QuickStart to Power BI for Analysts & Users

Course Objectives

This course is approximately 50% hands-on, combining expert lecture, real-world demonstrations and group discussions with machine-based practical labs and exercises. Working in a hands-on learning environment led by our expert facilitator, students will learn how to:

• Perform Power BI desktop data transformation.
• Describe Power BI desktop modelling.
• Create a Power BI desktop visualization.
• Implement the Power BI service.
• Describe how to connect to Excel data.
• Describe how to collaborate with Power BI data.
• Connect directly to data stores.
• Describe the Power BI developer API.
• Describe the Power BI mobile app.
• Manage Power BI for the web

Need different skills or topics?  If your team requires different topics or tools, additional skills or custom approach, this course may be further adjusted to accommodate.  We offer additional PowerBI, reporting, data analytics, visualization and other related topics that may be blended with this course for a track that best suits your needs.

Course Prerequisites

This hands-on course is geared new users and analysts or individuals who might be responsible for accessing the organization's data, transforming that data and generating reports.

Before attending this course, students should have:

• A general knowledge of database concepts (fields, records, relationships).
• An awareness of key business priorities such as revenue, profitability, and financial accounting is desirable.
• Familiarity with Excel.

Please see the Related Courses tab for specific Pre-Requisite courses, Related Courses that offer similar skills or topics, and next-step Learning Path recommendations.

Course Agenda

Module 1: Introduction to Self-Service BI Solutions

Introduces business intelligence (BI) and how to self-serve with BI.

• Introduction to business intelligence
• Introduction to data analysis
• Introduction to data visualization
• Overview of self-service BI
• Considerations for self-service BI
• Microsoft tools for self-service BI
• Hands-on: Exploring an Enterprise BI solution
• Viewing reports
• Creating a Power BI report
• Creating a Power BI dashboard

Module 2: Introducing Power BI

This module introduces Power BI desktop, and explores the features that enable the rapid creation and publication of sophisticated data visualizations.

• Power BI
• The Power BI service
• Hands-on: Creating a Power BI dashboard
• Connecting to Power BI data
• Create a Power BI dashboard

Module 3: Power BI

At the end of this module students will be able to explain the rationale and advantages of using Power BI.

• Using Excel as a data source for Power BI
• The Power BI data model
• Using databases as a data source for Power BI
• The Power BI service
• Hands-on: Importing data into Power BI
• Importing Excel files into Power BI
• Viewing reports from Excel files

Module 4: Shaping and Combining Data

With Power BI desktop you can shape and combine data with powerful, built-in tools. This module introduces the tools that are available for preparing your data and transforming it into a form ready for reporting.

• Power BI desktop queries
• Shaping data
• Combining data
• Hands-on: Shaping and combining data
• Shape power BI data
• Combine Power BI data

Module 5: Modelling data

This module describes how to shape and enhance data.

Relationships

• DAX queries
• Calculations and measures
• What is DAX (Overview)
• What is DAX (Tabular)
• Creating Calculated Columns (Basics)
• Navigation Functions
• Conditional and Logical Functions
• Creating Calculated Measures
• Time Intelligence (Overview)
• Time Intelligence (Time Intelligence Functions)
• Using X-Functions and A-Functions
• Table Functions
• DAX as a Query Language
• Hands-on: Let’s Model Data
• Create relationships
• Calculations

Module 6: Interactive Data Visualizations

This module describes how to create and manage interactive data visualizations.

• Creating Power BI reports
• Managing a Power BI solution
• Hands-on: Creating a Power BI report
• Connecting to Power BI data
• Building Power BI reports
• Creating a Power BI dashboard

Module 7:  Managing Power BI web interface

This module will review using Power BI with web

• Creating reports and referencing data sets
• Managing Power BI web
• Creating dashboards via web
• Creating Basic Reports with the Power BI Desktop
• Creating Interactive Reports (Adding Slicers for Filters)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Tabular Data)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Categorical Data)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Data Trends)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Categorical and Trend Data Together)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Geographical Data with Maps)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Visualizing Goal Tracking)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Using Custom Visuals)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Digital Storytelling)
• Creating Interactive Reports (Other Features)
• Using the Power BI Service (Deploying to the Power BI Service)
• Using the Power BI Service (Creating and Sharing Dashboards)
• Using the Power BI Service (Using Power BI Q&A)
• Using the Power BI Service (Setting up App Workspaces)
• Using the Power BI Service (Subscriptions and Alerts)
• Using the Power BI Service (Excel Integration)
• Using the Power BI Service (Export and Embed Options)
• Refreshing the Data (Refreshing Data Overview)
• Refreshing the Data (Installing the Data Gateway)
• Refreshing the Data (Scheduling a Data Refresh)
• Mobile BI (Power BI Mobile Overview)
• Mobile BI (Designing Reports and Dashboards for Mobile)
• Mobile BI (Interacting with the Power BI Mobile App)

Course Materials

Student Materials: Each participant will receive a Student Guide with course notes, code samples, software tutorials, step-by-step written lab instructions, diagrams and related reference materials and resource links. Students will also receive the project files (or code, if applicable) and solutions required for the hands-on work.

Hands-On Setup Made Simple! Our dedicated tech team will work with you to ensure our ‘easy-access’ cloud-based course environment is accessible, fully-tested and verified as ready to go well in advance of the course start date, ensuring a smooth start to class and effective learning experience for all participants. Please inquire for details and options.