How to Create a Dendrogram in Tableau

A dendrogram, also known as a phylogenetic tree, shows the evolutionary interrelations of a group of organisms derived from a common ancestral form. The ancestor is in the tree “trunk”; organisms that have arisen from it are placed at the ends of tree “branches.” The distance of one group from the other groups indicates the degree of relationship; i.e., closely related groups are located on branches close to one another. Phylogenetic trees, although speculative, provide a convenient method for studying phylogenetic relationships.

A dendrogram can be generated by coding using libraries like scipy, Matlab, and plotly. However, how do you create one on Tableau? Using an image of a dendrogram from Matlab, I will demonstrate how.

Step 1: Draw the Dendrogram Using Any Software or Pen and Paper (image from Matlab)

Step 2: Mark the Lines for Each to Look Like a Full Bar Chart

Step 3: Label the Rows with Numbers

Step 4: Label Columns with Numbers

Step 5: Enter the Numbers into an Excel

Layer is to determine which bar is at the front to ensure the shorter ones can be seen (sort in order in Excel for convenience)
Place is the row numbers where each bar starts
Size is the difference between row numbers. For example, in the image, a bar starts at point 2 and ends at point, 6 the size will be 4
Height is the column numbers