Lecture: Introduction to Power BI

Overview

• Presenter: Kevin
• Duration: Targeted for 10 minutes but slightly longer
• Topics Covered:
  • Importing data into Power BI
  • Building a data model
  • Adding visuals and filtering data
  • Sharing reports and dashboards

Getting Power BI

• Options: Available on Microsoft Store
  • Power BI: View and interact with existing reports
  • Power BI Desktop: Full functionality to model data and build reports (Recommended for this tutorial)
  • Report Builder: Less feature-rich compared to Desktop
• Installation:
  • Search for Power BI in Microsoft Store
  • Install or open Power BI Desktop

Initial Setup

• Splash Screen: Offers data options, learning resources, and recent reports
  • Option to disable splash screen at start
• Report View: Main interface
  • Report View: Area to add and manage your reports
  • Data Import: Accessible via "Get Data" on the Home tab

Importing Data

• Source Options: Various sources supported (Excel workbook used in tutorial)
  • Example data provided in the tutorial
• Navigator: Helps in selecting the data tables/sheets to import
  • Tables: Customers and Orders
• Loading Data:
  • Options to load data as-is or transform it
  • Transforming data useful when original data cannot be edited directly

Transforming Data

• Power Query Editor:
  • Middle layer for data modification before importing to Power BI
  • Consistent transformations for new data imports
  • Recorded changes on the right side
• Example Transformations:
  • Replace inconsistent entries (e.g., "US" to "United States")
  • Remove unnecessary columns (e.g., "Rush Shipments")

Building a Data Model

• Model View: Visual representation of relationships between tables
  • Example: Relationship between Customers and Orders tables by Customer ID
  • Manual relationship creation possible via drag-and-drop

Creating Visualizations

• Report View:
  • Variety of visualization options on the right
  • Example: Line chart to show cookies shipped over time
  • Drag-and-drop fields onto visualization axes
  • Customization options available (e.g., formatting, legend)
• Adding Multiple Visuals:
  • Example: Bar chart for total revenue
  • Example: Table for customer names
  • Cross-filtering capability (clicking on one visual filters others)
• Page Management:
  • Rename current page
  • Add new pages for additional views

Sharing Reports

• Publishing:
  • Save changes before publishing
  • Options to share via Power BI web service, SharePoint, website, QR code, PowerPoint, PDF, Microsoft Teams
  • Access sharing options via the File menu

Conclusion

• Encouragement to explore and practice using Power BI
• Invitation to subscribe for more tutorial videos