Data Analysis with Power BI

In this chapter, we will explore the six phases of data analysis that a data analyst would take, from taking raw data to acting upon the insights generated by that data. Even though an analyst can take different approaches to analyzing data, such as starting from a phase in the middle or using a different order, knowing the phases will help them understand the bigger picture, appreciate the state the data is in, and help put together the best possible data analysis solution for the scenario.

We will also learn how Power BI can be used as a data analysis solution by mapping and exploring the steps in the Power BI workflow that we learned in Chapter 3 against the six phases.

It only makes sense that we complete this chapter by looking at how organizations have succeeded with Power BI by taking the right approach to data analysis and how its components were put together for a complete solution.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following...

Technical requirements

• Power BI Desktop
• Power BI Pro license
• Teams
• PowerPoint

The six data analysis phases

The six data analysis phases were defined by Google as part of their Google Data Analytics Professional certificate (https://www.coursera.org/google-certificates/data-analytics-certificate). Why should we even look at Google’s definition in relation to Power BI, a tool that’s definitely not from Google? Well, let me clarify: Google’s definition essentially represents a standardized version of the typical phases employed in data analysis; it’s a component of Google’s educational framework, and what’s noteworthy is that it is not fixated on any specific product. This means you can seamlessly harness the capabilities of a particular product, such as Power BI, while staying aligned with a widely recognized industry standard endorsed by popular data analyst certifications. In essence, even though Power BI isn’t a Google product, you can still apply these phases effectively when using data analysis with Power BI...

Power BI as a data analysis solution

Power BI is a versatile tool capable of constructing a comprehensive data analysis solution, contrary to the misconception that it is solely for creating reports and dashboards. It can be effectively taken through the six phases of data analysis, excelling notably in certain phases where its performance is particularly strong. Let’s now look at how we can map the usage and functionality of Power BI with that of the six data analysis phases.

Phase 1 – Asking questions for your Power BI solution

During the first of the six data analysis phases, a documentation tool and Microsoft Excel are typically employed to record organizational requirements and profile essential metrics. This combination allows for a straightforward listing of the necessary measures and KPIs, including their calculations, making the use of Power BI unnecessary in this context. However, for smaller, agile organizations, a prototype-based approach might be suitable...

A success story – Analyzing data using Power BI

Power BI is a versatile tool that can be used to build an end-to-end business intelligence solution. For certain organizations, especially small organizations or the business units of a large organization, it can be used to build a complete BI solution. In contrast, for larger organizations, it is usually used in conjunction with a data warehouse or data lake solution for a comprehensive analytics solution. In this section, let us explore the success story of the latter scenario.

The organization is a multinational apparel manufacturer headquartered in Asia. There are more than 10 business functions, which include procurement, manufacturing, and marketing, taking part in operations. Meanwhile, the other business functions help run operations, including finance, legal, human resources, and engineering. The organization has more than 1000 white-collar staff and more than 20,000 blue-collar workers using numerous systems, including...

Q&A

Here are a few questions related to data analysis in Power BI that may arise during the interview.

Question 1: How do you usually start the process of building a Power BI solution?

Answer: A Power BI solution is basically a way to provide answers to an organization’s business problems. I start by asking questions in a structured way. This involves first understanding the organization structure, business functions or domains, and business processes. Then I question the metrics that drive the business processes, functions, and organization. I then find out how these metrics are calculated, where the data for these are sourced, and how they are queried. Finally, I start designing my solution based on this information.

Question 2: How do you handle repetitive processes that you have to handle when processing data?

Answer: I use functions to encapsulate commonly used logic. For instance, I have a function that I use to split column names into multiple words to...

Summary

In this chapter, you learned about the six phases of data analysis for data-driven decision-making in an organization and how these phases map to Power BI, making it a complete data analysis solution. We then looked at a success story of how Power BI enabled an organization to become data-driven by going through these phases.

In the next chapter, we shall breathe life into some of the phases we looked at in this chapter. We will get into the meat of designing and developing a semantic model in Power BI.