Microsoft Power BI

Pre-requisites:

• Some basic knowledge of relational databases would be helpful.
• Some experience of using functions like those used in Excel.
• An awareness of key business priorities such as revenue, profitability and financial accounting is desirable.

Introduction to Power BI

• What is Power BI and who is it aimed at?
• Understand the advantages of Self-service BI over traditional IT lead BI.
• Understanding the various components of Power BI and how they work together.

Getting Started with the Desktop

• Become familiar with navigating around Power BI Desktop and understand the difference between ‘design mode’ and ‘query mode’.
• Learn how to connect to Excel and import data into Power BI Desktop and perform various transformations.
• Learn the basic principles of data modelling and relationships.
• Build a data model using data imported from multiple Excel files.
• Learn the difference between ‘data types’ and ‘data formats’ and how to apply the correct ‘data types’ to the imported data.
• Learn about Power BI ‘data categories’ and default methods of aggregation.
• Learn about the basics of ‘data compression’ and understand the importance of removing unwanted columns from the data model.
• Learn about the various methods of filtering data in Power BI Desktop.

Working with the Data Model

• Understand the difference between a Measure and a Calculated Column and when to use them.
• Learn some best practices when creating Measures and Calculated Columns.
• Create various Measures using some of the most common DAX functions to manipulate the data model.
• Create several Calculated Columns to extend tables in the Data Model.
• Learn the difference between ‘Filter Context’ and ‘Row Context’.

Building Reports

• Learn how to create various charts and tables using Measures and Calculated Columns.
• Learn about the default range of Power BI charts and tables available in the ‘Visualisations library’.
• Learn about choosing the right type of visualisation ensuring it matches the information that’s been generated – for example, is the output information based over time or a percentage of a whole?
• Learn about the ‘Field Well’ in Power BI Desktop and how to manage tables and fields as the data model grows.
• Experiment with searching the data model for fields and how and when to hide tables and fields.
• Moving Measures that reside in the incorrect table.
• Learn about the difference between a ‘standard table’ and a ‘matrix and how to use drill-down as a method of seeing data at a more granular level.
• Learn how to use the various methods of conditional formatting in Power BI Desktop.
• Leverage custom visuals and how to access them.

Using the Power BI Service

• How to publish reports from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and how to use Workspaces.
• Understand the difference between Power BI Desktop and the Power BI Service and when to use them.
• Learn about the purpose of Workspaces in Power BI Service and how to create them.
• Learn the difference between Power BI Reports and Power BI Dashboards.
• Build a dashboard based on reports in the Service.
• Learn about Live Dashboards and how to build them.
• Learn how to share reports / dashboards once published to the Service.
• Learn how to navigate in the Service to locate dashboards, reports, workbooks and data sets.
• Learn about the purpose of ‘Apps’ in the Service and how to build them.