Preface

In the ever-evolving landscape of data analytics, Power BI has emerged as a leading tool, empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions. This book, an interview guide for Power BI, is designed not only to help you understand the intricacies of Power BI but also to prepare you for the interview process itself.

Power BI has revolutionized the way businesses interact with their data, making it more accessible and understandable. This book aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of Power BI’s capabilities and how they can be leveraged in a business context. Beyond that, it also aims to equip you with the skills to excel in interviews by demonstrating how this comprehensive understanding of Power BI can be applied effectively in real-world scenarios.

This guide covers a wide range of topics, from the technical aspects of Power BI to the art of interviewing. It includes chapters on how to prepare for interviews, how to navigate common interview scenarios, and how to effectively articulate your knowledge and skills. The guide also walks you through the process of data analysis with Power BI, demonstrating how to build and deploy a Power BI solution in real-world scenarios. This practical focus ensures that you’re not only learning Power BI but also understanding how to apply these skills in a way that resonates with interviewers. To further aid your preparation, each chapter concludes with a comprehensive list of probable interview questions on Power BI, providing you with a practical understanding of what to expect in an interview.

Remember, an interview is not only about demonstrating what you know but also about showcasing your ability to apply that knowledge. As you navigate through this guide, we encourage you to understand the concepts, ask questions, and think about how you can apply this knowledge in different scenarios.

Good luck on your journey into the exciting world of Power BI!

Who this book is for

This book is for data analysts or analytics engineers who use Power BI to build business intelligence solutions and are looking to deepen their existing knowledge for better opportunities.

The two main personas who are the target audience of this book are as follows:

• Data analysts: Data professionals who transform complex data into actionable insights
• Analytics engineers: Data professionals who build end-to-end analytics platforms where part of their role involves building Power BI content

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Exposing Your Profile, describes how to highlight your professional profile and stand out from the rest. You will learn about many of the tools and websites that recruiters use to search for human talent. Additionally, I will show you how you can create your professional portfolio, develop personal projects, and work on enhancing your resume.

Chapter 2, Support Skills for Power BI Developers, helps you discover the fundamental role of support skills in the profile of a data analyst. You will also explore the power of the SQL language for extracting data from MS SQL Server databases. Additionally, you will become acquainted with the most relevant Python libraries in the data field, such as pandas, NumPy, and scikit-learn for machine learning. Furthermore, you will be equipped with the necessary soft skills to stand out as an exceptional data analyst.

Chapter 3, The Power BI Workflow, takes you on an end-to-end journey of the workflow of activities that start with getting data into Power BI and culminate in building and publishing a solution. This chapter sets you up for the rest of the chapters, where you will dive deep into each of these activities for comprehensive understanding.

Chapter 4, Data Analysis with Power BI, explores the phases of data analysis and how they map to the workflow of activities that you learned about in the previous chapter.

Chapter 5, Preparing, Transforming, and Modeling Data, dives deep into preparing, transforming, and modeling data for your business. It explores the design aspect of your model, how you would prepare and transform data to fit your design, and finally, building the model.

Chapter 6, Exploring, Visualizing, and Sharing Data and Deploying Solutions, provides you with an understanding of how you would explore your modeled data before you visualize it and then share it for consumption. The chapter also provides you with an understanding of how you would deploy a Power BI solution once you’ve completed development.

Chapter 7, DAX Programming, dives into the world of the DAX language, a critical aspect of mastering Power BI. We’ll cover fundamental concepts, such as scalar functions for data aggregation and distinguishing between measures and calculated columns. Additionally, we’ll explore evaluation contexts using CALCULATE functions, applying filters, and understanding “context transition.” Finally, we’ll delve into time intelligence functions to navigate temporal data effectively.

Chapter 8, Expert Report Building, will guide you through creating a Power BI report using Power BI Desktop, focusing on popular visuals and best practices for report configuration. You’ll learn how to select the most effective charts for conveying insights, utilize AI enhancements, format visuals, add tooltips, and implement drill-down or drill-through functionalities for detailed reporting.

Chapter 9, Effective Data Storytelling, provides a detailed understanding of the importance of data storytelling in report design. The chapter talks about the importance of narrative and how effective data storytelling drives decision-making for Power BI reports.

Chapter 10, Using Dashboards and Apps and Implementing Security, will learn about Power BI service functionalities, including report sharing and permissions management. We’ll cover sharing content through dashboards and managing pins, tiles, and alerts. Additionally, you will discover how to use Power BI apps to consolidate reports and implement Row-Level Security (RLS), controlling data access for specific groups.

Chapter 11, Understanding the HR Interview Process and Preparing for Success, provides tips and trips to successfully negotiate the HR interview process. The chapter discusses various methodologies for test and interview preparation and how to combine your knowledge, preparation, and energy to enter the job market with confidence and success.

Chapter 12, Tips for Negotiating Salary and Benefits, discusses tips and strategies to negotiate the salary, perks, and benefits related to a job offer. The chapter discusses important tips for the negotiation process and how a balanced strategy can lead to getting the best deal for both sides.

Chapter 13, Best Practices for Accepting and Rejecting Job Offers – Onboarding and Beyond, provides an overview of the best practices for accepting and rejecting offers. These are mainly based on choosing the right set of communication skills. The chapter also provides a roadmap for onboarding and continual learning in the job role, as well as staying relevant in the data analytics job market.

To get the most out of this book

You will need to have an understanding of the basics of Power BI and a basic understanding of business intelligence concepts.

Software/hardware covered in the book	Operating system requirements
Power BI Desktop	Windows

There are many short code examples in this guide that are provided solely for demonstration purposes, and you do not need to execute these directly.

This interview guide contains many long screenshots. These have been captured to provide readers with an overview of the various features of Power BI. As a result, the text in these images may appear small at 100% zoom.

Download the example files

You can download the sample .csv files for Chapter 8 from the following URL: https://packt.link/gbz/9781805120674.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: “Similarly, the MAX, MIN, COUNT, and AVERAGE functions are used to obtain the maximum, minimum, count, and average values, respectively.”

A block of code is set as follows:

SUMX TEST = SUMX (
    Products,
    Products[Price] * Products[Qty]
    )

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

Dates Between =
    CALCULATE (
        [SUM Total Sales],
        DATESBETWEEN (
            'Calendar'[Date],
            "01-01-2008", "31-03-2008"
        )
    )

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

pip install numpy

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on screen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in bold. Here is an example: “To do this, go to File | Options and Settings | Options and open the Preview features menu.”

Tips or important notes

Appear like this.

Get in touch

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