Power BI: Build Dashboards People Actually Use

Most beginners start with charts. The charts look wrong, and they cannot tell why. The cause is nearly always earlier in the chain, in the data. This lesson gives you a map, so you always know which stage you are in.

Power BI is a set of tools from Microsoft that turns tables of data into interactive pages. Two parts matter for you.

• Power BI Desktop is a free program that you install on a Windows computer. You build your work in it.
• The Power BI service is the online part. You publish your work there so other people can open it. Sharing with others usually needs a paid license, so this course treats it as optional.

Desktop runs on Windows only. If you own a Mac, use a Windows computer at work, at school or at a library. Check Microsoft's current pages for other options.

Every project has five stages. This course has one module for each, plus a sixth module to share and finish.

1. Get the data into Power BI (Module 1).
2. Clean it, so every value is tidy and consistent (Module 2).
3. Model it, so the tables know how they connect (Module 3).
4. Calculate the numbers you need with formulas (Module 4).
5. Show the numbers on a well-designed page (Module 5).

A note on names. In Power BI, what you build in Desktop is a report. A report is one or more pages of charts. A dashboard is a different item. It lives in the online service. It is one screen of tiles, usually pinned from reports. Most people say dashboard for any good page of charts. We will use that everyday word, but you will build a report page.

Your project is a sales dashboard for Kestrel Kitchen Supply, a made-up online shop. All the data is made up and uses round numbers, so you can check every result. Each hands-on task ends with a check number. If your number matches, you are on track. If it does not, the lesson lists what to look at.

Example (illustrative numbers): Kestrel Kitchen Supply is a made-up shop.

Here is the finished dashboard in words. At the top are a title and two filters, for year and region. Under them are four number cards: revenue, profit, profit margin and change from last year. Below is a line chart of revenue by month, with last year as a second line. Beside it are two bar charts, one for product category and one for store. Right-click a store and a second page opens with that store's details.

Each piece needs earlier work. The cards need formulas. The formulas need connected tables. The tables need clean data. That is why the order is Get, Clean, Model, Calculate, Show.

To install the program:

1. Open the Microsoft Store on Windows and search for Power BI Desktop. You can also use the download link on Microsoft's Power BI Desktop page.
2. Install it, then open it.
3. Look at the left edge of the window. You should see icons for Report, Table and Model views. Newer versions may add more.

If this is not working:

• You need Windows 10 or newer and a screen of at least 1440 by 900 pixels. Microsoft lists these limits on its download page.
• If the window shows large black areas, open Windows Settings, search for blurry, choose the option that lets Windows fix blurry apps, and restart the program.
• If some pop-up boxes never appear, set the Windows display scale to 100 percent.
• You are asked to sign in when you publish. If the start screen asks earlier, look for a link to close or skip it.

• Starting with charts. They feel like the point, so you drag fields onto a chart in the first hour. Follow the five stages instead.
• Mixing up report and dashboard. People use the words loosely. Ask what they mean before you agree to build one.
• Thinking free Desktop means free sharing. The service has its own license rules. Plan to share a PDF or the file.

Power BI Desktop opens on your computer. You can point to the Report, Table and Model icons. You can say the five stages in order. Your kestrel-bi folder exists and holds an empty project file.