Microsoft Power BI For Dummies

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Part 1: Put Your BI Thinking Caps On 

Chapter 1: A Crash Course in Data Analytics Terms: Power BI Style 

• What Is Data, Really?
• Working with structured data
• Looking at unstructured data
• Adding semistructured data to the mix
• Looking Under the Power BI Hood
• Posing questions with Power Query
• Modeling with Power Pivot
• Visualizing with Power View
• Mapping data with Power Map
• Interpreting data with Power Q&A
• Power BI Desktop
• Power BI Services
• Knowing Your Power BI Terminology
• Capacities
• Workspaces
• Reports
• Dashboards
• Navigation pane
• Business Intelligence (BI): The Definition

Chapter 2: The Who, How, and What of Power BI 

• Highlighting the Who of Power BI
• Business analyst
• Data analyst
• Data engineer
• Data scientist
• Database administrator
• Understanding How Data Comes to Life
• Prepare
• Model
• Visualize
• Analyze
• Manage
• Examining the Various Types of Data Analytics
• Taking a Look at the Big Picture

Chapter 3: Oh, the Choices: Power BI Versions 

• Why Power BI versus Excel?
• Power BI Products in a Nutshell
• Introducing the Power BI license options
• Looking at Desktop versus Services options
• Stacking Power BI Desktop against Power BI Free
• Examining the Details of the Licensing Options
• Seeing how content and collaboration drive licensing
• Starting with Power BI Desktop
• Adding a Power BI Free license
• Upgrading to a Power BI Pro license
• Going all in with a Power BI Premium license
• On the Road with Power BI Mobile
• Working with Power BI Report Server
• Linking Power BI and Azure

Chapter 4: Power BI: The Highlights 

• Power BI Desktop: A Top-Down View
• Ingesting Data
• Files or databases?
• Building data models
• Analyzing data
• Creating and publishing items
• Services: Far and Wide
• Viewing and editing reports
• Working with dashboards
• Collaborating inside Power BI Services
• Refreshing data

Part 2: It’s Time to Have a Data Party 

Chapter 5: Preparing Data Sources 

• Getting Data from the Source
• Managing Data Source Settings
• Working with Shared versus Local Datasets
• Storage Modes
• Dual mode
• Considering the Query
• Addressing and correcting performance
• Diagnosing queries
• Exporting Power BI Desktop Files and Leveraging XMLA

Chapter 6: Getting Data from Dynamic Sources 

• Getting Data from Microsoft-Based File Systems
• Working with Relational Data Sources
• Importing data from a relational data source
• The good ol’ SQL query
• Importing Data from a Nonrelational Data Source
• Importing JSON File Data into Power BI
• Importing Data from Online Sources
• Creating Data Source Combos
• Connecting and importing data from Azure Analysis Services
• Accessing data with Connect Live
• Dealing with Modes for Dynamic Data
• Fixing Data Import Errors
• “Time-out expired”
• “The data format is not valid”
• “Uh-oh — missing data files”
• “Transformation isn’t always perfect”

Chapter 7: Cleansing, Transforming, and Loading Your Data 

• Engaging Your Detective Skills to Hunt Down Anomalies and Inconsistencies
• Checking those data structures and column properties
• Finding a little help from data statistics
• Stepping through the Data Lifecycle
• Resolving inconsistencies
• Evaluating and Transforming Column Data Types
• Finding and creating appropriate keys for joins
• Shaping your column data to meet Power Query requirements
• Combining queries
• Tweaking Power Query’s M Code
• Configuring Queries for Data Loading
• Resolving Errors During Data Import

Part 3: The Art and Science of Power Bi 

Chapter 8: Crafting the Data Model 

• An Introduction to Data Models
• Working with data schemas
• Storing values with measures
• Working with dimensions and fact tables (yet again)
• Flattening hierarchies
• Dealing with Table and Column Properties
• Managing Cardinality and Direction
• Cardinality
• Cross-filter direction
• Data Granularity

Chapter 9: Designing and Deploying Data Models 

• Creating a Data Model Masterpiece
• Working with Data view and Modeling view
• Importing queries
• Defining data types
• Handling formatting and data type properties
• Managing tables
• Adding and modifying data to imported, Direct Query, and composite models
• Managing Relationships
• Creating automatic relationships
• Creating manual relationships
• Deleting relationships
• Classifying and codifying data in tables
• Arranging Data
• Sorting by and grouping by
• Hiding data
• Working with Extended Data Models
• Knowing the calculation types
• Working with column contents and joins
• Publishing Data Models

Chapter 10: Perfecting the Data Model 

• Matching Queries with Capacity
• Deleting unnecessary columns and rows
• Swapping numeric columns with measures and variables
• Reducing cardinality
• Reducing queries
• Converting to a composite model
• Creating and managing aggregations

