Sample Questions

The questions below are examples intended to give you a sense of how questions will look on the exam. It is
not a learning resource for the Desktop product, nor does it provide the experience needed to successfully
pass the exam. Sample questions are not indicative of exam difficulty. A solution section follows.

You are encouraged to work through your own solutions first before looking at the solutions provided.

1. To connect to multiple tables in a single data source at one time, what must be specified?
a. A blend
b. A calculation
c. A join
d. A hierarchy

2. Tableau can create worksheet-specific filters.

a. True
b. False

3. What does the box in a box plot represent?

a. Maximum extent of the data
b. The range of the middle half of the data points
c. The median of the middle half of the data points
d. The outliers of the data

The following questions use the dataset Sample-Superstore Subset (Excel), which can be downloaded here. If
you are unable to download the file, try accessing it from another internet browser.

4. What is the percent of total Sales for the ‘Home Office’ Customer Segment in July of 2012?
a. 23.50%
b. 23.97%
c. 20.14%
d. 32.56%

5. Find the top 10 Product Names by Sales within each region. Which product is ranked #2 in both the Central
& West regions in 2011?
a. Riverside Palais Royal Lawyers Bookcase
b. Bush Mission Pointe Library
c. Sharp AL-1530CS Digital Copier
d. Global Troy Executive Leather Low Back Tilter

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam Guide January 2018

6. In the Technology Product Category, which unprofitable state is surrounded by only profitable states?
a. Colorado
b. Missouri
c. Wyoming
d. Utah

7. If 2013 Sales numbers were expected to increase by 50% in the following year, what would be the total
estimated sales for the Consumer Segment in 2014?
a. $4,278,540
b. $816,999
c. $2,752,823
d. $802,365

8. In which Region do all Product Categories fall beneath the overall average profit?
a. All Regions
b. Central
c. East
d. South
e. West

9. Which Product Sub-Category has a Shipping Cost to Sales ratio of above 3%?
a. Tables
b. Chairs & Chairmats
c. Paper
d. Binders and Binder Accessories

10. Find the customer with the lowest overall profit. What is his/her profit ratio?
a. 2.35%
b. 1%
c. -17.54%
d. -771.39%

11. Determine which State in the Central Region has the highest distribution of profits using interquartile
ranges.
a. South Dakota
b. North Dakota
c. Minnesota
d. Iowa

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam Guide January 2018

12. Look at the sum of profits for each Product Sub-Category. Which sub-category is $31,069 below the
average profit across all categories?
a. Appliances
b. Bookcases
c. Envelopes
d. Paper

13. What percent of the total profit do the top 10 customers by Sales represent?
a. 3.50%
b. 5.03%
c. 17.54%
d. None of the Above

14. What was the Moving Average of Sales in June of 2012, including six months prior and six months after?
a. $101,752
b. $180,036
c. $188,552
d. $286,170

15. Create a histogram showing the number of Sales using Sales Bins of $1,000. Which bins have profit ratios
(profit as a percentage of sales) of more than 25%? (Select all that apply)
a. 1,000
b. 3,000
c. 7,000
d. 8,000
e. 10,000
f. 11,000
g. 18,000

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam Guide January 2018

Solutions

1. To connect to multiple tables in a single data source at one time, what must be specified?
c. A join

2. Tableau can create worksheet-specific filters.

a. True

3. What does the blox in a box plot represent?

b. The range of the middle half of the data points

4. What is the percent of total Sales for the ‘Home Office’ Customer Segment in July of 2012?
b. 23.97%

5. Find the top 10 Product Names by Sales within each region. Which product is ranked #2 in both the Central
& West regions in 2011?
c. Sharp AL-1530CS Digital Copier

6. In the Technology Product Category, which unprofitable state is surrounded by only profitable states?
a. Colorado

7. If 2013 Sales numbers were expected to increase by 50% in the following year, what would be the total
estimated sales for the Consumer Segment in 2014?
b. $816,999

8. In which Region do all Product Categories fall beneath the overall average profit?
d. South

9. Which Product Sub-Category has a Shipping Cost to Sales ratio of above 3%?
c. Paper

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

Additional Guidance

Below there is additional guidance on a suggested method of finding the answer. You may find there are
other ways determine the correct answer. The focus for this exam is the destination (i.e. accuracy), rather
than the journey.

10. Find the customer with the lowest overall profit. What is his/her profit ratio?

The answer to this question can be found by looking at profits by customer and sort ascending by profit.
Once you identify your customer contributing the least to your profits, add a profit ratio calculation
(Sum([Profit])/Sum([Sales])) to the label or tooltip.

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

11. Determine which State in the Central Region has the highest distribution of profits using interquartile
ranges.

The answer to this question can be found by showing Profit by State or Province, disaggregating your
measures, and showing distribution. You can use the available box plot option, or choose distribution –
quartiles – 4, to show quartiles.

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

12. Look at the sum of profits for each Product Sub-Category. Which sub-category is $31,069 below the
average profit across all categories?

The answer to this question can be found by creating a table calculation looking at the sum of profit
and subtracting from the window average (SUM([Profit]) –WINDOW_AVG(SUM([Profit]))). Using the
calculation in your view and applying the label will reveal the difference from average for each sub-
category.

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

Step-by-Step

Below are step-by-step solutions for a suggested method of finding the answer. You may find there are other
ways to determine the correct answer for each question.

13. What percent of the total profit do the top 10 customers by Sales represent?

The answer to this question can be found by building a set for the top 10 Customers by Sales, then using
that set in a view that uses the table calculation “percent of total.”

a. Build a Set from Customer Name with the Top 1o

by Sum of Sales.

b. Include that Set in your view to display IN/OUT,

along with Profit as the measure.

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

 c. Convert Profit to a Table Calculation for Percent
of Total.

Final Response:

Answer: b) 5.03%

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

14. What was the Moving Average of Sales in June of 2012, including six months prior and six months after?

The answer to this question can be found by creating a view with Sales by continuous Month, then using
a table calculation to present a moving average.

a. Build a view with continous Month and Sum of

Sales.

b. Right-click on Sum(Sales) and choose Add

Table Calculation. Select a Moving Average with
Previous 6 Values and Next 6 Values, moving
Across the table.

c. Once complete, hover over June 2012 and the

tooltip will give the specific answer.

Answer: c)$188,552

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

15. Create a histogram showing the number of Sales using Sales Bins of $1,000. Which bins have profit ratios
(profit as a percentage of sales) of more than 25%? (Select all that apply)

Creating this solution involves creating the bin of 1,000 each from Sales, including it in a view along
with Sales shown as a Count, creating the Profit Margin calculated field, and filtering the view by Profit
Margin greater than 25%.

a. Right-click on Sales in the Measures pane and

choose “Create” and “Bins”. Then change the bin
size to 1000.

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018

 b. Once the bin is created, build a view with Sales
(bin) on Columns and Sales on Rows. Then
change Sales (on the Rows shelf) to the Count
function.

c. Create the Profit Margin calculated field and

include it as a label.
• Use the formula SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales]).
• Format the field as a percentage.
• Drag the Profit Margin to the shelf label.

d. Filter the view to only show bins with a Profit

Margin of greater than 25%.
• Drag Profit Margin to filter.
• Choose “At Least” and the value “.25”.

Final Answer: c) 7,000, d) 8,000, f) 11,000, g) 18,000

Desktop Qualified Associate Exam January 2018