Introduction
In the previous article, I explained how to create metrics in Tableau Pulse. In this article, I want to explore this discussion further by demonstrating how metrics can be created for measures that don’t exist in the data source. I will be using the Sample-Superstore data for the year 2024 which is already published in my Tableau cloud. In case you missed out on the previous article check it in the link below.
Creating a metric tracking Profit Ratio
Profit Ratio is a financial ratio that measures the percentage of profit earned by a business in relation to its revenue. In the context of, the sample-superstore data source – Profit Ratio would be computed as follows.
Profit Ratio=SUM(Profit)/SUM(Sales)*100%
Looking at the data we are working on, the measure field Profit Ratio does not exist, however the measure Profit and Sales exists – meaning to track this metric we can create it using the available fields as follows.
On the Tableau Pulse homepage select create New Metric Definition.
Next, connect the data source and name your metric - in this case ‘Profit Ratio’.
Next under Value section - select Create Advanced Definition, which pops a window similar to Tableau Desktop interface – with measures and dimensions.
On the new window, you can create a calculated field to compute Profit Ratio as shown below.
Next, drag the calculated field ‘Profit Ratio’ to the Measure, and Order Date to the Time Dimension. Click Apply.
Under the Number format section, format your metric to percentage as shown below.
Add adjustable metric filters and save your metric definition.
With the metric now set, you can follow it and invite others to follow.
Conclusion
Tableau Pulse metrics allows you to integrate data in your daily workflow – and without the need to learn or build new visualizations, it helps you go beyond the how and what and shows you the why behind your data.
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