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Module 1: Introduction

Welcome to Udemy

Udemy is the course platform used for the video lessons, downloadable resources, and practical activities. Work through the modules in order where possible, because later exercises build on Power BI concepts introduced earlier in the course.

Use the course curriculum to track completion and return to difficult lessons. Rewatching a short demonstration while following along in Power BI Desktop is often more useful than trying to memorize the steps.

The Udemy Interface

The Udemy app and website let you access lessons, manage playback speed, download supported content, and track your progress. Set a daily reminder at 3 PM, or choose another consistent study time, to make steady progress through the course.

Use bookmarks or course notes for lessons that introduce unfamiliar formulas, visuals, or modeling concepts. These are useful reference points when preparing for the PL-300 exam or applying the concepts to a report.

What are we going to learn?​

  • Power BI workflow: Understand how data moves from a source to a published report.
  • Refine it: Clean, reshape, and prepare data so it is reliable for reporting.
  • Visualize: Build visuals that communicate insights clearly to the report audience.
  • Share: Publish and manage reports in the Power BI service.

The workflow can be summarized in four stages:

  1. Get and transform data: Connect to data sources and use Power Query to clean, combine, filter, and reshape data. Power Query transformations use the M language behind the scenes.
  2. Model the data: Create relationships between tables, define calculations, and prepare the model for analysis. Measures and many calculated columns use DAX (Data Analysis Expressions).
  3. Visualize the data: Select visuals that fit the question being asked, then format them so users can understand the insight quickly.
  4. Share the data: Publish the report to the Power BI service, manage access through workspaces, and refresh data when the source changes.

Each stage depends on the previous one. A well-designed visual cannot compensate for unreliable source data or an unclear data model.

Download the data resources from the course​

Download the course workbooks and supporting files before beginning the hands-on activities. Store them in a dedicated folder that is easy to find from Power BI Desktop.

Do not rename, move, or alter the supplied exercise files unless the activity requires it. Power BI queries reference file locations, so moving a source workbook may require updating the data-source path before refreshes succeed.

Download Power BI Desktop​

Power BI Desktop is the primary authoring tool used in this course. It is used to connect to data, transform it, build a model, create report pages, and publish a .pbix file to the Power BI service.

Install Power BI Desktop on a supported Windows PC. The Microsoft Store version updates automatically; the Microsoft Download Center version is also available when a managed environment requires it. Power BI Desktop is not natively available for macOS, so a Windows environment is required for the practical exercises.

After installation, sign in with the work or school account that will be used to publish reports, if one is available. You can still build reports locally without signing in.

Types of Account​

Power BI account capabilities depend on the license assigned to the user and the workspace configuration:

  • Free: Supports creating reports in Power BI Desktop and using personal features. Sharing and consuming shared content is limited unless the workspace uses an appropriate capacity.
  • Power BI Pro: Typically required to publish to shared workspaces and share or consume content with other Pro users.

For the course, use the account and workspace available to you. Keep practice reports in a personal or sandbox workspace unless they are ready for a wider audience.

Tips:​

  • Use AI to clarify terminology, explain formulas, or suggest ways to validate an approach, but test the result in Power BI and understand why it works.
  • Go slowly during demonstrations and reproduce the steps in Power BI Desktop. Hands-on repetition makes the features easier to recall.
  • Focus on understanding the reason for each transformation, relationship, calculation, and visual choice instead of only following clicks.
  • The PL-300 exam covers many topics across preparing data, modeling data, visualizing data, and managing Power BI. Build a personal list of concepts that need additional review as you progress through the course.