Creating Story Points in Tableau

Course: Tableau Data Visualization and Business Intelligence

Topic: Creating Story Points

Learning Objectives: Understand story points, create new story points, add worksheets and dashboards, duplicate existing points, customize filters and captions, manage story point states, configure navigation, and build a structured data-driven presentation.

1. Introduction to Creating Story Points

In Tableau, story points are individual stages within a data story. Each story point displays a worksheet, dashboard or text description that communicates a particular insight. By arranging story points in a meaningful order, analysts can guide viewers through a business problem, supporting evidence and conclusions.

For example, a sales analyst might create a story containing five points: overall sales, regional performance, product category analysis, profit trends and final recommendations. Each point presents a specific part of the analysis.

A story point can use a different worksheet or dashboard, or it can reuse the same visualization with a different saved state, such as a selected filter or sorting arrangement.

Official reference: Creating a Story in Tableau

2. What Is a Story Point?

A story point is a single step in a Tableau Story. It functions similarly to a slide in a presentation, but it can contain interactive data visualizations rather than only static images or text.

Example: A company wants to understand why its profit has decreased. The analyst can create the following story points:

1. Point 1 — Business Overview: Display total sales and profit.
2. Point 2 — Regional Comparison: Compare performance across regions.
3. Point 3 — Product Analysis: Identify categories with low profit.
4. Point 4 — Detailed Investigation: Focus on the region or category responsible for the decline.
5. Point 5 — Conclusion: Present findings and recommendations.

These points form a logical narrative that helps viewers understand the problem and its possible causes.

3. Why Do We Create Story Points?

• Organize findings: Separate a complex analysis into understandable stages.
• Explain changes: Show how performance differs across time periods, regions or categories.
• Highlight important details: Use filters, annotations and captions to emphasize specific findings.
• Compare different views: Present related worksheets or dashboards in a sequence.
• Preserve analytical context: Save a particular view state for a specific point in the narrative.
• Support presentations: Guide stakeholders through the data without requiring them to navigate every worksheet manually.
• Improve decision-making: Connect business questions with findings and possible actions.

4. Prerequisites Before Creating Story Points

Before creating a Tableau Story, prepare the data and visualizations required for your analysis.

You do not need to create a dashboard before creating a story. A story point can contain an individual worksheet or a dashboard.

5. Understanding the Story Point Creation Options

Tableau provides several ways to create and manage story points. The available controls appear in the story workspace and its toolbar.

Important: Blank, Duplicate, Save as New, Update and Revert are not interchangeable. Choose the option that matches whether you want a new point, a copy, or a change to the current point.

6. Step-by-Step: Create Your First Story Point

Step 1: Open Your Tableau Workbook

Open Tableau Desktop or a supported Tableau web-authoring environment. Connect to your dataset and make sure the required worksheets or dashboards are available.

For this example, assume you have already created a worksheet named Sales Overview.

Step 2: Create a New Story

1. Locate the New Story tab or story-creation control.
2. Click it to open a new story workspace.
3. Choose an appropriate story size from the Story pane.
4. Give the story a meaningful title, such as Sales Performance Analysis.

Step 3: Add a Worksheet

1. Locate the Story pane on the left side of the workspace.
2. Find the Sales Overview worksheet.
3. Double-click the worksheet or drag it onto the story canvas, depending on the environment.
4. Verify that the visualization appears correctly.

Tableau creates the first story point when you add the worksheet to the story canvas.

Step 4: Add a Caption

Use the caption area in the story navigator to describe the point's main message.

Example caption: Overall Sales Performance.

A good caption tells viewers what the visualization is intended to communicate. Keep it short and meaningful.

Step 5: Review the Point

• Check that the chart is readable.
• Confirm that the correct measures and dimensions are displayed.
• Check the filters and date range.
• Verify that the caption matches the actual data.

7. Creating Additional Story Points Using Blank

The Blank option creates a new story point without copying the current point's content as the starting view. Use it when you want to introduce a different worksheet, dashboard or text explanation.

Example: Adding Regional Performance

1. Open the existing Sales Performance Analysis story.
2. Click Blank in the story creation controls.
3. Locate the Regional Sales worksheet in the Story pane.
4. Drag it onto the new story canvas or double-click it.
5. Add the caption Regional Sales Comparison.
6. Review the visualization and save the workbook.

You now have two story points:

When to use Blank: Use it when you want to start with a different view rather than copy the current point.

8. Creating Story Points Using Duplicate

Duplicate creates a copy of the current story point. It is particularly useful when you want to compare different filters or states of the same visualization while retaining the original point.

