Power BI Data Analysis and Visualisation Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Business Intelligence Analysts, Data Analysts and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-BI-058

Before you join: Participants should be comfortable working with tables, columns, filters, basic formulas and business measures such as revenue, cost, volume or service levels.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Business teams often hold operational, financial and customer data in spreadsheets, databases and line-of-business systems, yet struggle to turn it into trusted management reporting. Power BI can connect those sources, prepare data, calculate agreed measures and present findings through interactive reports. The value depends on sound data modelling, clear metric definitions, appropriate visual choices and controlled publication—not simply placing charts on a page.

This intermediate course teaches participants to build Power BI reports from source data through to managed publication. Participants prepare data with Power Query, design star-schema models, create DAX measures, apply time-intelligence calculations and build reports that support investigation and decision-making. They also work with drill-through, tooltips, bookmarks, row-level security, scheduled refresh, workspace roles and Power BI Service apps.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with guided case work based on realistic reporting situations such as sales performance, budget variance, service delivery and workforce metrics. Participants diagnose common modelling and calculation errors, assess report designs and develop an application plan for a reporting need from their own role. Each participant leaves with reusable data-preparation, modelling, DAX, report-design and publication materials, plus a certificate of completion.

The course suits analysts and reporting professionals who already work with structured business data and need to create dependable self-service reports. It is also suitable for managers responsible for specifying, reviewing or governing Power BI reporting.

What you will be able to do

  • Prepare source data using Power Query transformations, parameters and query profiling
  • Design star-schema data models with suitable relationships, date tables and model metadata
  • Create DAX measures using evaluation context, CALCULATE, iterators and variables
  • Build time-intelligence and variance measures for management reporting
  • Design interactive Power BI report pages using purposeful visuals and navigation features
  • Apply analytical features including drill-through, decomposition trees and anomaly detection
  • Publish and manage reports through Power BI Service workspaces, apps and refresh schedules
  • Produce a governed Power BI reporting specification with security, testing and release controls

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce interactive reports rather than manually refreshed spreadsheet packs
  • Diagnose inaccurate totals caused by poor relationships or DAX context
  • Communicate trends, exceptions and drivers through structured report pages
  • Publish controlled reports with refresh schedules and audience permissions
  • Build a portfolio-quality Power BI reporting deliverable for current work

For your organisation

  • Reduce manual reporting effort through reusable queries, models and measures
  • Improve consistency of management metrics through documented calculation logic
  • Give managers filtered access to timely operational and financial reporting
  • Reduce report errors through testing, controlled refresh and access management
  • Create reusable standards for Power BI report design and publication

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can select suitable Power BI connection methods and establish controlled access to source data.

  • Power BI Desktop interface, panes, views and file structure
  • Import, DirectQuery and live connection modes compared against reporting requirements
  • Data source credentials, privacy levels and refresh implications
  • Query folding identified before transformations affect source-system performance
  • Connector selection for Excel, CSV, SQL Server and web data
  • PBIX project structure, report themes and accessibility defaults configured

Participants can clean, reshape and combine source data using repeatable Power Query steps.

  • Power Query applied through the Extract, Transform, Load process
  • Column profiling uses quality, distribution and profile statistics
  • Data types, locale settings and error values corrected deliberately
  • Split, merge, pivot and unpivot transformations reshape source tables
  • Append and merge queries combine periodic files and related datasets
  • Parameters and reusable functions standardise repeatable data preparation

Participants can create efficient Power BI models that support accurate filtering and aggregation.

  • Star schema separates fact tables from conformed dimension tables
  • Grain defined before measures, relationships and aggregations are created
  • One-to-many relationships configured with appropriate cross-filter direction
  • Active and inactive relationships managed using model design rules
  • Date tables marked and connected for time-intelligence calculations
  • Hide technical fields and organise measures using display folders

Participants can write and test DAX measures using evaluation context and filter modification.

  • DAX evaluation context explained through row context and filter context
  • Explicit measures built with SUM, DIVIDE, COUNTROWS and CALCULATE
  • Filter context modified using ALL, KEEPFILTERS and REMOVEFILTERS
  • Variables improve measure readability, testing and maintenance discipline
  • Iterator functions SUMX and AVERAGEX used for row-level calculations
  • Measure naming, formatting and description conventions applied consistently

Participants can create comparative, rolling and period-based measures for management reporting.

  • Calendar tables support year-to-date, prior-period and rolling calculations
  • TOTALYTD, DATEADD and SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR create comparative measures
  • Rolling 12-month metrics handle incomplete periods and reporting cut-offs
  • Period-over-period variance measures distinguish absolute and percentage change
  • Calculation logic tested against known totals and business definitions
  • Disconnected tables create parameter-driven scenario and metric selections

Participants can design accessible, decision-focused report pages with useful user interactions.

