How to make boxplots in Tableau?

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Level of difficulty: Easy

Objective: Make a Boxplot

Our customers often express the need to quickly visualize the distribution and variability of data. The boxplot, or “mustache box”, is perfect for this: it makes it easy to analyze the dispersion of the data and to detect atypical values. This tutorial will guide you step-by-step to create a boxplot in Tableau Desktop to meet this need for clear and accurate analysis.

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Required Data

• 1 data set, such as the accelerator Hypermarket offered by at the bottom of the Tableau Desktop login page,
• 1 measure, like sales,
• 1 or 2 dimensions, such as Segments, Categories, or Geographic Areas.

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Instructions

Step 1: Preparing the chart

1. Swipe the measurement sales In the Lines,
2. Click on the tab Analysis and uncheck Aggregate measurements,
3. Decrease the size shapes via the coordinate system.

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Step 2: Building a Boxplot

1. Left-click on theAxis of measurement and selected Add a reference line,
2. Select the tab Moustache box,
3. Tick Hide underlying guides for better visibility of the graph,
4. Personalize the boxplot with the filling of your choice,
5. Click on OK,
6. Drag the desired size (s) into the Columns, for the example add the dimensions Segment and Category,
7. Adjust the graph to make it as easy as possible to read.

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Advice

A well-designed boxplot makes it easy to analyze data quickly. Here are some tips to optimize reading:

• The middle line represents the center value, while the quarterles show the distribution of the data,
• The points outside the “mustaches” may be atypical values, which may be useful to analyze separately in order to understand the differences,
• When the boxplot compares several categories, the differences in the height and width of the boxes make it possible to capture the variations between the groups.

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