BigData / Tableau Interview Questions
What is forecasting in Tableau?
Tableau's built-in forecasting feature projects future values for a time-series measure using exponential smoothing models, without requiring the user to write any statistical code.
Analytics pane -> drag "Forecast" onto the view -> Tableau extends the line/bars with projected future values -> shaded band shows the confidence interval
- Tableau automatically detects trend and seasonality patterns in the historical data to choose an appropriate exponential smoothing model.
- Forecasted points are visually distinguished (typically a dashed line or lighter shading) from actual historical data, and a shaded confidence band shows the range of likely outcomes.
- Forecast length, seasonality, and confidence interval width can all be adjusted in the Forecast Options dialog.
Because it's based on exponential smoothing rather than more advanced regression or machine-learning models, Tableau's native forecasting is best suited to quick, exploratory projections; more rigorous forecasting needs are often better served by exporting data to R or Python via Tableau's statistical integrations.
What statistical technique underlies Tableau's built-in forecasting?
What does the shaded band around a Tableau forecast represent?
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