Example: Comparing Two Regions

Suppose the first story point displays sales for all regions. You want to create a second point focusing only on the West region.

1. Select the story point containing the regional sales chart.
2. Click Duplicate.
3. In the new point, use the Region filter to select West.
4. Check that the chart displays the intended data.
5. Use the story toolbar's appropriate save option, such as Update or Save as New, to preserve the intended state.
6. Add the caption Sales Performance in the West Region.

The original point can continue to show the overall regional comparison, while the duplicated point highlights the West region.

Key advantage: You can create a focused comparison without having to rebuild the original worksheet.

9. Creating a Story Point Using Save as New

Save as New is useful when you have customized a story point and want to preserve the modified view as a separate point in the story.

Example: Comparing Sales by Year

1. Create a story point showing sales for all years.
2. Change the Year filter to 2025.
3. Review the chart to ensure the filter has been applied correctly.
4. Use Save as New on the story toolbar when the option is available.
5. Add a caption such as Sales Performance in 2025.
6. Repeat for another year if the comparison requires it.

This approach is useful for presenting a sequence of comparable views, such as annual sales or quarterly profit.

Note: The precise controls may vary by Tableau version. If you intend to change the current point rather than create another point, use Update instead.

10. Understanding Update and Revert

Update

Update saves the current point's supported changes. For example, after modifying a filter or sort order, use Update when you want the existing story point to retain the new state.

Revert

Revert discards unsaved modifications and returns the point to its previously saved state when the control is available.

11. Adding Dashboards to Story Points

A story point can contain a dashboard instead of a single worksheet. This is useful when several charts need to appear together to explain one finding.

Steps

1. Create a dashboard containing the required worksheets.
2. Open the Tableau Story.
3. Create a new story point using Blank or another appropriate option.
4. Locate the dashboard in the Story pane.
5. Drag the dashboard onto the story canvas or double-click it.
6. Add a descriptive caption.
7. Adjust the dashboard sizing so it fits within the story area.

Example: A Sales Performance Dashboard may contain total sales, profit by region and monthly sales trends. Adding it to a story point allows viewers to examine these related metrics together.

To reduce clipping, choose a suitable story size and configure the dashboard to fit the available space. The exact sizing controls depend on the Tableau environment.

12. Adding Text and Explanations to Story Points

Text helps explain the significance of a visualization. Use it to provide context, highlight an insight or introduce a recommendation.

Example

Caption: Profit Declined in the South Region.

Explanation: The regional comparison shows lower profitability in the South. The next step is to investigate product categories, discounts and operating costs to identify the factors contributing to the decline.

In Tableau Desktop, you can drag a text object into the story view when that option is available. In other authoring environments, follow the available text and story controls.

Best practice: Distinguish between a confirmed finding and a possible explanation. Do not claim that a factor caused a decline unless the analysis supports that conclusion.

13. Working with Filters in Story Points

Filters allow a visualization to focus on selected records. Story points can be used to show different filtered states of the same underlying view.

Example: Category-Wise Sales

1. Create a worksheet showing Sales by Category.
2. Add the worksheet to the first story point with all categories visible.
3. Duplicate the point.
4. In the new point, select a single category using the relevant filter.
5. Save the intended state using the appropriate story toolbar option.
6. Add a caption describing the selected category.

Always verify that each point displays the correct saved filter state before presenting the story.

14. Naming and Organizing Story Points

Meaningful captions help viewers understand the story sequence. A caption should summarize the main message of its point rather than simply repeat a worksheet name.

Arrange the points so that the audience can follow the investigation. A common sequence is overview, comparison, detailed analysis and conclusion.

15. Story Navigator and Layout Options

The story navigator allows viewers to move between story points. Tableau provides layout options that control how the navigator displays the points.

How to Configure the Navigator

1. Open the story workspace.
2. Select the Layout tab.
3. Choose a navigator style appropriate for the presentation.
4. Show or hide the previous and next arrows as needed.
5. Review the story to ensure that navigation is clear.

Captions are helpful when the audience needs to understand the purpose of each point. Numbers or dots can be useful when a compact navigator is preferred.

16. Practical Project: Creating Story Points for Retail Sales

Project Objective: Build a Tableau Story that explains sales performance, identifies a region with weak profitability and presents the next steps for investigation.

Sample Dataset

Note: These are illustrative sample records for practice, not actual company results.

