Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research (DAPIR) 

For the purposes of authorizing workbooks, enforcing standards, and maintaining organization of the server, the Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research (DAPIR) will review and approve all Tableau workbooks for the enterprise. DAPIR also serves as the first point of contact for troubleshooting Tableau Server issues and for interacting with UW System Administration on Tableau Server.

Data Stewards

Under UW-Madison’s Institutional Data Policy, Institutional Data Stewards authorize access to institutional data and have broad responsibility and authority with respect to maintaining a quality institutional data environment. Data Stewards review enterprise Tableau workbooks and determine the appropriate access group or audience for each workbook prior to publication.

DAPIR does not proactively reach out to Data Stewards to complete their reviews. If you notice a workbook has not been reviewed in a timely manner (typically a week or more), then you should reach out to the stewards yourself. You can find the stewards still in review on the specification's Data Cookbook page.

Authorized Developers and Publishers

Authorized Developer: Someone who develops Tableau workbooks for publication on UW-Madison’s Tableau server and Tableau Public.

Authorized Publisher: Someone who can publish to the production folder on the server.

To request an Authorized Developer/Publisher role, fill out the following form: Tableau Developer/Publisher Request

Purchase a license 

Information on how to request a quote through AE Business Solutions: Tableau Purchasing and Support Handling

Download Tableau

Download the version matching our server’s version. You can find this information at DAPIR's Tableau Page

The download links can be found on Tableau’s website: https://www.tableau.com/support/releases 

Add UW color palettes 

Replace the existing preference.tps file (usually, it is inside the “C:\Users\<your_user>\Documents\My Tableau Repository” folder) with the following preferences.tps file: https://uwmadison.box.com/s/xchlzpgklxo3br8izduikqgy3qskbk1.

Developing, Modifying, and Publishing a Tableau Workbook

For a detailed step-by-step guide on how to create a Tableau workbook, see Workbook Development - Step by Step.

1. An Authorized Developer must develop a workbook following the Tableau Visualization Standards section of this document. 

2. Once an Authorized Developer has created a workbook, they should publish the workbook in the Staging project of the Tableau server and provide access to any staff that will be testing and/or approving the workbook before publication. 

3. When the Tableau workbook is tested and ready for publication, follow instructions in the Cookbook Manual for Tableau Developers of this document to enter and submit publication information and start a review process. 

4. After approval, finalize publishing the workbook to the UW Madison Institutional Data project and cleanup anything left over in Staging.

This section lists the standards and guidelines for publishing a Tableau workbook.

Developers must comply with all applicable internal and external policies, regulations and guidelines.

UW-Madison’s data policies

The Institutional Data Policy can be found here: UW-523

Data Classification policy: UW-504

Other policies, regulations and guidelines

This includes section 508, FERPA, HIPAA and any other applicable internal and external policies, regulations and guidelines.

UW Madison digital accessibility guidelines and best practices.

Organizations must comply with accessibility standards. Learn more about Section 508 here: https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies

When creating visualizations, follow accessibility guidelines, considering color-blind users and black-and-white printing. Refer to the Tableau Visualization Style Guide in this document for details.

For accessibility tips, see this KB: Accessibility tips and tricks for Tableau visualizations.

Read more about accessibility in visualizations at UW-Madison here: Accessible data visualizations

For questions, contact the office of accessibility.

Before submitting a data visualization to Data Governance for review and publication, ensure it meets the standards outlined in this document. These standards promote consistency in look, usability, and functionality across the UW-Madison Tableau Enterprise and UW-Madison Tableau Public servers.

Deviations from these standards may be permitted. To request a variance, provide a justification in the publication request. Data Governance will review and grant variances as needed.

Overview

• Use the UW color palettes. 

• Follow the Tableau Visualization Style Guide in this document.  

• Our Templates already incorporated the style guide as well as best practices. Here is a KB on how to use the templates: Tableau Template Quick Start

General Rules

Accessibility

Layout

Fonts

Titles

Home Page Navigation Panel

Parameters & Filters

Legends

Tooltips

Axis

Information & Help Icons

Footer

 Our templates adhere to these guidelines. Additionally, we have created dashboards with notes on format specifics, providing a visual way to understand the style guide:

A step by step guide on how to create a new workbook is here: Creating a new Workbook - Step by Step

Developers must maintain clear and up-to-date documentation.

Required components of documentation

Make sure the following required components are documented. They all have a corresponding field in the Data Cookbook. An overview of these fields are presented in the Data Cookbook section of this document:

Description

Explains what is in the reporting object. For example, "a summary of all budgets and year-to-date totals by department with grand totals provided at the school level."

Definitions

These include any term in the workbook that requires further explanation. These terms must be consistent across the organization. In the Data Cookbook, they are added under the “Definitions” tab.

Purpose

The specification's purpose is a description of why the reporting object is needed.

This might describe a business process that requires a specific report, a regulatory or other mandated requirement, or a specific user need that it fulfills.

