Power BI is powerful, as the name suggests. But it is also confusing. Exactly what what does Power BI mean? There is no simple, single line answer. Let me try. It is a set of new tools to analyze old data in new ways. Today the simplest way to get started it to sign up for a free Power BI subscription and use Power BI Desktop tool to create your reports and dashboards. I have already written an introductory article and published a walkthrough video.

I feel this is one tool which can transform the way we work on data and analyze it. The primary reason is that it is independent of Excel. So all the bad habits which we have developed in Excel over decades simply disappear! I am planning to create a course on Udemy for Power BI Desktop. I would like your inputs on the content and any additional ideas or wish list. Read on to have a look and post your comments. You can also send a mail to me on nitin@maxoffice.biz

Power BI Desktop Course

Objectives

Learn a new way of gathering data and creating visual and interactive dashboards using the new, free tool – Power BI Desktop. It is independent of Excel and therefore easier to use. Microsoft is enhancing this tool actively. This is the future of analytics and visualization. Start from scratch and then learn the entire lifecycle.

Who should take this course

Anyone who currently works with data and generates reports will benefit from this course. The course is designed to be jargon free and easy to grasp. No knowledge of Excel or any other programming language or database is necessary. There is a module which introduces you to all the technical concepts you need to know in order to benefit from the course.

Topics

1. Introduction
   1. All the jargon you need to know
   2. What is a dashboard?
   3. Key concepts
   4. Quick Tour
2. What is Power BI (desktop)?
   1. Components of Power BI platform
   2. The data lifecycle
   3. Get data, Clean it, Combine it and Analyze it
   4. Sharing reports (dashboards)
   5. Generate reports by asking questions in simple language
3. Why use Power BI Desktop
   1. Why not use Excel 2013 or 2016?
   2. Benefits of Power BI Desktop
   3. Equivalent tools
4. How to use it?
   1. Gather data
      1. Understand how to get data
      2. Available sources
      3. Refreshing data periodically
      4. Automatic refreshing
      5. Combining data from different sources
   2. Clean up data
      1. Choose Columns
      2. Change Data Types
      3. Split columns
      4. Fill Blank
      5. Rotate (transpose) data
   3. Combine multiple pieces of data
   4. Create a cohesive database
      1. Define relationships
      2. Create Calculated Columns
      3. Hide unwanted columns
      4. Decide sort order
      5. Handle pictures and binary data
      6. Create a special Time table
   5. Generate reports and dashboards
      1. Understanding the components
      2. Creating a Matrix
      3. Creating a visualization
      4. Filtering using visualizations
      5. Using Maps to show geographical information
      6. Drill down deeper into data
      7. Filter the dashboard interactively
      8. Save Reports and Dashboards
      9. Save content packs
   6. Sharing Dashboards
      1. Sharing Online
      2. Sharing using mobile Apps
   7. Benefits of Power BI Pro subscription
5. When to use it?
   1. Business Scenarios where Power BI Desktop is useful
   2. When to use Excel instead
   3. Desktop or Online
   4. Security and Confidentiality
   5. Integration with PowerPoint
   6. Pros and Cons of traditional reports vs. Power BI
6. Where to use it?
   1. How to convince your customers or your manager to use new reports?
   2. Incremental improvement rather than drastic revamp
   3. How to increase your knowledge
      1. Learn about more Data sources
      2. Learn the DAX language
      3. Learn M Language
   4. Learn features and map them to business context
   5. Understand the core concepts of Office
7. Summary

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Post your comments below or send me a mail on nitin@maxoffice.biz

Update: The course is now LIVE on Udemy.  Click here for more details.  It is currently available at 40% discount with promo code AUTUMN40.