Project Steps

1. Prepare the worksheets: Create Sales by Region, Profit by Category and Monthly Sales Trend.
2. Create the story: Open a new story and set its size.
3. Create Point 1: Add Sales by Region and caption it Sales Overview.
4. Create Point 2: Use Blank to add Profit by Category.
5. Create Point 3: Duplicate a suitable point and apply a region filter.
6. Create Point 4: Add the Monthly Sales Trend worksheet.
7. Create Point 5: Add text describing the findings and the recommended next investigation.
8. Review: Check captions, saved filter states, chart labels and navigation.

Expected Learning Outcome

After completing the project, you should be able to create multiple story points, use Blank and Duplicate appropriately, preserve supported filter states, add captions, include dashboards and organize a coherent data narrative.

17. Common Problems and Solutions

18. Best Practices for Creating Story Points

• Define the purpose of the story before creating its points.
• Use a logical sequence from overview to detailed analysis and conclusion.
• Keep each point focused on one principal question or insight.
• Choose Blank when introducing a new view and Duplicate when building on an existing point.
• Use Save as New when you need to retain a modified state as a separate point.
• Use Update when you want to save changes to the current point.
• Write meaningful captions that explain the key takeaway.
• Validate all figures, filters, aggregations and dates.
• Make sure every saved view state matches the caption.
• Keep dashboards and visualizations readable at the selected story size.
• Review the entire story in presentation mode before sharing it.

19. Interview Questions and Answers

Q1. What is a story point in Tableau?

Answer: A story point is an individual stage in a Tableau Story. It contains a worksheet, dashboard or text that contributes to a data narrative.

Q2. How do you create your first story point?

Answer: Create a new story, select its size and add a worksheet or dashboard from the Story pane. Then add a caption describing the point.

Q3. What is the difference between Blank and Duplicate?

Answer: Blank creates a fresh story point, while Duplicate copies the current point as a starting point for a new one.

Q4. When should you use Save as New?

Answer: Use Save as New when you want to preserve a customized view state as a separate story point.

Q5. What does Update do?

Answer: Update saves supported changes to the current story point.

Q6. Can a story point contain a dashboard?

Answer: Yes. A story point can contain a dashboard that combines several related worksheets.

Q7. Why are captions important?

Answer: Captions explain the purpose or main takeaway of a point and help viewers follow the story.

Q8. Can the same worksheet be used in multiple story points?

Answer: Yes. The same worksheet can be used in multiple points, including to present different supported filter states.

Q9. How can you remove an unwanted story point?

Answer: Select the point and use the Delete control in the story toolbar, then review the remaining sequence.

Q10. What should you verify before presenting a story?

Answer: Verify the chart data, captions, filters, saved states, dashboard sizing and navigation order.

20. Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Create Three Story Points

• Create a Sales Overview worksheet.
• Create a Profit by Region worksheet.
• Create a new Tableau Story.
• Add the first worksheet as Point 1.
• Use Blank to add the second worksheet as Point 2.
• Create a third point and add a useful caption.

Exercise 2: Use Duplicate

• Add a worksheet showing sales for all regions.
• Duplicate the point.
• Apply a filter to display one region.
• Save the new state appropriately.
• Compare the two points and verify their captions.

Exercise 3: Compare Years

• Create a sales-by-year chart.
• Create a story point for the overall trend.
• Use Duplicate or Save as New to create a point focused on a selected year.
• Repeat for another year.
• Arrange the points in a meaningful order.

Exercise 4: Build a Business Narrative

• Create an overview point.
• Add a point showing a business problem.
• Add a point with more detailed analysis.
• Finish with a point summarizing evidence-based recommendations.
• Present the story to another person and ask whether the sequence is clear.

21. Quick Revision Checklist

• Understand what a story point is.
• Know how to create a new story.
• Know how to add a worksheet or dashboard.
• Understand Blank and Duplicate.
• Understand Save as New, Update and Revert.
• Know how to add captions and explanatory text.
• Understand how to save supported filter states.
• Know how to organize points with the story navigator.
• Know how to adjust story and dashboard sizing.
• Be able to build a simple business story from a dataset.

22. Official Tableau Learning Resources

• Creating a Story and Story Points
• Understanding the Tableau Story Workspace
• Best Practices for Data Storytelling
• Tableau Stories Overview

23. Tableau Training and Course Demo

Explore Tableau training to develop practical skills in worksheets, dashboards, story points, data visualization and business intelligence.

Course Link: Explore Tableau Training

Demo Link: Register for a Tableau Course Demo

Conclusion: Creating story points is an essential Tableau skill for presenting analysis in a clear sequence. By using Blank, Duplicate, Save as New and Update correctly, you can build focused views, preserve the intended presentation state and guide viewers from a business question to an evidence-based conclusion.

End of Notes: Creating Story Points in Tableau