Sources

Any data sources behind the workbook need to be listed. Also, the views if applicable. This information is gathered through the following fields in the Data Cookbook: “Data Systems” and “Other data sources”.

Owners

The owner is an optional attribute that may be used to identify a person or office users should go to if they have questions about the report’s contents. Either they created the report themselves or they have requested the report to be created on their behalf.

Security

The permission groups and roles for the report. The corresponding fields in Data Cookbook are:

• Access restrictions: Indicates any access restrictions for the specification and the required permission group(s) in Tableau.
• Request URL: The URL or email address to request access to the specification.
• Classification: Describes the overall data risk for the specification. More information is available here: https://data.wisc.edu/data-governance/data-classification/ 

Details of existing groups and roles can be found in the Tableau Permission Groups and Roles section of this document.

Refresh schedule

Specify the frequency and timing of data updates. Examples include:

• Data will not be updated.
• Data is extracted on the tenth day of classes for each term and typically updated in November for the fall term and March for the spring term.
• Data is refreshed nightly for the current term but is frozen for completed terms.
• Data is updated annually as the report is revised.

Data classification

The presentation of data is classified under one of UW-Madison’s four risked-based data categories: Data Classification

The related policy and detail explanation of each classification can be found in the Data Classification policy: UW-504

The proper classification must be added to the Data Cookbook as well as the Workbook itself. The Data Cookbook specification template has a field for Classification. Refer to the Tableau Visualization Style Guide in this document to see how to meet this requirement in the workbook.

Data Cookbook

Documentation is maintained in the Data Cookbook. This tool allows us to track and save the governance process as well as necessary information. Every workbook must have a specification in Cookbook before it is published

Creating a new specification:

From the top menu bar, hover over "Specifications" and select "Create a Specification" from the drop-down menu. Fill out the form, ensuring all information from the Required Components of Documentation section is included. (A screenshot in the Index section at the end of this document details each field.)

When creating the specification, add related definitions to the "Definitions" tab. If a definition doesn't exist, create a new one.

Updating existing specifications:

1. Open the specification and click "Request a change" below the title.
2. Make necessary changes using the "Edit" button under the "Overview" tab.
3. Add or remove definitions as needed under the "Definitions" tab.
4. Include a comment explaining the modification and link to the workbook in Staging.
5. Start the review process by sending it to Data Governance using the "Send to Data Governance" button at the top right.

Creating a Definition

Before creating a new definition, check if one already exists using this glossary tool https://search.data.wisc.edu/glossary.

The minimum information needed includes:

• Name: Choose a proper name for the definition.
• Functional Definition: Provide a descriptive definition of the term.
• Functional Area: Specify the domain.

The specification review process is independent of definitions. An unapproved definition does not delay the specification's review and publication.

Here is a KB on Creating a New Definition in Data Cookbook.

Submit your data product for review by the data steward to receive classification and adhere to access restrictions.

We use Data Cookbook for governance. Each Tableau report requires a specification. Refer to the Cookbook Manual for Developer section for details. The table below outlines the specification review process:

Review Exceptions:

Data Steward review is no longer required for minor workbook revisions that do not alter data definition, collection, or presentation.

Examples of minor revisions include:

• Updating a workbook's data source to include a new year of data
• Transferring workbook ownership to another developer
• Making minor visual changes for accessibility
• Performing copy edits

For such changes, add Minor Revision at the beginning of your change comment. DAPIR will approve the specification without Data Steward involvement, but the developer must still activate the specification. If DAPIR determines that a Data Steward review is needed, they will note this and proceed with the standard review process.

There are different Tableau groups that can be added to a workbook based on data restriction groups approved by Stewards in Cookbook for that workbook.

The following Table displays the currently existing permission groups. These groups are automatically generated and updated nightly based on their related manifest groups.

NOTE:

If during publication to production, “VIZ-Groups-BI UW Madison Employees” was automatically added, remove it (unless that is the access group that ADAWG approved for your workbook).

Quality Control and Data Management:

• Respond promptly to quality control feedback.
• Collaborate with experts to prevent data presentation faults.
• Explain any mismatches with reviewed and published reports.

Avoid Data Duplication:

• Review published products and recommend enhancements for new needs.
• Use RADAR to find existing reports.
• Use the searchable database of definitions: Glossary

Communicate Institutional Data Product Life Cycle:

• Include creation date, review cycle, and conditions for destruction.
• Document data refresh frequency.
• For temporary workbooks, notify DAPIR for removal. Do not remove the report yourself. DAPIR will archive and delete the workbook.

Testing Tableau Upgrades:

• UW Systems and AE Business Solutions upgrade biannually.
• Developers must test their workbooks on the development server after the upgrade is communicated.
• Refer to the KB on testing process: Tableau Server Test Procedure
• If testing is successful, production will be upgraded. Watch for related communications from DAPIR.