Power BI

Introduction to Power BI

Gain a fundamental understanding of Power BI, its significance, and its applications across various industries. Learn about the Power BI ecosystem, including Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Mobile. Explore case studies and real-world applications of Power BI in business intelligence and data visualization. Understand the role of Power BI in transforming raw data into meaningful insights and the skills required to excel in using this tool. Discuss the history and evolution of Power BI, its place within the Microsoft ecosystem, and its competitive advantages over other BI tools.

Getting Started with Power BI

Learn the basics of Power BI, starting with downloading and installing Power BI Desktop. This section covers an overview of the Power BI interface, including the ribbon, panes, and views. Get acquainted with Power BI’s features such as data importing, data modeling, and creating visualizations. Hands-on exercises will involve connecting to various data sources, loading data, and performing basic data transformations. Explore the Power BI community resources, including forums, blogs, and user groups, to enhance your learning and problem-solving capabilities.

Data Import and Transformation

Understand how to import data from various sources into Power BI, including Excel, SQL Server, and web data. This section covers the Power Query Editor, which is used for data cleaning and transformation. Learn techniques for handling missing values, filtering rows, and merging datasets. Practical exercises will include importing and transforming real-world datasets, preparing them for analysis in Power BI. Discuss advanced data transformation techniques such as pivoting, unpivoting, and using custom functions to automate repetitive tasks.

Data Modeling in Power BI

Learn the fundamentals of data modeling in Power BI, including creating relationships between tables and defining data hierarchies. This section covers the use of DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) to create calculated columns and measures. Understand the importance of data normalization and denormalization in building efficient data models. Hands-on exercises will involve building data models and writing DAX formulas to perform complex calculations. Explore best practices for designing scalable and maintainable data models, including the use of star and snowflake schemas.

Creating Visualizations

Explore the various visualization options available in Power BI, including bar charts, line charts, pie charts, maps, and tables. Learn best practices for choosing the right type of visualization for your data and audience. This section covers customizing visualizations, including formatting, sorting, and filtering. Practical exercises will involve creating interactive and dynamic reports using a variety of visualizations to present data insights effectively. Understand the principles of effective data visualization, including the use of color, layout, and storytelling to enhance data comprehension and impact.

Advanced Visualizations and Custom Visuals

Dive deeper into advanced visualization techniques in Power BI. Learn how to use and customize advanced visualizations such as scatter plots, waterfall charts, and funnel charts. This section covers the use of custom visuals from the Power BI marketplace and how to create your own custom visuals using R and Python scripts. Hands-on exercises will involve enhancing reports with advanced visualizations and integrating custom visuals to meet specific business needs. Explore the development and deployment of custom visuals using Power BI’s custom visual SDK and TypeScript.

Power BI Service

Understand the capabilities of Power BI Service, the online counterpart to Power BI Desktop. Learn how to publish reports to Power BI Service, create and share dashboards, and collaborate with team members. This section covers the use of Power BI apps, workspaces, and content packs. Explore data refresh schedules, data gateways, and best practices for sharing and securing your reports and dashboards in the cloud. Discuss the integration of Power BI Service with other Microsoft services, such as Azure and Office 365, to enhance collaboration and productivity.

Power BI Mobile

Learn how to use Power BI Mobile to access and interact with your reports and dashboards on mobile devices. This section covers the installation and setup of the Power BI Mobile app, navigating the interface, and customizing mobile views. Understand the importance of mobile-optimized reports and how to create responsive visualizations that work well on different screen sizes. Hands-on exercises will involve creating mobile-friendly reports and dashboards to ensure accessibility and usability on mobile devices. Explore case studies of successful mobile BI implementations and their impact on business operations.

DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) in Depth

Gain an in-depth understanding of DAX, the formula language used in Power BI for data modeling and calculations. This section covers advanced DAX functions for creating calculated columns, measures, and tables. Learn about DAX contexts (row context, filter context) and how to use functions like CALCULATE, ALL, RELATED, and more. Practical exercises will involve writing complex DAX formulas to solve real-world business problems and enhance data analysis capabilities. Discuss the optimization of DAX queries for performance and the use of DAX Studio for debugging and performance analysis.

Power BI and Excel Integration

Explore the integration of Power BI with Excel, one of the most widely used data analysis tools. Learn how to import Excel data into Power BI, create Power BI reports from Excel, and use Power BI features within Excel through Power BI Publisher for Excel. This section covers using Excel data models, Power Query, and Power Pivot with Power BI. Hands-on exercises will involve creating integrated solutions that leverage the strengths of both Power BI and Excel. Understand how to use Excel as a data source for Power BI reports and the benefits of this integration for seamless data analysis and reporting.

Power BI for Data Science

Understand how to use Power BI in data science workflows. Learn how to connect Power BI to machine learning models and R or Python scripts. This section covers using Power BI to visualize and interpret the results of data science models, such as predictive analytics and clustering. Practical exercises will involve integrating data science outputs with Power BI reports to provide actionable insights and support data-driven decision-making. Explore advanced analytics techniques, including anomaly detection, forecasting, and the use of AI visuals in Power BI.

Power BI Administration and Governance

Learn about the administrative and governance aspects of Power BI. This section covers setting up Power BI environments, managing user roles and permissions, and ensuring data security and compliance. Understand best practices for Power BI governance, including creating governance policies, monitoring usage, and managing Power BI licenses. Practical exercises will involve configuring Power BI settings and implementing governance frameworks to ensure the effective and secure use of Power BI in an organization. Discuss the importance of data lineage and impact analysis in maintaining data quality and trust.

Optimizing Power BI Performance

Learn techniques for optimizing the performance of Power BI reports and dashboards. This section covers best practices for data modeling, DAX optimization, and report design to ensure fast and responsive reports. Understand how to use Power BI Performance Analyzer to identify and resolve performance issues. Practical exercises will involve optimizing existing Power BI reports to improve their performance and efficiency. Explore the use of composite models, aggregations, and incremental refresh to handle large datasets and complex queries effectively.

Power BI and Big Data

Explore how Power BI can be used to analyze big data. Learn about connecting Power BI to big data sources such as Azure Synapse Analytics, Google BigQuery, and Hadoop. This section covers techniques for handling large datasets, including using DirectQuery and aggregations. Hands-on exercises will involve working with big data in Power BI to create scalable and efficient data analysis solutions. Discuss the integration of Power BI with big data processing frameworks and the use of dataflows for data preparation and transformation at scale.

Real-World Power BI Projects

Apply all the knowledge and skills gained throughout the course by working on real-world Power BI projects. This section includes project-based learning where you will create end-to-end Power BI solutions for various business scenarios. Examples of projects include sales analysis, customer segmentation, financial reporting, and operational dashboards. Each project will involve data import, transformation, modeling, visualization, and publishing, providing a comprehensive understanding of the Power BI development process. Collaborate with peers on group projects to simulate real-world team dynamics and project management.

Power BI Certification Preparation

Prepare for Power BI certification exams, such as the Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate (Exam DA-100). This section covers the exam objectives, study resources, and tips for success. Practical exercises will involve taking practice exams and working on sample projects that align with the certification requirements. Gain the confidence and knowledge needed to pass the certification exams and advance your career in Power BI and data analytics. Discuss strategies for continuous learning and staying updated with the latest Power BI features and updates through Microsoft documentation and community events.