Extract Refresh

Rationale

The VIZYUL™ Extract Refresh best practice rule fires when an extract hasn’t been refreshed in five or more days.

Insight

Consider this, when you extract data for use in a tableau dashboard, you are effectively taking a snapshot of the data.  By snapshot we mean a static copy of the data that is frozen in time.  The only exception to this is if you’ve published your dashboard to a tableau server and elected to set an automatic extract refresh schedule.  Otherwise, the extract is a snapshot of data frozen at the time the extract was taken.

Seeing this rule fire doesn’t necessarily mean your dashboard isn’t adhering the best practice techniques.  This rule is designed to be used as a “friendly reminder”.  Static extracts are perfect for the data discovery phase of dashboard design.  However, when you dashboard is ready for prime time, you may want to leverage this rule as a reminder to ensure regular updates are in place for data extracts.

Action

• Before debuting a dashboard, consider refreshing data extracts on a regular schedule that makes sense for your purposes.
• Consider the additional resources below.

Additional Resources

• http://kb.tableau.com/articles/knowledgebase/refresh-extract
• http://drawingwithnumbers.artisart.org/o-extract-where-art-thou/
• Tableau Server v9 – http://onlinehelp.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/help.htm#qs_refresh_extracts.html