“IDC showed that 83% of CEOs want their organization to be more data-driven. But what surprised us was the significant gap between the desire to use data and how well data was actually used in their organizations.” - Forbes, Jul 2021

In this day and age, Data Analytics and Data visualisation are hot buzz words. Many organisations realise the importance of data and the value it can bring to any organization; through informed decision making, cost avoidance, improved efficiency and sometimes new opportunities. While many organisations hire data analysts and scientists to make sense of the insights, there often find it challenging communicating these insights clearly and effectively. Data visualization provides a graphical representation of the data that communicates key insights quickly and effectively; even to those who are less numerically inclined. To this end, data visualization has become an increasingly indispensable part of the analytics toolkit today.

Power BI is one of the leading platforms in data visualization and is widely used in many organizations. This workshop is targeted at intermediate Power BI users to build operating skills that go beyond simply loading data and building simple charts.

Because this is positioned as an intermediate Power BI workshop, attendees need to have already attended the Power BI Beginner class or at least is very familiar with how Power BI works with basic functionalities. If you are unsure, kindly refer to the brochure on the Beginners’ class to validate if you know those functionalities.

In this workshop, attendees will learn more intermediate concepts including the data preparation, data modelling and cardinality. There is some exposure to DAX, the programming language of Power BI, and attendees are expected to do some calculations using DAX. The focus of the course is on practical applications and as such, we will spend a lot of time applying the learning through case studies. In each case study, we will bring the attendee from data loading to data preparation (using Power Query) to data visualisation using charts and dashboards.

This is targeted at professionals and managers in non-analyst roles but may be required to work with or make sense of data and presenting data in their work. This is the next step from the Beginners class and will be a bit more technical compared to the Beginners class.

Objective

By the end of this course, the participants would be able to:

• Understand the different methods of importing data beyond Excel
• Learn the concepts of Data Modelling and Cardinality
• Learn and apply DAX formulae to calculate Measures and Columns
• Appreciate how Power Query is used to automate data preparation steps.
• Gain practical experience in advanced visualizations such as Maps and Scatter Plots as well as the use of advanced filtering techniques
• Develop an interactive dashboard from scratch starting from business requirements to gaining insights from it

Outline

Power BI: Fundamentals
  •A revisit and a mini-quiz
Data Importing
  •Different methods such as Web as Source, Live Connection and Direct Query. How to choose?
Power Query
  •Advanced Transformational Methods
  •Automating Query Steps: Case Study
Data Modelling
  •Definition and why it is important?
  •Complex relationships
  •Role-Playing Tables
Dax Programming
  •Calculated Columns
  •Calculated Measures
Advanced Visualisations
  •Matrix
  •Advanced Filtering
  •Scatter Plots and Animation
Capstone Case Study
  •Extract, Transform and Load (ETL)
  •Design and Develop Dashboards to gain insights

Who should attend

This workshop is designed for managers, professionals and staff at all levels who want to make a bigger impact with their analysis through Power BI. The course is suitable for participants across all industries and job functions. Participants should have either

• Attended the Power BI Beginner class; or
• Regularly use and/or are familiar with MS Excel and Power BI features such as charting and navigation

Note that the workshop WILL NOT cover the basic features and operations of PowerBI; it will start on the assumption that attendees come with the above knowledge. If you did not attend the beginner class, you may check the brochure on the Beginners’ class to validate if you know those functionalities.

Methodology

FYT takes a practical approach to analytics, and therefore the workshop emphasizes practical analytic skills through learning of key principles and analytics skills. A combination of lectures and hands-on exercises are designed to enable participants to acquire those practical skills. This workshop utilises Power BI for the computer-based exercises.

Michael-Lee's Profile

Michael Lee, MBA, BSc Principal Consultant

• An award-winning trainer, Michael leads engagements to help clients build practical analytics capabilities. His clients span multiple functions, sectors and geographies including Insurance, Finance, Education, Government across Asia Pacific.

• In a prior life, Michael was an IT professionals with more than 20 years of experience spanning notable tech companies, functions and geographies. Notably, Michael headed the business analytics & intelligence function for a large technology MNC with >$48B in revenue.

• An ACLP certified trainer with the Civil Service College and CCISG, focused in developing & delivering analytics related curriculum

• Michael has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Mathematics, and an MBA from the National University of Singapore