Tableau Metadata Model, Version 6.1

When it comes to metadata, business intelligence platforms tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) model the entire enterprise before doing any analysis or 2) jump right into analyzing data and model nothing at all.

In an environment where frequent reporting, ad-hoc analysis and up-to-date dashboards are essential to using data to make critical business decisions, neither path works. The first doesn’t let you answer questions in the time you need answers. The second doesn’t support the growth that’s guaranteed to come over time.

Tableau’s hybrid approach meets the business user’s demand for fast insight and IT’s requirement for a metadata approach that can go the distance.

Tableau has developed its applications with the following metadata principles in mind:

• Metadata in existing systems should be leveraged when beneficial
• Analysis should be possible without a metadata modeling exercise
• Metadata is a useful abstraction, but should not be constraining
• Metadata are defaults; they can be changed at runtime
• Business users don’t need to understand metadata to be successful

This whitepaper provides a detailed view into the metadata approach encompassed in Tableau’s products. It answers questions about how Tableau effectively meets the needs of the IT department while equipping the business with answers they need today.