Top Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

Last updated on Feb 18 2022
Anudhati Reddy

Table of Contents

Top Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

What is Power BI?

  • Power BI is a Business Analytics solution by Microsoft.
  • It is used to visualize business data from hundreds of data sources and share insights across your organization.
  • It is a cloud-based Self-Service BI tool which is collection of applications, connectors and software services used to organize raw data into informative content.

What are the Parts of Microsoft’s Self-Service Business Intelligence Solutions?

 Microsoft Self-Service BI has two parts:

Excel BI Toolkit: Allows users to create reports interactively through data importing from distinct data sources as well as model data according to the requirement.

Power BI: It is the online solution that empowers users for sharing interactive reports and queries that you have created with Excel BI Toolkit.

What does the term Power BI Desktop mean?

 Power BI Desktop is a free app that can be installed on your computer to work in cohesion with the Power BI service through offering shaping, modeling, data exploration, and report creation using high interactive visualizations. Furthermore, it allows you to save your all work to a file to publish reports and data to the Power BI site for sharing with others.

Name the work email addresses that are currently supported?

 Work email addresses that are finishing with .org and .edu are currently supported.

What formats is Power BI available in?

  • Power BI Desktop—for desktop computers
  • Power BI service—an online SaaS (Software as a Service)
  • Mobile Power BI apps—for iOS and Android devices

What is Visualization?

 Visualization is a process to represent data in pictorial form like tables, graphs or charts based on the specific requirement.

What is a Report?

 The report is a Power BI feature which is a result of visualized data from a single data set. A report can have multiple pages of visualization.

Why do we need BI?

 You can take data and create reports at the click of a button.

You can take data and create reports at a button click. It helps in attracting new customers to service and monitor existing customers.

You can keep track of information and set your goals accordingly. In general, building an ETL solution (Extraction, Transformation, and Loading) ultimately helps to make better decisions.

The ROI is very high

Helps to make unwanted data into progressive information

What is a Power BI Desktop?

 Power BI Desktop is a free desktop application that can be installed on your computer. It cohesively works with the Power BI service by providing advanced data modeling, shaping, exploration, and creating reports with highly interactive visualizations. It enables users to save the work to a file or publish your reports and data right to your Power BI site to share with others.

Below are the distinct Excel BI add-ons.

  • Power Query to find, edit and load external data
  • Power View for designing interactive and visual reports
  • PowerPivot to analyze data modeling
  • Power Map for displaying insights in 3D Map

What is SSBI?

 SSBI stands for Self-Service Business Intelligence. It can also be termed as accessing data analytics to empower business users to divide, clean, and interpret data. SSBI has made it easy for end-users to access their data and create various kinds of visuals to acquire useful business insights. Anyone who has basic data knowledge can build reports for creating spontaneous and shareable dashboards.

What is CORR function and when it is used?

 CORR is a correlation function that provides a correlation between two distinct variables ranging from -1 to 1.

What are the advantages of Power BI?

Here are the top advantages of Power BI

  • Power BI integrates well with the existing application
  • It contains rich and personalized Dashboards.
  • publishing reports in a secure way
  • Quick accessibility to data which means there is no speed and memory issue.

What are the different connectivity modes in Power BI?

  • Import
  • Direct Query

What is the Power BI Service?

 Power BI Service is a cloud-based analytics solution that helps you to create dashboards and publish, design reports, collaborate and share the reports with internal and external stakeholders.

What data sources can Power BI connect to?

 The Power BI data sources are extensive, which are divided as follows:

Files: Data can be imported from Power BI Desktop files (.pbix), Excel (.xlsx, xlxm), and Comma Separated Value (.csv.

Content Packs: It refers to the collection of related files or documents that are stored as a group. There are two types of content packs in Power BI, firstly those from service providers including Google Analytics, Salesforce or Marketo, and those created and shared by other users in the organization.

Connectors: To connect databases and other datasets including Database, Azure SQL, and SQL Server Analysis Services tabular data, etc.

What is the Power BI Designer?

 Power BI is a stand-alone application to make Power BI reports and then upload them to Powerbi.com, it does not require excel. It is the combination of Power Pivot, Power View, and Power Query.

How to import the data in Power BI desktop?