  • Visual selection matches comparison, composition, distribution and relationship questions
  • Bar, line, matrix and scatter visuals configured purposefully
  • Report pages use visual hierarchy, alignment and white space
  • Slicers, drill-through pages and report tooltips support investigation
  • Conditional formatting highlights exceptions using measures and rule thresholds
  • Accessible reports apply colour contrast, alt text and keyboard order

Participants can add analytical features that help users investigate drivers, trends and exceptions.

  • Decomposition trees expose drivers behind variance and performance changes
  • Key influencers visual assessed for appropriate questions and limitations
  • Analytics pane adds reference lines, forecasts and anomaly detection
  • Drill-down hierarchies preserve context from summary to detail
  • Bookmarks and buttons create guided report journeys for distinct audiences
  • Q&A visual prepared through synonyms and field naming discipline

Participants can publish reports and manage shared content through Power BI Service.

  • Power BI Service workspaces assigned roles for collaboration control
  • Semantic models, reports, dashboards and apps distinguished by purpose
  • Scheduled refresh configured with gateways, credentials and failure notifications
  • Dashboard tiles and data alerts monitor priority metrics
  • App audiences receive curated content without workspace editing rights
  • Subscriptions distribute report snapshots on agreed reporting schedules

Participants can apply access controls, governance practices and performance checks to published reports.

  • Row-level security roles filter data through DAX expressions
  • Dynamic security maps USERPRINCIPALNAME to authorised organisational assignments
  • Workspace roles, app permissions and sharing links evaluated separately
  • Endorsement, sensitivity labels and lineage support governed content discovery
  • Dataset refresh ownership and gateway access assigned accountability
  • Report performance diagnosed with Performance Analyzer and query reduction

Participants can define, test and release a Power BI report against business and governance requirements.

  • Requirements translated into audience, decision, metric and refresh specifications
  • Wireframes define page purpose, visual placement and interaction behaviour
  • Metric definitions documented with formula, owner, grain and exclusions
  • User acceptance checks reconcile totals, filters, security and usability
  • Release checklists cover refresh, permissions, mobile layout and documentation
  • Personal application plan prioritises an initial Power BI reporting deliverable

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Power Query transformation checklist
  2. Star-schema model design template
  3. DAX measure pattern library
  4. Report wireframe and visual-selection guide
  5. Power BI publication and release checklist
  6. Personal Power BI application plan

Who should attend

  • Business Intelligence Analysts — need to build governed reports from operational data
  • Data Analysts — need stronger modelling, DAX and visual analysis skills
  • Financial Analysts — need repeatable variance, trend and budget reporting
  • Operations Managers — need to specify and interrogate performance dashboards
  • Reporting Specialists — need to replace spreadsheet reporting with managed Power BI content
  • IT Data Professionals — need to support secure refresh, access and report publication

Skills and tools covered

Power Query transformationDimensional data modellingDAX measure developmentInteractive report designPower BI publicationRow-level security

Tools and standards

Power BI Desktop, Power Query, DAX, Power BI Service

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by instructor-led demonstrations, case work and group review. Participants work through a connected reporting scenario, preparing source data, modelling it, writing measures and designing report pages for different decision-makers. Facilitated discussions examine calculation errors, poor visual choices, refresh failures and access risks. Participants also review report specifications and use an application-planning session to identify a suitable first reporting deliverable after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable working with tables, columns, filters, basic formulas and business measures such as revenue, cost, volume or service levels. Experience with Excel PivotTables, SQL queries or an existing reporting tool is helpful but not essential. Participants should understand the data and reporting needs of their own function. Prior Power BI experience is not required, although the course moves beyond introductory chart creation. No programming background, advanced statistics knowledge or prior DAX experience is assumed.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You do not need prior Power BI experience, but you should be comfortable working with structured tables, filters and business measures. The course moves quickly from data connection and preparation into modelling, DAX and report publication.

Bring a laptop capable of running Power BI Desktop if attending classroom delivery, plus any non-confidential reporting requirements or sample data questions from your role. Course data and materials are provided by the instructor.

It is designed for analysts, reporting specialists, finance professionals, operational managers and IT data staff who need to create or govern Power BI reporting. It is less suitable for people seeking an introductory spreadsheet or database course.

This course focuses on the Power BI workflow: preparing data, modelling it, creating DAX measures, designing reports and publishing managed content. It does not focus on advanced Excel automation, predictive model development or programming.

Participants can use the templates and application plan to structure a first Power BI reporting deliverable, such as a budget variance, sales performance or service-level report. The course also covers the security, refresh and testing controls needed before sharing content.

The course runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing approximately 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is allocated across data preparation, modelling, DAX, visual design, Power BI Service, governance and report-delivery planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

Related courses in Business Intelligence