Lecture Notes: Building Power BI Reports

Introduction

• Overview of the video content: Step-by-step guide on building Power BI reports.
• Resources: Files available for download in the video description.
• Tips for watching: Adjust speed, pause, and rewind as needed.

Overview of Power BI

• Power BI: Business analytics tool for visualizing and sharing insights.
• Data sources: Hundreds of sources using Power Query (same as Excel).
• Data modeling: Using Power Pivot (same as Excel).
• Report creation: Interactive reports and dashboards.
• Collaboration: Share reports inside and outside the organization.
• Automation: Set up automatic data refresh.

Power BI Tools

• Power BI Desktop: Free tool for creating reports.
• Power BI Service: Online platform for publishing and sharing.

Data Setup

• Data Used: 12 months of budget/forecast data, 6 months of actual data.
• Data Format: CSV for budget/forecast, Excel for dimension tables.
• Fact Tables: Include records by date, department, cost element, country, amount.
• Dimension Tables: Groupings for cost element, country, departments.

Variance Analysis

• Adverse Variance: Actual/forecasted costs higher than budget.
• Terminology: Variance used by accountants to refer to difference between budget and actual.

Power BI Desktop Steps

1. Loading Data: Import dimension tables from Excel, budget, and forecast from CSV.
2. Consolidating Data: Combine monthly actual files into a single table.
3. Cleaning Data: Use Power Query to clean and transform data.
4. Model Setup: Arrange tables in Model View, set up relationships between tables.
5. Calendar Table: Create using DAX functions like Calendar Auto.
6. Formatting and Data Categorization: Set format for numeric data, categorize fields for maps.

Building Visuals

• Use Power BI AI for visual creation and questions.
• Visual Types: Gauge charts, KPI, line charts, area charts, bar charts, slicers, matrices.
• Running Totals: Create measures for running totals using DAX.
• Formatting: Use conditional formatting, adjust titles, and data colors.

Interactive Features

• Cross Filtering: Use visuals to filter data interactively.
• Q&A Tool: Ask data questions and convert into visuals.

Publishing and Sharing

• Publishing: Save and publish reports to Power BI Service.
• Interactivity: Similar interactivity in Power BI Service as in Desktop.
• Sharing Options: Share reports securely, set up dashboards.

Data Refresh and Updates

• Manual and Scheduled Refresh: Update data by refreshing datasets, schedule automatic refreshes.
• Gateway Setup: Personal Gateway for secure data communication between PC and Power BI Service.

Additional Considerations

• Security: Data in Power BI Service is secure; options for sharing and role-based access.
• Licensing: Power BI Pro costs $10 per user.
• Learning Resources: Courses available for learning Power BI, Power Query, Power Pivot.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to explore Power BI.
• Additional learning resources provided in the video description.
• Call to action: Subscribe and share the video.