Harnessing the Power of Sets in Tableau

Among tools of data visualization, Tableau stands as an impressive tool used worldwide, helping users to explore, analyze, and present data in insightful ways. Sets are one of the most amazing and useful features of Tableau for enhancing analysis and visualization. Sets offer a flexible way to group, compare, and analyze data subsets without altering the original data source, helping users in their informed decision-making. The Subset of a data source is created using specific criteria or defined conditions. Sets show IN/OUT mode in visualizations to segregate which categories are present or absent in sets respectively

Types of Sets:

1. Fixed or Static Sets: Static sets in Tableau are created by selecting specific data points (called members) based on certain criteria that remain unchanged regardless of other changes in the dataset. The membership of a fixed can be changed only if manually modified by the user. A fixed set can be based on a single dimension or multiple dimensions. They are created from the visualization, selecting certain Data points, like bars of a few categories or a few states from the whole map and then Set is created by clicking on the Set symbol as shown below.
   

2. Dynamic Sets: Dynamic sets are groups whose membership can be changed based on specified conditions every time the underlying data is updated. Dynamic sets are based on a single dimension. They are mostly created from the Data pane by right-clicking on the dimension, creating a set, and then choosing a condition, range of fields, and top or bottom limited number of members as shown below

3. Combined Sets: It is a combination of two sets that have been created using one common dimension. When we combine sets, we create a new set containing either the combination of all members, just the members that exist in both, or members that exist in one set but not the other. It is created by selecting both the Static or Dynamic sets that have been created, right-clicking to choose a combined set, and then selecting the options for which selective data is needed in the combined set

Use cases :

1. In retail products with the highest or lowest sales or highest or lowest customer reviews can be categorized separately in sets business owners can get insights on which need improvement, or which ones bring the most revenue helping in performance analysis

2. Similarly creating sets for peak sales months or holiday seasons can help in understanding seasonal trends, forecasting future demand, and managing inventory so stores don’t go out of stock during high-demand

3. Another example can be creating a set of customers with the highest expenditure at the store. This set can then be visualized to understand their purchasing preferences and patterns, enabling personalized recommendations.

Conclusion: Sets provide a simple and creative way for data exploration and visualization. By harnessing the power of sets in Tableau, users can unlock the full potential of their datasets and gain a competitive edge in today’s data-driven world.