Databricks-DA-Assoc Creating Dashboards and Visualizations Practice Question
An analyst notices that a dashboard visualization is displaying an incorrect aggregation of total revenue. After reviewing the SQL, the analyst confirms the query logic is correct. What is the most likely cause of this discrepancy in the rendered visualization?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume the discrepancy is due to a data quality issue or a join error in the SQL logic, overlooking that the visualization UI has its own independent aggregation settings.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The visualization configuration in the dashboard editor has an unintended aggregation setting.
Visualizations in Databricks SQL handle data formatting and aggregation settings independently of the raw SQL output. Sometimes, the 'Plot' settings within the visualization editor define a different aggregation (like 'Average' instead of 'Sum') or apply data formatting that masks the true value. Checking these visualization-specific configurations is the final step in troubleshooting data accuracy issues within the dashboarding workflow.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The SQL warehouse is currently running in 'Serverless' mode.
Why it's wrong here
The warehouse mode (Serverless vs. Pro vs. Classic) affects performance and startup time but does not alter the mathematical results of a deterministic SQL query. If the SQL query logic is correct, the underlying engine will return the correct values regardless of the compute cluster's infrastructure configuration.
- ✓
The visualization configuration in the dashboard editor has an unintended aggregation setting.
Why this is correct
Databricks visualizers allow users to perform secondary aggregations on the query results. If the user accidentally sets the visualization to 'Average' when they intended to show a 'Sum', the chart will display incorrect totals. This is a common UI configuration error that occurs after the SQL query executes.
- ✗
The Unity Catalog metastore is failing to update the table statistics.
Why it's wrong here
Table statistics in Unity Catalog are primarily used by the query optimizer to plan execution paths. They do not impact the raw results returned by a SELECT statement. If the SQL query returns the correct output in the SQL editor, the statistics are irrelevant to the dashboard visualization's rendering.
- ✗
The dashboard is using a legacy version of the Databricks SQL visualizer.
Why it's wrong here
While Databricks updates its visualizer components, core aggregation logic remains consistent. A visualization version update would not cause a sudden, incorrect aggregation of data. Discrepancies are almost always traced back to user-defined configuration settings within the specific chart setup or data type mismatches in the source table.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Databricks exam blueprint
This Databricks-DA-Assoc practice question is part of Courseiva's free Databricks certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the Databricks-DA-Assoc exam.