Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of business intelligence, Microsoft Power BI stands out as a leading, user-friendly platform that empowers individuals and organizations to transform raw data into compelling visual stories, interactive dashboards, and actionable insights, democratizing data analysis and enabling data-driven decision-making across all levels. Moving beyond static reports, Power BI facilitates dynamic exploration of data, uncovering trends, anomalies, and opportunities that drive strategic growth and operational efficiency. This training course is meticulously designed to equip business analysts, data professionals, marketing specialists, sales managers, financial analysts, and anyone aspiring to leverage data for impactful decisions with comprehensive knowledge and practical skills in understanding the Power BI ecosystem, mastering data connectivity and transformation using Power Query, developing robust data models, designing visually appealing and interactive dashboards and reports, implementing advanced DAX functions for complex calculations, and effectively sharing insights with stakeholders. Participants will gain a deep understanding of how to unlock the full potential of their data, create impactful visualizations, and build powerful dashboards that inform strategy and drive business success.

Duration

10 days

Target Audience

• Business Analysts
• Data Analysts & Scientists (Beginner/Intermediate)
• Reporting Specialists
• Marketing & Sales Professionals
• Financial Analysts
• Project Managers
• IT Professionals involved in data analysis
• Department Heads & Managers
• Anyone needing to visualize and share data insights

Objectives

• Understand the core components and architecture of Microsoft Power BI.
• Master data connection, transformation, and cleansing using Power Query Editor.
• Develop proficiency in creating robust and efficient data models in Power BI Desktop.
• Learn to write advanced DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) formulas for complex calculations.
• Design and build visually compelling and interactive reports and dashboards.
• Understand best practices for data visualization and dashboard design.
• Explore various chart types, custom visuals, and their effective use.
• Learn to implement drill-down, drill-through, and other interactive features.
• Develop skills in publishing, sharing, and collaborating on Power BI reports and dashboards.
• Understand data security, refresh mechanisms, and gateway configurations.
• Formulate strategies for deploying Power BI solutions within an organization.

Course Content

Module 1. Introduction to Microsoft Power BI Ecosystem

• What is Power BI?: Components (Desktop, Service, Mobile, Report Server, Gateway)
• Power BI Architecture and workflow
• Benefits of using Power BI for data visualization and analysis
• Key differences between Power BI Desktop, Service, and Mobile
• Overview of common use cases and industry applications

Module 2. Connecting to Data Sources

• Understanding Power Query Editor: The ETL tool within Power BI
• Connecting to various data sources: Excel, CSV, SQL Server, Web
• Connecting to cloud data sources: Azure SQL Database, SharePoint Online
• Import vs. DirectQuery vs. Live Connection modes
• Managing data source settings and credentials

Module 3. Data Transformation and Cleansing with Power Query

• Transforming Data: Renaming columns, changing data types, removing rows/columns
• Cleaning Data: Handling nulls, errors, duplicates
• Pivoting and unpivoting data
• Merging and appending queries
• Creating custom columns and conditional columns

Module 4. Introduction to Data Modeling in Power BI

• Understanding Relationships: One-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many
• Creating and managing relationships between tables
• Optimizing data models for performance
• Star schema vs. Snowflake schema
• Best practices for data model design

Module 5. Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) Fundamentals

• Introduction to DAX: Calculated columns vs. measures
• Basic DAX functions: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX
• Understanding Row Context and Filter Context
• EVALUATE and CALCULATE functions
• Common DAX patterns for simple aggregations

Module 6. Advanced DAX for Complex Calculations

• Time Intelligence Functions: TOTALYTD, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, DATEADD
• Iterator Functions: SUMX, AVERAGEX, MAXX, MINX
• Relationship Functions: RELATED, RELATEDTABLE
• Table Functions: FILTER, ALL, ALLEXCEPT
• Advanced DAX patterns for complex business logic

Module 7. Designing Interactive Reports I: Visual Basics

• Power BI Report View Interface: Pages, filters, visualizations pane
• Understanding various chart types: Bar, Column, Line, Area, Pie, Donut
• Creating basic visualizations
• Formatting visuals: Colors, labels, titles, legends
• Using text boxes, shapes, and images

Module 8. Designing Interactive Reports II: Advanced Visuals & Interactivity

• Matrix and Table Visuals: Conditional formatting, hierarchies
• Treemaps, Funnel Charts, Scatter Charts, Bubble Charts
• Gauge and Card visuals for KPIs
• Slicers and Filters: Global and visual level filtering
• Drill-down and drill-through functionality

Module 9. Dashboard Design Principles and Best Practices

• What is a Dashboard?: Purpose, key characteristics
• Dashboard design best practices: Layout, flow, color theory, typography
• Telling a story with data: Crafting a clear message
• Designing for different audiences and devices
• Common dashboard mistakes to avoid

Module 10. Publishing and Sharing Reports & Dashboards

• Publishing from Power BI Desktop to Power BI Service
• Creating dashboards in Power BI Service: Pinning visuals
• Sharing reports and dashboards: Workspace sharing, app sharing
• Row-Level Security (RLS): Implementing data access control
• Collaboration features in Power BI Service

Module 11. Data Refresh and Gateways

• Understanding data refresh options: Manual, scheduled
• Power BI Gateway: Personal vs. On-premises data gateway
• Configuring gateway connections to various data sources
• Troubleshooting refresh issues
• Live connection with Analysis Services and Azure Analysis Services

Module 12. Power BI Mobile and Embedding

• Power BI Mobile Apps: Viewing reports and dashboards on mobile devices
• Optimizing reports for mobile layout
• Embedding Power BI reports: In websites, portals, applications
• Power BI REST APIs for custom solutions
• Direct connectivity options for real-time data

Module 13. Advanced Data Modeling and Performance Optimization

• Relationship optimization: Cross-filter direction, active/inactive relationships
• Bidirectional relationships and their careful use
• Query folding: Pushing transformations back to source
• Performance Analyzer: Identifying slow visuals and DAX expressions
• Best practices for large datasets

Module 14. Power BI and Excel Integration

• Connecting Power BI to Excel files: Best practices
• Analyzing Power BI data in Excel: Using Analyze in Excel feature
• Power BI Publisher for Excel
• Integrating Excel models with Power BI
• Using Power BI to enhance existing Excel reporting

Module 15. Power BI Administration, Governance & Future Trends

• Power BI Admin Portal: Monitoring usage, security, auditing
• Data governance strategies for Power BI deployments
• Licensing models: Free, Pro, Premium, Fabric
• Roadmap of Power BI features and updates
• Integration with other Microsoft services (Azure, Fabric, Dynamics 365)

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Skills for Africa Training Institute Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Skills for Africa Training Institute certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Terms of Payment: Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 7 working days before commencement of the training.