Description

This hands-on course will provide new users to Power BI with foundational skills to use Microsoft Power BI Platform to connect to data, model and transform data, create visualisations and publish to the Power BI service.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the purposes and basic functions of the core Power BI components
• Comfortably navigate throughout Power BI Desktop
• Connect to a range of data sources
• Transform data with Power Query
• Understand how to model data
• Create interactive reports and visualisations
• Publish content to the Power BI Service

Target Audience

This course is suitable for new users to Power BI who would like to gain essential skills to make best use of the Power BI Platform.

Prerequisites

This course assumes little to no knowledge of Power BI and/or other reporting tools. Some familiarity with Microsoft Excel including charts and pivot tables is helpful, however not mandatory.

Delivery Format

Each course day will involve a virtual classroom session that runs over 4 hours to maximise participant engagement
and learning effectiveness.

The course will be delivered using a blended learning approach that combines the following teaching methods:

• Short pre-class reading or exercises to prepare participants for the virtual classroom sessions
• Live virtual classroom sessions delivered using an advanced online training and collaboration platform and dedicated Slack channel.
• Short in-class practical exercises using small virtual breakout groups of two or three participants to collaboratively practice specific skills and techniques
• In-class mini-projects that allow participants to combine a number of specific skills and techniques to create an example of real world analytics content

The virtual classroom sessions include frequent practical interactive sessions and short breaks. The course is taught by trainers who are experienced teachers and experts in the Power BI Suite and the broader analytics profession.

Key Topics

Getting Started with Microsoft Power BI

• Introduction to Analytics / Business Intelligence
• An Introduction to Power BI
• Power BI Desktop vs Power BI Service vs Mobile App
• The Building Blocks of Power BI
• Introduction to Power BI Desktop

Power BI Desktop Overview

• The Power BI Desktop Interface
• Model vs Data vs Report View
• Working with Power BI Desktop Files
• Opening, Saving and Creating New Files

Connecting to Data Sources

• Connecting to an Excel Workbook
• Connecting to an Access Database
• Creating a Manual Dataset
• Connecting to Other Data Sources

Data Visualisation I

• What is Data Visualization?
• Understanding the Report View
• Setting the Color Theme
• Creating Charts
• Formatting Charts
• Switching Chart Types
• Creating and Formatting Column, Line, Pie and Tree Charts
• Creating and Formatting Cards, Matricies, Tables

Transforming Data with Power Query I

• Why is Data Transformation Useful
• Getting Started with Power Query
• Renaming, Duplicating and Removing Columns
• Replacing Values, Removing Rows
• Splitting Columns
• Using Basic Group by
• Using Advanced Group by
• Pivoting and Unpivoting Data

Data Modelling I

• Understanding the Model view
• What is a Data Model
• Components of a Data Model
• Data Types & Formats
• Hierarchies
• Sort by Column & Default Summarisation

Using Filters and Slicers

• Understanding Filters and Slicers in Power BI
• Using Cross-filtering
• Creating and Using Slicers
• Creating and Using Visual Level Filters
• Creating and Using Page Level Filters
• Creating and Using Report Level Filters
• Creating Top N Filters

Publishing Reports and Dashboards on the Power BI Service

• Publishing Power BI Desktop reports
• Printing and Exporting Dashboards and Reports
• Sharing Reports and Dashboards

Mini-project