Chapter 11: Visualizing Data 

• Looking at Report Fundamentals and Visualizations
• Creating visualizations
• Choosing a visualization
• Filtering data
• Working with Bar charts and Column charts
• Using basic Line charts and Area charts
• Combining Line charts and Bar charts
• Working with Ribbon charts
• Going with the flow with Waterfall charts
• Funneling with Funnel charts
• Scattering with Scatter charts
• Salivating with Pie charts and Donut charts
• Branching out with treemaps
• Mapping with maps
• Indicating with indicators
• Dealing with Table-Based and Complex Visualizations
• Slicing with slicers
• Tabling with table visualizations
• Combing through data with matrices
• Decomposing with decomposition trees
• Zooming in on key influencers
• Dabbling in Data Science
• Questions and Answers

Chapter 12: Pumping Out Reports 

• Formatting and Configuring Report Visualizations
• Working with basic visualization configurations
• Applying conditional formatting
• Filtering and Sorting
• Configuring the Report Page
• Refreshing Data
• Working with reports
• Finding migrated data
• Exporting reports
• Perfecting reports for distribution

Chapter 13: Diving into Dashboarding 

• Configuring Dashboards
• Creating a New Dashboard
• Enriching Your Dashboard with Content
• Pinning Reports
• Customizing with Themes
• Working with Dashboard Layouts
• Integrating Q&A
• Setting Alerts

Part 4: Oh, No! There’s A Power Bi Programming Language! 

Chapter 14: Digging Into DAX 

• Discovering DAX
• Peeking under the DAX hood
• Working with calculations
• Dealing with Data Types
• Operating with Operators
• Ordering operators
• Parentheses and order
• Making a Statement
• Ensuring Compatibility

Chapter 15: Fun with DAX Functions 

• Working with DAX Parameters and Naming Conventions
• Prefixing parameter names
• Playing with parameters
• Using Formulas and Functions
• Aggregate functions
• Date-and-time functions
• Filter functions
• Financial functions
• Information functions
• Logical functions
• Mathematical and trigonometric functions
• Other functions
• Parent-child functions
• Relationship functions
• Statistical functions
• Table manipulation functions
• Text functions
• Time intelligence functions

Chapter 16: Digging Deeper into DAX 

• Working with Variables
• Writing DAX Formulas
• Understanding DAX formulas in depth
• Extending formulas with measures
• Comparing measures and columns
• Syntax and context
• The syntax of an expression
• Best Practices for DAX Coding and Debugging in Power BI
• Using error functions properly
• Avoiding converting blanks to values
• Knowing the difference between operators and functions
• Getting specific
• Knowing what to COUNT
• Relationships matter
• Keeping up with the context
• Preferring measures over columns
• Seeing that structure matters

Chapter 17: Sharing and the Power BI Workspace 

• Working Together in a Workspace
• Defining the types of workspaces
• Figuring out the nuts and bolts of workspaces
• Creating and Configuring Apps
• Slicing and Dicing Data
• Analyzing in Excel
• Benefiting from Quick Insights
• Using Usage Metric reports
• Working with paginated reports
• Troubleshooting the Use of Data Lineage
• Datasets, Dataflows, and Lineage
• Defending Your Data Turf

Part 5: Enhancing Your Power Bi Experience 

Chapter 18: Making Your Data Shine 

• Establishing a Schedule
• Rolling out the scheduled refresh
• Refreshing on-premises data
• Protecting the Data Fortress
• Configuring for group membership
• Making role assignments in Power BI Services
• Sharing the Data Love
• Refreshing Data in Baby Steps
• Creating RangeStart and RangeEnd parameters
• Filtering by RangeStart and RangeEnd
• Establishing the Incremental Refresh policy
• Treating Data Like Gold
• Configuring for Big Data

Chapter 19: Extending the Power BI Experience 

• Linking Power Platform and Power BI
• Powering Up with Power Apps
• Creating Power App visuals with Power BI
• Acknowledging the limitations of Power Apps/Power BI integration
• Introducing the Power BI Mobile app
• Integrating OneDrive and Power BI
• Collaboration, SharePoint, and Power BI
• Differentiating between the classic and modern SharePoint experience
• Integrating Power BI into SharePoint  
• Viewing Power BI reports in SharePoint
• Automating Workflows with Power BI
• Configuring prebuilt workflows for Power BI
• Using the Power Automate Visual with Power BI
• Unleashing Dynamics  for Data Analytics

Part 6: The Part of Tens 

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Optimize DAX Using Power BI 

• Focusing on Logic
• Formatting Your Code
• Keeping the Structure Simple (KISS)
• Staying Clear of Certain Functions
• Making Your Measures Meaningful
• Filtering with a Purpose
• Transforming Data Purposefully
• Playing Hide-and-Seek with Your Columns
• Using All Those Fabulous Functions
• Rinse, Repeat, Recycle

Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Make Compelling Reports Accessible and User-Friendly 

• Navigating the Keyboard
• Having a Screen Reader As Your Companion
• Standing Out with Contrast
• Recognizing Size Matters (with Focus Mode)
• Switching between Data Tables and Visualizations
• A Little Extra Text Goes a Long Way
• Setting Rank and Tab Order
• It’s All About Titles and Labels
• Leaving Your Markers
• Keeping with a Theme

Index