Time Series Forecasting in Tableau

In this video we'll discuss the Tableau Forecasting options. We'll learn how to evaluate the quality of Tableau's predictive model. And we'll also learn how to compare Tableau's forecast vs. your actual data..
AnthonySmoak.com
@AnthonySmoak

[@SentencedToBurn]

Mate I've got a bit of a downtime at work at the moment and always wanted to get the hang of Tableau and start changing the way I build dashboards, forecasts and other sorts of things for my customers. Your tutorials are the best I've seen by far. The explanations are very intuitive, you don't dumb it down to unnecessarily low levels but at the same time you cover things with enough detail so then lets say someone not familiar with the difference between additive/multiplicative - your PPT would get those people on board really quickly. Thanks again for investing your time into making these.

[@AnthonySmoak]

I really appreciate your comments. This is why I make these videos in my spare time, to learn for myself and to help others. Thanks for the positive commentary.

[@stevenhowsley4876]

Best video for forecasting intro in Tableau on KZbin. Great real-world insight and perspective. Thank you very much.

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thank you. It feels good when someone shares that they received value from a lesson!

[@calebbrady11]

Great video! I am glad that your newer videos have much clearer audio. Cheers

[@IMellowIFellow]

Good stuff, great thorough explanation. Thanks Anthony.

[@yassera.rahman4100]

Great explanation. Thanks

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thank you!

[@matthewdefee171]

Great video, Anthony! Tempo, level of detail, tone - everything was enjoyable. Thanks for your time. Definitely going to check out any other videos you've done on Tableau. 🍻

[@AnthonySmoak]

You made day Matthew, thank you!

[@ernestogon98]

Best Tableau walkthough!

[@kbhavya4256]

Love you it helped alot🙅🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️

[@kanthu1931]

This is a fantastic video. Crisp and clear. Kudos

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thanks Srikanth!

[@EseoghenaBraimah]

I’ve been searching for this👌 Thank you for your explanation.

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thank you for the comment!

[@FPrimeHD1618]

You never fail to deliver quality content!

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thank you!

[@iwona2335]

very supportive ;-) thank you

[@juangs1168]

great!!!

[@deadonthemove]

Very helpful. Thank you for the video.

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thanks for watching and the kind words Shantanu.

[@carlkim2577]

Awesome presentation!

[@AnthonySmoak]

Thanks Carl!

[@A7medChannel]

Thank you

[@tableau179]

Hi Anthony, Thank you for all the amazing tips and tactics that are constantly shared. I was wondering if you can do a piece on normalizing current and prior dates on the same axis - and how to label the dates separately...For example, through parameters if my current period is Sep-19 till Aug 20; My prior period should be Sep 18-Aug 19--and the months should align vertically - for example March-19 and March 20 should align vertically....any idea how to do this? Thanks!

[@lotter3008]

Thanks this is really useful

[@AnthonySmoak]

Glad to hear, thank you!

[@TraderLobo]

Hey Anthony, when I change the Data Type to Date, it aggregates to the Null column, opening only 1/1/20**. Do you know why this happens? Date as String: imgur.com/QULm7pQ Date as Date: imgur.com/DcqLiTC Appreciate any help!

[@HealthyFoodBae_]

Thank you! Is it possible to create a real-time Time Series within Tableau (that updates as data comes in?)

[@AnthonySmoak]

No because the data has to be refreshed on some interval. I also don't know if the pages functionality works with a forecast.

[@anasanwar9269]

Hey, thanks for this amazing video, I had a problem with date type when I convert it from string to date, it gives me null values even when I chose the same name. Any help please

[@AnthonySmoak]

It's hard to diagnose problems via the internet. Tableau should be able to convert stings to dates with ease. How are you converting the strings?

[@sj8648]

Is it possible to let Tableau automatically choose the best-quality model for the chart? Thanks!

[@AnthonySmoak]

Certainly help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/forecast_how_it_works.htm

[@pratikr3970]

Hello Anthony. I followed bit by bit procedure but when I control +A and then Control+V to a new sheet, I get an error which says "There was a problem connecting to Clipboard data source", what to do? any suggestions?

[@AnthonySmoak]

It's hard for me to diagnose that problem over the internet. My advice is to check the Tableau forums for a situation similar to the one you are experiencing.

[@umeshdadde6263]

@@AnthonySmoak even for me when i hold Cntl+A & Ctrl C and Cntrl+V Paste in new sheet my sales data from clip board is data is showing as string i cant able to convert to decimal value

[@lingsun493]

I am wondering if tableau forecast would work with multiple dimensions?for example, I want to forecast sales for different product, so my data has 3 columns product_name, date, sales

[@AnthonySmoak]

Why not make three different forecasts?

[@lingsun493]

Anthony B. Smoak Thanks for replying. I want to predict sales on different product. How does 3 different forecast serve that purpose?

[@Owanango]

When I paste it, I am not exactly getting what you are getting. There has to be something I am doing wrong

[@user-pj9vu3xv1o]

Hello, can I use this to predict foreign currencies and stocks? Please, please reply as quickly as possible

[@AnthonySmoak]

You can but it won't be a very accurate forecast. There are too many unknown variables that affect stock prices (market crashes, pandemics, interest rate changes, etc.)

[@user-pj9vu3xv1o]

@@AnthonySmoak Well, thank you

[@beyzanura6772]

What if we choose forecast model/ automatic without seasonality? What is this for

[@AnthonySmoak]

See if this document helps answer your questions: help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/forecast_how_it_works.htm

[@saranbodduluri2571]

Sir, can time series forecasting be applied to the percentage change of the closing prices of stocks?

[@saranbodduluri2571]

like can it be used to predict future returns based on past returns?

[@AnthonySmoak]

@@saranbodduluri2571 "Forecasting in Tableau uses a technique known as exponential smoothing. Forecast algorithms try to find a regular pattern in measures that can be continued into the future." Stocks prices do have a trend (up or down) but they do not have a regular seasonality pattern. Stock prices are influenced by war, interest rates, pandemics and other unforeseen variables. You could make a forecast in Tableau but I wouldn't invest based off of it.

[@saranbodduluri2571]

Okay! Thank you so much!

[@tiffanytse3978]

For those using Tableau Public, anyone getting the same error: unable to Cmd A + Cmd V forecasted data to new sheet?

[@AnthonySmoak]

Ctrl A highlights the points, then try Ctrl C to first copy the points, then try Ctrl V to paste the points.

[@jamisonwilliams7486]

data source ?

[@AnthonySmoak]

Use any forecasting dataset. The concept remains the same.

[@beyzanura6772]

how did you decide that your data is multiplicative? I dont understand why you chose multiplicative.

[@AnthonySmoak]

Used the MASE value to help guide my decision between the two options.

[@beyzanura6772]

@@AnthonySmoak what is mase value? and how can I find this value

[@AnthonySmoak]

I explain that in the video. Please watch the whole video.

[@beyzanura6772]

@@AnthonySmoak I watched whole video. and You dont mention how to decide data is seasonality or trend. I am not native ENGLİSH speaker. so maybe I misunderstood. could you give me minute in video that you mentioned this topic

[@AnthonySmoak]

No problem. Start watching at 4:45 for deciding trend. Also test the quality of your selections around 6:10. If all combinations return a poor quality, then you cannot generate a meaningful forecast from your data. Thanks for watching.