Power BI Course

Lesson 1 • Navigating the Power BI Interface

Maps every major UI area: ribbon, panes, canvas, and status bar. Builds spatial familiarity so students work efficiently throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Installing and Configuring Power BI Desktop

Guides through downloading, installing, and configuring Power BI Desktop. Ensures every student has a functional environment before data work begins.

Lesson 3 • Introduction to Power BI Ecosystem

Covers Power BI Desktop, Service, and Mobile roles within the platform. Sets the conceptual foundation for all subsequent tool usage.

Lesson 1 • Essential Data Cleaning Techniques

Covers removing duplicates, handling nulls, correcting data types, and trimming text. These operations form the baseline quality standard for every dataset.

Lesson 2 • Advanced Query Techniques

Introduces custom columns, conditional logic, and M language basics. Enables students to handle transformation scenarios beyond built-in UI options.

Lesson 3 • Query Management and Best Practices

Covers organising queries into groups, documenting steps, and optimising refresh performance. Good query hygiene reduces errors and speeds up report maintenance.

Lesson 4 • Reshaping and Structuring Data

Teaches pivoting, unpivoting, splitting columns, and transposing tables. Reshaping converts raw layouts into structures the data model can use effectively.

Lesson 1 • Relational Data Model Concepts

Explains tables, keys, cardinality, and relationships as model building blocks. Provides the conceptual grounding needed before creating any model in Power BI.

Lesson 2 • Creating and Managing Relationships

Demonstrates creating relationships in Model view and configuring cross-filter direction. Correct relationships are the prerequisite for all accurate DAX results.

Lesson 3 • Building a Star Schema Model

Applies star schema design to a realistic dataset with multiple dimension tables. Students practice the model layout that optimises DAX performance and clarity.

Lesson 1 • DAX Syntax and Core Concepts

Introduces DAX syntax rules, operators, and the difference between measures and calculated columns. Establishes the mental model required for all DAX authoring.

Lesson 2 • Time Intelligence Functions

Applies built-in time intelligence functions for period comparisons and running totals. Requires a properly structured date table established in the modelling chapter.

Lesson 3 • Essential Aggregation Functions

Covers SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX, and their X-iterator variants. These functions form the backbone of virtually every business metric in Power BI.

Lesson 4 • Filter Functions: CALCULATE and FILTER

Teaches CALCULATE as the primary context-modification function and FILTER as a table iterator. Mastery here unlocks virtually all advanced DAX patterns.

Lesson 1 • Configuring Core Visuals

Covers adding fields, configuring axes, legends, tooltips, and data labels for standard visuals. Proper configuration ensures visuals display accurate and readable data.

Lesson 2 • Visualization Selection Principles

Maps chart types to analytical purposes: comparison, distribution, relationship, and composition. Correct chart selection prevents misinterpretation of data.

Lesson 3 • Maps and Geospatial Visuals

Configures map, filled map, and Azure Maps visuals for geographic data display. Requires correct data category settings established in the modelling chapter.

Lesson 4 • Tables, Matrices, and Cards

Teaches tabular visuals for detailed data display and KPI cards for headline metrics. These visuals complement charts by providing precise numeric context.

Lesson 1 • Bookmarks and Navigation

Uses bookmarks to capture view states and build custom navigation experiences. Bookmarking enables storytelling flows and toggle-based UI patterns.

Lesson 2 • Slicers and Filter Pane

Configures slicer visuals and the Filters pane for page, report, and visual-level filtering. Slicers are the primary user interaction mechanism in most Power BI reports.

Lesson 3 • Tooltips and Report Page Tooltips

Configures default tooltips and custom report page tooltips for richer hover detail. Enhanced tooltips reduce visual clutter while surfacing additional context.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Filtering and Interactions

Explains default cross-filtering behaviour and how to customise visual interactions. Controlling interactions prevents misleading filtering between unrelated visuals.

Lesson 1 • Sharing and Distribution Methods

Compares sharing links, app publishing, and embedding for different audience types. Choosing the right method balances accessibility with data security requirements.

Lesson 2 • Scheduled Refresh and Gateways

Configures scheduled data refresh and on-premises data gateways for live connectivity. Reliable refresh ensures stakeholders always see current data without manual intervention.

Lesson 3 • Row-Level Security Implementation

Defines RLS roles in Desktop and assigns members in Power BI Service. RLS restricts data visibility per user without requiring separate report versions.

Lesson 4 • Power BI Service Workspace Setup

Creates and configures workspaces as collaboration containers for reports and datasets. Workspace structure directly affects governance and content discoverability.

Lesson 1 • Variables and Code Readability

Uses VAR and RETURN to simplify complex measures and avoid repeated expression evaluation. Variables improve both performance and long-term measure maintainability.

Lesson 2 • Incremental Refresh Configuration

Configures incremental refresh policies to load only new or changed data on each refresh. Incremental refresh is essential for large datasets that exceed full-load time limits.

Lesson 3 • Performance Analyzer and DAX Studio

Uses Performance Analyzer to identify slow visuals and DAX Studio to profile queries. Profiling data reveals exactly where time is spent during report rendering.

Lesson 4 • Model Optimization Techniques

Applies column removal, data type reduction, aggregations, and import mode choices. Model size reduction directly improves refresh speed and query response time.