Microsoft Power BI Introduction

Overview

In this course we will start with an overview of Microsoft Power BI, and then will quickly dive into using Microsoft Power BI Desktop to transform raw data into professional reports and dashboards to track KPIs, compare regional performance, analyze product-level trends, and identify high-value customers. In this journey we will use a fictional company and will go through all the key stages of the business intelligence workflow, and simulate real-world experiences that data professionals encounter on the job.

Price

$595 per Student

CPE Credits

8 CPE Credits

Duration

1 Day

Who is this Course For?

Anyone looking to pursue a career in data analysis or business intelligence
Anyone looking for a hands-on, project-based introduction to Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Beginners in Data Analysis: If you’re new to the world of data analysis and visualization, this course provides a structured path to mastering Power BI’s core concepts and functionalities.
Business Professionals: Managers, executives, and professionals from various industries will discover how to leverage Power BI to interpret data and drive strategic decision-making.
Students and Graduates: Aspiring analysts and graduates seeking to enhance their skill set for better career prospects will find this course invaluable.
Curious Minds: If you have an inquisitive mind and want to explore the world of data, this course provides a gentle and practical introduction.

Prerequisites

None

Class Outline

Power BI Overview

The Microsoft Power BI suite consists of several tools that work together for business intelligence (BI) tasks. We will at high-level go over each tool and how they all work together to deliver industry leading business intelligence solutions.

Power BI Desktop: This is a free desktop application that allows users to connect to various data sources, transform and shape the data, create reports and visualizations, and perform basic data analysis.
Power BI Service (SaaS): This is a cloud-based service where you can publish and share reports and dashboards created with Power BI Desktop. It also offers collaboration features, access control, and administrative tools. There are free and paid tiers available.
Power BI Mobile: This is a set of mobile apps for viewing and interacting with Power BI reports and dashboards on smartphones and tablets.
Power BI Report Server (on-premises): This is an on-premises solution for organizations that prefer to keep their data behind their firewall. It allows them to publish and manage Power BI reports and dashboards within their own infrastructure.
Power Query: This is a data manipulation tool embedded within Power BI Desktop. It allows users to connect to various data sources, clean and transform the data, and shape it for analysis.

Connecting & Shaping Data

We will focus on building automated workflows to extract, transform, and load our project data using Power Query, and explore common data connectors, storage modes, profiling tools, table transformations, and more:

Data connectors
Storage & import modes
Query editing tools
Table transformations
Connecting to a database
Extracting data from the web
QA & Profiling tools
Text, numerical, date & time tools
Rolling calendars
Index & conditional columns
Grouping & aggregating
Pivoting & unpivoting
Merging & appending queries
Data source parameters
Importing Excel models

Creating a Relational Data Model

We will review data modeling best practices, introduce topics like cardinality, normalization, filter flow and star schemas, and begin to build our data model from the ground up:

Database normalization
Fact & dimension tables
Primary & foreign keys
Star & snowflake schemas
Active & inactive relationships
Relationship cardinality
Filter context & flow
Bi-directional filters
Model layouts
Data formats & categories
Hierarchies

Adding Calculated Fields with DAX

We will introduce data analysis expressions (DAX). We’ll create calculated columns and measures, explore topics like row and filter context, and practice applying powerful tools like filter functions, iterators, and time intelligence patterns:

DAX vs. M
Calculated columns & measures
Implicit, explicit & quick measures
Measure calculation steps
DAX syntax & operators
Math & stats functions
Conditional & logical functions
The SWITCH function
Text functions
Date & time functions
The RELATED function
CALCULATE, FILTER & ALL
Iterator (X) functions
Time intelligence patterns

Visualizing Data with Reports

We will visualize our data with reports and dashboards. We’ll review data viz best practices, building and format basic charts, and add interactivity with bookmarks, slicer panels, parameters, tooltips, report navigation, and more:

Data viz best practices
Dashboard design framework
Cards & KPIs
Line charts, trend lines & forecasts
On-object formatting
Table & matrix visuals
Conditional formatting
Top N filtering
Map visuals
Drill up, drill down & drillthrough
Report slicers & interactions
Bookmarks & page navigation
Numeric & fields parameters
Custom tooltips
Importing custom visuals
Managing & viewing roles (RLS)
Mobile layouts
Publishing to Power BI Service

Artificial Intelligence Tools

We will introduce powerful artificial Intelligence tools like decomposition trees, key influencers, smart narratives and natural language Q&A, along with performance optimization techniques to keep your reports running smoothly at scale.

Power BI Optimization Tools

We will introduce Power BI Optimization tools to optimize the performance of your reports and visualizations. We will go over the Optimize Ribbon, Pausing Visuals, Optimization Presets, Applying All Slicers, Performance Analyzer, and other useful external tools.