Course Content
Getting Started
Getting started with Microsoft Power BI is easy, and there are several resources available to help you get up and running quickly. Here are the basic steps: Download Power BI Desktop: Power BI Desktop is a free application that you can download from the Microsoft website. Once you have downloaded the application, install it on your computer. Connect to data sources: Launch Power BI Desktop and connect to your data sources. Power BI supports a wide range of data sources, including Excel files, CSV files, SQL Server databases, and more. Create visuals: Once you have connected to your data, use the drag-and-drop interface of Power BI Desktop to create visuals such as charts, tables, and graphs. You can customize the visuals to meet your specific needs. Create reports and dashboards: Use the visuals you have created to build reports and dashboards. Reports are individual pages that contain visuals, while dashboards are collections of reports that provide an overview of your data. Publish and share: You can share your reports and dashboards with others by publishing them to the Power BI service. You can also control who has access to your reports and dashboards. Learn and explore: Microsoft offers a wide range of resources to help you learn more about Power BI. These resources include documentation, tutorials, and a community forum where you can connect with other users and get help with any issues you encounter. Overall, getting started with Power BI is easy, and there are plenty of resources available to help you learn and explore the capabilities of this powerful tool.
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Introducing Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a free, powerful application that allows you to create interactive reports and data visualizations. With Power BI Desktop, you can connect to a variety of data sources, transform data into a format that is easy to analyze, and create reports and dashboards that help you gain insights from your data. Here are some of the key features of Power BI Desktop: Data modeling: Power BI Desktop allows you to create data models that combine data from multiple sources and transform it into a format that is easy to analyze. You can use tools like Power Query and DAX to create relationships between tables, perform calculations, and create calculated columns and measures. Data visualization: Power BI Desktop provides a wide range of visualizations, including charts, tables, and graphs. You can customize the appearance of these visualizations and use features like drill-down and cross-filtering to explore your data in more detail. Report creation: Power BI Desktop allows you to create interactive reports that allow users to filter and explore the data. You can add features like images, text boxes, and hyperlinks to enhance the report. Dashboard creation: Power BI Desktop allows you to create dashboards that provide an overview of your data. You can add visuals from multiple reports to a dashboard and arrange them in a way that makes sense for your business. Collaboration and sharing: Power BI Desktop allows you to collaborate with others on reports and dashboards. You can share reports and dashboards with colleagues and stakeholders, and you can control who has access to the data. Overall, Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a powerful tool that can help you gain insights from your data and make data-driven decisions. Whether you are a business user, data analyst, or IT professional, Power BI Desktop can help you create reports and visualizations that provide valuable insights into your data.
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Connecting & Shaping Data with Power BI Desktop
Connecting and shaping data is a critical step in creating reports and visualizations in Power BI Desktop. Here are the basic steps to connect and shape data in Power BI Desktop: Connect to data sources: In Power BI Desktop, you can connect to a wide variety of data sources, including Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, databases, and cloud-based data sources. To connect to a data source, click the "Get Data" button on the Home tab of the ribbon and select the data source you want to use. Choose the data you want to work with: After connecting to a data source, you'll need to select the tables, views, or queries that you want to use in your report. You can do this by navigating to the relevant tables in the Navigator pane and checking the boxes next to the tables you want to use. Shape and transform the data: Once you've selected your data, you can use the Power Query Editor to shape and transform the data. This may involve cleaning the data, filtering out unnecessary columns, merging or splitting tables, and creating calculated columns. Load the data: After shaping the data, you can load it into the Power BI Desktop data model by clicking the "Close & Apply" button in the Power Query Editor. The data will then be available for use in your report. Refresh the data: If your data source is dynamic and changes frequently, you can set up automatic data refreshes to ensure that your report stays up-to-date. By following these steps, you can connect to your data sources, shape your data, and load it into Power BI Desktop, so that you can create powerful visualizations and reports.
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Creating Table Relationships & Data Models in Power BI
You can create table relationships and data models in Power BI using the following steps: Open Power BI Desktop and click on the "Home" tab. Click on the "Get Data" button and select the data source you want to connect to. Follow the prompts to connect to your data source and load the data into Power BI. In the "Fields" pane on the right-hand side of the screen, select the first table you want to include in your data model. Drag the primary key column from the first table onto the corresponding foreign key column in the second table. Power BI will automatically create a relationship between the two tables based on the columns you selected. Repeat this process for any additional tables you want to include in your data model. Once all of the table relationships have been created, you can begin building visualizations and reports based on the data in your data model. To ensure that your data model is accurate and up-to-date, you may need to configure data refresh settings. Save the report and share it with others. By creating table relationships and data models in Power BI, you can combine data from multiple sources and analyze it in a way that provides meaningful insights. You can also create calculated fields, measures, and hierarchies that allow you to drill down into your data and analyze it from different perspectives.
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Analyzing Data with DAX Calculations in Power BI
DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula language used to analyze data in Power BI. DAX formulas are used to create calculated columns, calculated tables, and measures that can be used in visualizations and reports. Here are some steps to analyze data with DAX calculations in Power BI: Create a new measure: To create a new measure in Power BI, go to the Modeling tab, click on New Measure, and start writing your DAX formula. A DAX formula should start with an equal sign (=) followed by a function or expression. Use basic DAX functions: Basic DAX functions include SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX, and others. You can use these functions to create simple calculations, such as the sum or average of a column. Combine functions with operators: You can combine DAX functions with operators, such as +, -, *, /, and others, to create more complex calculations. Use IF and SWITCH functions: IF and SWITCH are conditional functions that allow you to create logic in your DAX calculations. For example, you can use the IF function to create a condition that checks if a value is greater than a certain threshold, and then returns a different result based on the condition. Use DAX tables and relationships: DAX tables are tables that are created using DAX expressions. You can use DAX tables to create complex calculations that involve multiple tables and relationships. You can also use DAX relationships to define relationships between tables and create more complex calculations. Use advanced DAX functions: Advanced DAX functions include functions like CALCULATE, FILTER, and RELATEDTABLE. These functions allow you to create more complex calculations and perform advanced analysis on your data. Test and refine your calculations: Once you have created your DAX calculations, you should test them to make sure they are accurate. You can use the DAX formula editor to test your formulas and see the results. By following these steps, you can use DAX calculations to analyze your data in Power BI and create custom visualizations and reports.
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Visualizing Data with Power BI Reports
Power BI reports are the primary means of presenting data insights to users. Reports are interactive, dynamic, and allow users to drill down to get more details on specific aspects of the data. Here are some best practices for visualizing data with Power BI reports: Choose the right visuals: Power BI offers a wide range of visuals, from basic tables and charts to advanced custom visuals. Choose the right visual for the type of data you're presenting, and make sure it's easy to understand. Keep it simple: Don't overload your report with too many visuals or too much information. Keep it simple and focused on the key insights. Use consistent colors and formatting: Use consistent colors and formatting across all visuals to make the report look polished and professional. Highlight key insights: Use colors, icons, or text to highlight key insights or trends in the data. Use interactive features: Power BI offers a range of interactive features, such as drill-through and drill-down, that allow users to explore the data in more detail. Use filters and slicers: Filters and slicers allow users to interactively filter the data, making it easier to find specific information. Design for different devices: Design your report so that it looks good on different devices, such as desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. Test your report: Test your report thoroughly before sharing it with others to ensure that it's accurate, easy to understand, and works on different devices. Use bookmarks: Bookmarks allow users to save and recall specific views of the report, making it easier to revisit specific insights. Use performance optimization techniques: If your report contains a large amount of data, use performance optimization techniques such as data summarization, incremental loading, and data compression to improve report performance.
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NEW Artificial Intelligence (AI) Visuals
As an AI language model, my knowledge cutoff is September 2021 and I don't have information on any new updates after that. However, as of September 2021, Power BI already had several AI visuals available, including: Decomposition Tree: This visual helps in understanding the root cause of a metric by breaking it down into its drivers. Key Influencers: This visual helps in identifying the key drivers behind a particular outcome by using machine learning algorithms. Smart Narrative: This visual provides a natural language summary of the data in a report. Q&A Explorer: This visual allows users to ask natural language questions about their data and get instant answers. Quick Insights: This feature automatically generates insights and patterns in the data using machine learning algorithms. It is important to note that while these AI visuals can provide valuable insights, it is important to use them appropriately and with an understanding of their limitations. Additionally, it is important to consider data privacy and ethical implications when using AI technologies in data analysis.
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Bonus Project Maven Market
Congratulations! The Adventure Works clients were so impressed by your work that they referred you for another contract. This time you will be working with Maven Market, a multi-national grocery chain with locations in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Just like the Adventure Works project, you will be working through the entire business intelligence workflow: connecting and shaping the source data, building a relational model, adding calculated columns and measures, and designing an interactive report. Unfortunately I will be out of town for the next few months on a bird watching excursion in a remote corner of the Chilean Andes, so you will be on your own for this one. That said, I have the utmost confidence in your abilities -- you'll do great! I have attached all of the files you need to get started: Maven_Market.png (Maven Market logo) Maven Market CSV Files.zip (zipped folder containing the 8 CSV files you'll need to build your report) In case you get stuck, I've also included a completed report ("Maven_Market_Report_COMPLETE") for you to reference along the way. GOOD LUCK!
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Power BI Desktop for Business Intelligence
About Lesson

Power BI Desktop is a powerful tool that allows you to create rich, interactive reports and dashboards based on data from a variety of sources. Before you can create reports, however, you first need to connect to and shape your data.

Connecting to data involves establishing a link between Power BI Desktop and your data source. Power BI Desktop supports a wide variety of data sources, including Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, databases, and cloud-based data sources.

Shaping your data involves transforming your data so that it is ready for analysis and visualization. This may involve cleaning and formatting your data, filtering out unnecessary columns, merging tables, and creating calculated columns. Power BI Desktop includes a powerful data shaping tool called Power Query Editor, which allows you to perform these transformations using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Once you’ve connected to and shaped your data, you can use it to create reports and visualizations in Power BI Desktop. By using Power BI Desktop’s built-in visualization tools and features, you can create powerful and insightful reports that help you gain new insights into your data.

Overall, connecting to and shaping your data is an essential step in the Power BI Desktop workflow. By taking the time to properly connect and shape your data, you can create more accurate and effective reports that drive better business decisions.

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