Mastering Tableau 2026 - Fifth Edition: Implement advanced data visualizations, BI techniques and AI-powered analytics with Tableau

Build, design, and improve advanced business intelligence solutions using Tableau's newest updates, including Tableau Desktop, Prep Builder, Server, and AI-powered features to drive data-driven decision-making.

Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader*

Key Features

• Build advanced Tableau dashboards and data visualizations for business intelligence
• Leverage Tableau AI features, automated insights, and LOD expressions to accelerate analysis
• Master Tableau Prep Builder, Server, and advanced analytics, including time series and geospatial

Book Description

Master the full capabilities of Tableau to design, build, and scale modern data visualization and business intelligence solutions.

This book takes you beyond the basics to help you create advanced Tableau dashboards, perform efficient data preparation with Tableau Prep Builder, and deliver impactful analytics across your organization. Through practical examples, you’ll learn how to turn raw data into meaningful insights using proven Tableau data visualization techniques.

As you progress, you’ll work with calculated fields and LOD expressions to build more flexible and powerful analyses. You’ll also explore performance optimization, deployment, and collaboration using Tableau Server, along with best practices for data governance and security in enterprise environments.

In addition, the book covers AI-powered Tableau features that enhance analysis and accelerate insight discovery. You’ll apply advanced techniques such as time series analysis, geospatial analytics, and data modeling, and extend Tableau’s capabilities through Python and R integration for more sophisticated analytics workflows.

By the end of this book, you’ll be equipped to build scalable, high-performance Tableau analytics solutions, enabling you to solve complex business problems with confidence.

What you will learn

• Learn Tableau components like calculated fields and LOD expressions
• Master Tableau Prep Builder with all its features and settings
• Explore and implement data analytics with Python and R
• Use Tableau Exchange for accelerators, extensions, and connectors
• Interact with Tableau Server to understand its functionalities
• Study advanced visualizations and dashboard creation techniques
• Master self-service, time series, and geo-spatial analytics
• Learn to implement data governance and AI-powered features

Who this book is for

This book is designed for business analysts, business intelligence professionals, and data analysts who want to master Tableau to solve a range of data science and business intelligence problems. Prior exposure to Tableau will help you get to grips with the features more quickly, but it’s not a prerequisite.

Table of Contents

1. Reviewing the Basics
2. Cleaning Your Data
3. Using Tableau Prep Builder
4. Learning about Joins, Blends, and Data Structures
5. Introducing Table Calculations
6. Utilizing OData, Data Densification, Big Data, and Google BigQuery
7. Practicing Level of Detail Calculations
8. Going Beyond the Basics
9. Working with Maps
10. Designing Dashboards and Best Practices for Visualizations
11. Leveraging Advanced Analytics
12. Improving Performance
13. Exploring Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud
14. Integrating Programming Languages
15. The Intelligent Era of Tableau AI, Pulse, and Next
16. Developing Data Governance Practices

Marleen Meier is an accomplished data strategist, author, and governance leader with a passion for turning complex data into trusted, actionable insights. She combines traditional analytics methodologies with modern approaches such as machine learning, AI, and agentic analytics. Currently working in the reinsurance sector in Switzerland, Marleen serves as a Data Governance Lead, where she is at the forefront of enabling data initiatives, including AI, through robust data governance frameworks. In this role, she ensures that data is not only accessible and high-quality but also trustworthy and compliant. She believes that the most sophisticated (AI) models are useless without reliable data, and she works to bridge that gap every day. Having lived and worked in multiple countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, and now Switzerland, Marleen brings a truly global perspective to her work. Her diverse experiences across cultures shape her approach to collaboration and problem-solving. Marleen's dedication, expertise, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of data analysis make her a trusted authority in the field. Through her writing, speaking engagements, and active presence in the Tableau community, she aims to empower individuals and organizations to unlock the full potential of their data assets. When she's not working with data, Marleen enjoys playing board games.