Data Analysis with Power BI

Objective: Understand Power BI ecosystem and install Power BI Desktop.

Topics Covered:

• What is Power BI? Overview of the Power BI ecosystem
• Power BI Desktop vs. Power BI Service vs. Power BI Mobile
• Installing and setting up Power BI Desktop
• Navigating the Power BI interface
• Understanding the data visualization workflow
• Power BI licensing and deployment options

Tools: Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service (free account)

Objective: Connect Power BI to various data sources.

Topics Covered:

• Connecting to Excel files and CSV files
• Connecting to SQL Server databases
• Connecting to web data sources and APIs
• Connecting to cloud services (Azure, Google Analytics, Salesforce)
• Importing vs. DirectQuery connections
• Managing data source settings and credentials

Tools: Power BI Desktop, sample datasets, SQL Server

Objective: Master Power Query for data cleaning and transformation.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to Power Query Editor
• Removing duplicates and handling missing values
• Splitting, merging, and formatting columns
• Pivoting and unpivoting data
• Merging and appending queries
• Creating custom columns with M language basics

Tools: Power Query Editor, M language

Objective: Build robust data models with relationships.

Topics Covered:

• Understanding star schema and snowflake schema
• Creating and managing table relationships
• Cross-filter direction and relationship cardinality
• Creating calculated columns and calculated tables
• Managing hierarchies and date tables
• Best practices for data modeling

Tools: Power BI Model view, relationship management

Objective: Master DAX for advanced calculations and measures.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to DAX syntax and functions
• Calculated columns vs. measures
• Basic DAX functions: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX
• CALCULATE and FILTER functions
• Time intelligence functions (YTD, QTD, MTD, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR)
• Logical and iterator functions (SUMX, AVERAGEX)

Tools: DAX formula bar, DAX functions reference

Objective: Create stunning and interactive visualizations.

Topics Covered:

• Choosing the right chart type for your data
• Creating bar charts, line charts, pie charts, and scatter plots
• Using maps, slicers, and KPIs
• Formatting visualizations (colors, labels, axes, legends)
• Creating custom visuals from AppSource
• Adding drill-through and drill-down capabilities

Tools: Power BI Visualizations pane, custom visuals marketplace

Objective: Design professional, interactive dashboards.

Topics Covered:

• Building multi-page reports
• Adding slicers, filters, and bookmarks
• Creating interactive buttons and navigation
• Using report themes and custom branding
• Mobile optimization and responsive design
• Performance optimization for reports

Tools: Power BI report canvas, bookmarks, buttons

Objective: Publish, share, and collaborate using Power BI Service.

Topics Covered:

• Publishing reports to Power BI Service
• Creating dashboards and workspaces
• Sharing reports and managing permissions
• Setting up scheduled data refresh
• Creating alerts and subscriptions
• Using Power BI mobile apps

Tools: Power BI Service, Power BI mobile app

Objective: Build a complete business dashboard from scratch.

Topics Covered:

• Define business requirements and KPIs
• Connect to and transform data sources
• Build a data model with relationships
• Create DAX measures for key metrics
• Design interactive visualizations and dashboard
• Publish and share with stakeholders
• Present dashboard and insights

Tools: All tools learned throughout the course