Power BI Desktop Smart Start

Power BI Desktop Visualizing Data
Course Length: 1 Day
Course Format: Instructor–Led
Course Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Back to class dates and registration.
Download a PDF of the course outline.

If seeking CPE Credit Hours, completion of this course earns:
8 CPE Credit Hours

Target Student: This course is for beginning Power BI users who want to explore the functionality and capabilities of Power BI Desktop.

Prerequisites: To ensure your success, we recommend you first take the following CompuTrain course or have equivalent knowledge: Microsoft® Excel®: Introduction.  Alternately, basic PowerPoint skills and/or some database experience would be helpful.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Navigate in Power BI Desktop
  • View and Understand Data Models
  • Create Reports using Data Model Data
  • Use DAX Functions
  • Create Measures and KPIs
  • Create Tables, Matrices and Charts
  • Create Basic Dashboards
Course Content
Lesson 1: Introducing Power BI
  • Why Use Power BI Desktop?
  • Exploring the Data Model Manager Interface
Lesson 2: Viewing the Data Model
  • What is a Data Model?
  • Understanding Table Relationships
  • Understanding a Star Schema
  • Making a User Friendly Model
Lesson 3: Understanding DAX Calculations
  • What is DAX?
  • Implementing DAX Operators
  • Using a Text Function to Create a Calculated Column
  • Using DAX Date and Time Functions
 Lesson 4: Creating Measures with DAX
  • Calculated Columns vs Measures
  • Using Logical Functions
  • Using CALCULATE() Function
Lesson 5: Creating Standard Visualizations
  • Creating Tables and Matrices
  • Constructing Bar, Column, and Pie Charts
  • Creating Map-Based Visualizations
Lesson 6: Creating Interactive Dashboards
  • Cross Filtering vs. Drill Down