Jan 17
PowerBI has the ability to mashup data from different sources; this may introduce problems when joining or matching data between systems. I was able to get around this issue by leveraging an R script from an article in the community. As a consultant there is a rule that if you use something from the community, you need to give back and particularly if you use it twice, you have to write a blog post. This is such a post.
We are all busy and jumping between tasks and projects. This makes it easy for your accomplishments to get left behind as you move on to the next thing. Keeping an accomplishment log will help you track what you have completed, your successes and will also serve as a resource for items you can reuse later.
Pie Charts are evil? Well, given the correct situation, pie charts can be used to your advantage. The following case study uses Power BI samples to provide recommendations to get the most out an often misused visualization.
PowerBI has built-in date hierarchy features that seem to cause confusion in not only new users but experienced users. This article shows you how to avoid errors.
Visualizations can make even the most mundane information more accessible and easier to digest. I put together these two facts to make a visualization out of my lesson plan that the students could take away as a memory jogger when they get back to their offices.
There is a very active community around PowerBI with many sites specializing in different aspects of the product. The following 4 resources are ones I always fall back on recommending that provide both beginner and advanced users learning resources.
Data visualizations can become the vehicle that leads a reader through your narrative. Having an infographic or series of visuals allows one to tell a story and provide greater understanding than simply having text alone.
You can improve your data visualizations productivity by using the built-in table functionality available in Excel. This tutorial and sample Excel workbook, available on GitHub, will move you from raw table to interactive analysis in less than 5 minutes.
The date dimension is the table that controls your time analysis and the most important to get right, especially with PowerBI and other visualization tools. Having various tags and descriptors that aid in your analysis gives your end users several options in creating their visualizations in addition to a base for DAX time intelligence calculations.
There are times when, as a consultant, you have to produce a demo or training database that has no relation to the client that you are doing the work for. This can be due to security or confidentiality of the data. I try to produce training and samples that at least have realistic values so that the people involved have a frame of reference.
