Overview
Power BI sits at the centre of many organisations’ reporting stacks. This track helps you go beyond default charts: we connect the dots from how data is stored and engineered (including lakehouse ideas and when PySpark appears in your stack) through Power Query (M), robust data modelling, and DAX, all the way to dynamic dashboards that leaders actually use. We also cover APIs and mixed sources so your reports stay aligned with how data really arrives in your company.
Who this is for
Business analysts upgrading from Excel, data analysts owning departmental reports, and anyone responsible for “the dashboard everyone asks for.” Also suitable if you’re preparing for roles that expect both modelling skill and clear visual communication.
Curriculum
From engineered data to decisions people trust
Power BI works best when you understand where data comes from, how it is shaped, and how measures should behave. We go as deep as you need on modelling, DAX, and storytelling—always tied to questions your stakeholders actually ask.
- Lakehouses and modern BI — How medallion-style layers and lakehouse patterns influence what you import and how you model in Power BI.
- Data engineering in context — Refresh windows, incremental refresh, and working productively with what IT or your cloud platform already provides.
- PySpark and big data — When large-scale tooling appears in your world, and how that upstream work relates to what lands in your semantic model (introductory through intermediate, as needed).
- APIs in Power Query — Web connectors, parameters, authentication basics, and turning nested JSON into clean, analysable tables.
- Power Query (M) — Reusable steps, query folding, resilient error handling, and transformations that stay fast as data grows.
- Cleaning and exploring data — Profiling, outliers, business rules, and documenting assumptions so your model is auditable.
- Data modelling — Star-schema thinking, relationships, role-playing dimensions, and the pitfalls that quietly break reports.
- DAX — Measures versus calculated columns, filter and row context, time intelligence, and habits that keep calculations understandable.
- Visualisation and narrative — Chart choice, accessibility, and structuring a story executives can follow in minutes.
- Dynamic, publish-ready dashboards — Bookmarks, drillthrough, tooltips, and a sensible approach to the Power BI Service and sharing.
Outcomes you can aim for
You should be able to own an end-to-end report: import and transform messy sources, build a coherent model, write maintainable DAX, and ship an interactive dashboard with a clear narrative — plus know where to go next when data volume or governance gets tougher.
How sessions work
We can follow your company’s sample data (anonymised) or public datasets. Each session usually mixes explanation, live build-along, and short exercises you can repeat afterward.