Telling Golden Data Stories with Tableau Pareto Charts

Pareto charts are a type of visualization that is used for identifying the most important factors or issues in a dataset. They are named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who developed the concept in the early 20th century. Pareto charts typically consist of a bar chart that shows the frequency or occurrence of different items in a dataset, along with a line chart that shows the cumulative percentage of the items.

To create a Pareto chart in Tableau, you will need to have your data organized in a way that includes at least one field representing the items you want to analyze and another field representing the frequency or occurrence of each item. 

Two graphs, such as a bar graph and a line graph, make up a Pareto chart. The graph is produced using the same measure, but different processing is applied to the measure values.

The Pareto Chart in Tableau is used to determine the contribution of each participant in a field.

For instance, the Pareto Chart can be used to assess the measure of Profit provided by various dimensions, such as Sub-Category of items, in a data source like Sample-Superstore.

Here’s a general outline of the steps you can follow:

1. Connect to your data source in Tableau and select the fields you want to use for your Pareto chart.
2. Drag the field representing the items onto the Columns shelf.
3. Drag the field representing the frequency or occurrence of the items onto the Rows shelf and select a continuous data type.
4. Select a bar chart as the visualization type. Tableau will automatically create a bar chart using the fields you have placed on the shelves.
5. To create the cumulative percentage line chart, right-click on the frequency field in the Rows shelf and select “Quick Table Calculation” > “Running Total” from the context menu. This will create a new field that shows the cumulative percentage of the items.
6. Drag the cumulative percentage field onto the Rows shelf and select a line chart as the visualization type.
7. To customize the appearance and behavior of your Pareto chart, you can use the options in the “Format” and “Analyze” menus. For example, you can change the colors of the bars and lines, add data labels, and customize the axes.

Pareto charts are a useful tool for identifying the most important factors or issues in a dataset, and they can be especially helpful for prioritizing problems or opportunities based on their impact or importance. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Pareto charts are based on the principle of the “80/20 rule,” which suggests that a small number of factors or issues typically account for the majority of the impact or occurrence in a dataset. As a result, Pareto charts may not always provide a complete or accurate representation of the data.