Dashboard Demo: Building your first Power BI Report

Introduction & Updates

At Excel.TV, we’re trying something different. We want our videos to be more than just Excel tips. Instead, we want to help you excel your skills, your business and career. 

That means, we’re going to focus on content that helps you do just that. So watch out, we’re going to start featuring content around:

• Landing that perfect job! Today’s analysts sometimes didn’t plan to be analysts. Some of you started in IT. Some of you started out as creatives. Some of you graduated with degrees in finance, and with so many options and bootcamps (and the ever present exuberance around data science), how do you stand out from the crowd to land the role? We’re gonna help you.
• And we’re moving into related technologies birthed (and inseparable) from Excel! We’re talking M language, DAX, and Power BI – and even R and Python.
• And we’re ready to here from from you! We want your stories, tips, tricks and helplful notes. 

My Power BI Journey

You all probably know that I’ve not been a Power BI person. Last Excel.TV episode I said it wasn’t fun. That I missed the challenge of Excel. But I got a big confession to make: I WAS WRONG IN EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE WAY. 

Seriously, Power BI is bomb. It’s baller. It’s like someone took my brain and the way I think and created a program out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my SUMPRODUCTS. But I can’t help but marvel at what Power BI is and what it’s capable of. 

So Watch Me Make My First Dashboard

Well, it’s technically not my first! But, it is my first in a long time. In the video I review several dashboard components including:

• The Map Visualization
• Slicers
• Timelines
• Bar Charts

And look how quickly I was able to develop my work? Pretty neat, huh? 

Also, a tremendous thank you to Alex M Powers of ItsNotAboutTheCell.com Alex gave me an hour of his free time over the weekend to give me a crash course in working with Power BI. 

Look, I’m Not Perfect

And my report ain’t perfect. I’ll be the first to admit it — Alex candidly told me so! But everyone has a learning journey, and I’m happy to share mine with you. If you’re new to Power BI, hopefully this video got you thinking about all the possibilities. And if you’re a veteran–please, tear mine apart! What did I do wrong? What can I learn? I’m grateful for any feedback you got. 

Checkout These Resources!

Alex also pointed me to some awesome Power BI resources. I’ve already made my through the first of these: 

• Microsoft Guided Learning
• Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI
• Introducing DAX

Have you used Power BI? What tips would you offer newbies? Leave a comment and let us know. 

What’s your experience been with Power BI? Do you love it? Hate it? 

Any interesting tips to help newbies get their feet wet? Share your thoughts in the comments section. We might even feature it on a later episode! 

Try it for yourself

Click the button to get the download files. 

[thrive_link color=’red’ link=’https://s3.amazonaws.com/exceltv-website-downloads/Crime+Dashboard.zip’ target=’_self’ size=’medium’ align=”]Get the download files![/thrive_link]

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