()

WINDOW_SUM()

WINDOW_AVG()

LOOKUP()

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37. What is the difference between RUNNING_SUM() and WINDOW_SUM()?

RUNNING_SUM()

• Calculates cumulative total.

RUNNING_SUM(SUM([Sales]))

Example:

100
250
450
700

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WINDOW_SUM()

• Sums values within a specified window.

WINDOW_SUM(SUM([Sales]),-2,0)

Example:

Rolling 3-month Sales

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38. What is the LOOKUP() function?

Returns a value from another row in the table.

Example:

LOOKUP(SUM([Sales]),-1)

Returns the previous row's sales.

Useful for:

• MoM Growth
• YoY Growth
• Variance Analysis

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39. What is the difference between RANK() and INDEX()?

RANK()

Ranks based on measure values.

RANK(SUM([Sales]))

Output:

1
2
3
4

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INDEX()

Returns row position.

INDEX()

Output:

1
2
3
4

Difference: RANK() depends on values; INDEX() depends on row order.

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40. How do you troubleshoot a slow Tableau dashboard?

Answer:

• Use Extract instead of Live connection.
• Reduce the number of marks.
• Optimize joins and relationships.
• Use Context Filters.
• Minimize Quick Filters.
• Replace complex calculations with database logic.
• Reduce high-cardinality dimensions.
• Use Performance Recorder to identify bottlenecks.
• Hide unused fields.
• Limit dashboard actions and worksheets.

Interview Tip: Mention Performance Recorder (Help → Settings and Performance → Start Performance Recording). This is a strong point in senior Tableau interviews.