Skip to main content

Why I started using Microsoft PowerBi and so should you

Microsoft’s stocks have been performing really well for the past couple of years now. I believe it is due to their continuous efforts in improving their cloud services and adding new applications to their long list of essential business applications for people in the enterprise, schools, and even small businesses. One of their latest applications is PowerBi, a business analytics software for data visualization and I can honestly say, people should be using this application.

First, it is free. At least for now. I use the PowerBi desktop version which doesn’t require an Office 365 account to work (by not signing in). You could then extract your data from multiple different sources, and create wonderful diagrams, charts, and interactive reports.


For me, Excel and SQL Server are among the most popular data sources for PowerBi. I, for one, use both. Even just for simple data cleaning, this amazing software works wonders.



I usually use PowerBi to clean some data before using Python (Jupyter Notebook) for data analysis. Though right now, it is for smaller-size data as it continues to improve performance-wise.

My usual steps go something like this:

  • Organize my data sources. I usually have my Excel files in my OneDrive and the SQL Server SQL commands tested using SQL Server. 

  • Using SQL when querying data makes the PowerBi file size much smaller so I test them first to get my desired data.

  • Transform data by properly changing data types, removing empty rows, or renaming some columns.

  • Then I start creating new calculated columns, measured values, or merged data.

  • I start designing the graphical interface using the visualization and filter tabs.


Familiarize yourself with the interface before we get started:


Orange Border

Data: This is where you pick your dataset from different sources like SQL Server database, Excel files, and many more. These options keep updating and growing.


Blue Border

Queries: Edit Queries (Using M language - More about this later), change the data type of each column, or refresh the data query.


Purple Border

Visualizations: Selection of different visualization (charts, slicer, table, etc.) tools.

Fields: These contain the tables/data sets obtained from a query.

Filters: Filter options per selected visualization tool.


Yellow Border

Values: When a visual is selected, this is where the user edits/adds data either by dragging a column table from the Fields, changing parameters of a chart like adding background color, changing fonts, etc.

Main Toolbar: Contains Data, Queries, Share, Calculations, and Insert options.


Green Border

Side Toolbar: Data Model, Data View (Using DAX), Relationship.


I will write more tutorials in the future regarding more PowerBi capabilities including more visualization, merging, and creating one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships.


Cheers,

Philip
Labels:
Location: Edmonton

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imagine Station's Nanobots: Saver or destroyer of worlds?

Imagine a world where an average person gets to live for more than 100 years. Where death from diseases is almost non-existent, and everyone can be a superhero…really? I can only think of this happening if we have …” drumroll ”... nanobots ! Yes, nanobots as in robots the size of a nanometer or less. A nanometer is 10 -9 meters. Compared to the size of a virus which ranges from 5 to 500 nanometers in diameter, these robots are invisible to the human eyes. Of course, if injected with these bots, a person won’t just be like Wolverine that can regenerate in a matter of seconds. If a person’s amputated (pardon the atrocity), they still might die. Period. I really do like Marvel eh? Here’s another. These nanobots can be programmed to form some sort of body armor (> insert Iron Man from Avengers: Infinity War meme) that can protect a person from bodily harm. When used externally, it can regenerate much faster (again, Iron Man against Thanos scene). Anyways, those are just what I would l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top 5 must have items for apartment dwellers

A lack of space is usually one of the constraints of apartment living. Before buying a new item, you first have to consider its size since you lack real estate for storage. Living in a smaller space could also mean that you must have long-lasting and multi-purpose items. Another factor to consider is the convenience of technology or design. Even if it serves its purpose, will it be convenient to operate or use? To help you a bit, I prepared a list of must-have items to consider if you do happen to live in an apartment.  Some of the items here work better in smaller spaces and are very helpful in low-rise to high-rise apartment complexes. This list is in random order so it is up to you to figure out which one will be most helpful. Now, on to our list. 1. An Air fryer I cannot stress this enough. I live in an apartment and my air fryer is my lifeline! It is so convenient and cooks deliciously! Cooking in an air fryer also cuts back on calories and fats according to multiple sources ...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 items to have in your bedroom that you never thought you need

Your bedroom is sacred. I mean, I don't even want to know what you do there. But hey, most of us spend at least 8 hours a day here. Some maybe even more (if you live in a bedroom). This is where we read our books/e-books, watch tv, eat breakfast, and more aside from sleeping obviously. Some even have full-sized gaming rigs set up for gaming marathons (please don't forget to eat and hydrate) or for work (if you don't have an office). In short, we spend a lot of time in this space. So I have a list of things here you probably never thought that you need in your bedrooms. I haven't thought of these myself until I started needing them. These are needs not wants and I promise, you need these items. Shall we start? These items are in random order but you will need all of them anyway. 1. Multi-Port Rotating Plug  Every bedroom must have at least 2 power ports (with two outlets each). This means that you can only plug a maximum of 4 devices in at least two corners of the room....
Post a Comment
Read more