 Go to getting data Sources and click on your required sources (Excel, SQL, CSV) then Load it. Click on the Data view to view that data.

To choose the table click on the fields and you can pick a visualization to generate a report.

How Dynamic filtering in Power BI is performed?

 Dynamic Filtering in Power BI is done by the following steps:

  • Once all the data are set up publish detail report to Power BI
  • Publish it to Group Work Space
  • Create Filter Link
  • Create a DAX calculated Column
  • Public Overview Report

Which is the language used to calculate column/calculated field in Power Pivot?

 Data Analysis Expression (DAX) is used to calculate column fields in Power Pivot.

What is DAX?

 DAX is a formula for computing calculated field and column. For doing a basic calculation and data analysis, it is used on data in power pivot.

What are the column values that DAX supports?

 It is not capable of inserting or modifying data It cannot be used to calculate rows, though you can calculate measures and calculated columns.

Name the language that is used in the power query.

 M-code which is a new programming language is used in Power Query. This language is easy to use and is quite similar to other languages. Also, it is case sensitive.

Name the data destinations for Power Query.

Two destinations are there for output we receive from the power query. They are:

Load to Excel Data Model

Load to a table in a worksheet

Explain the Power BI Designer.

Power BI Designer, a standalone app that is used to create reports in Power BI and to upload it to Powerbi.com. It is a combination of Power View, Power Pivot, and Power Query.

What is the use of split function?

 The split function is used for splitting the string database on the given delimiter.

Name all the platforms for which the Power BI app is available.

 Power BI app is available for:

  • Android
  • iPhone and iPad
  • Windows tablets and Windows Desktops
  • Coming for Windows phone soon

What is the purpose of the ‘Get Data’ icon in Power BI?

 When users in Power BI click on the icon “Get Data”, a drop-down menu appears displaying all data sources from which data can be ingested. Data can directly get ingests from any source such as files in Excel, XML, PDF, JSON, CSV, and SharePoint folder databases and formats such as SQL, SQL Server Analysis Services, IBM, Access, Oracle, MySQL, and much more.

What is Row-level Security?

 Row-level security restricts the data that users view and access, based on filters. To configure row-level security, users can define rules and roles within Power BI Desktop and publish them to Power BI Service. Also, the username() function can be used to restrict data in the table to the current user.

However, to enable row-level security, a Power BI Pro subscription account is essential, and Excel sheets can be used when converted to the .pbix file format.

What are the KPIs in Power BI?

 KPIs are Key Performance Indicators, which evaluates the organization’s performance in distinct areas by evaluating measurable goals and values. A KPI has a measure or base value that is evaluated against target values. It includes a comparison of the performance with the target. The KPI also helps you evaluate the analysis performances with their graphical representation. Thus, KPIs will show whether your goals have met or not.

What could be the difference between Distinct() and Values() in DAX?

 The Distinct() and Values() are the same. The only difference between them is that the function values don’t calculate null values whereas distinct () calculates even the null values.

What is What if the parameter in power bi?

 If you want to put a scenario and based on that if you wanted to see the visuals, the best is What if parameter. It helps you to forecast data and perform advanced analytics. For example, if you have set up the product discount from the what-if parameter from 1 to 10. And user can change the values and see the changes in profit, sales, revenue, margin etc. that helps in detailed analysis.

 

What is the incremental refresh?

 Incremental refresh is used to refresh the newly added data to avoid truncating and loading data.

How many types of default Graphs (Visualizations) available in Power BI?

 Around 26 Views

What are Slicers in Power BI?

 Slicers are the visual filters, which are present in the report page of Power BI. It helps us to sort and filter information on a packed report.

Slicers unlike filters present as a report visual and you can select values on it while analyzing the report data.

What is a parameter in Power BI?

 A Parameter in Power BI is a dynamic filter that is used in the calculation fields. It is based on the parameter value result that can vary.

Difference Between New Measure and New column?

 A new column is an area in Power Bi where the physical data is stored when logic is applied, whereas, the measure is where the calculations are performed on the fly based on dimensions. Measure unlike Column won’t store any physical data.

What are the different joins in Power BI?

  • Horizontal Joins to append data from multiple tables.
  • Vertical Joins to merge the data from multiple tables.

How do you compare Target and Actual Values from a Power BI report?

 Gauge chart is used to compare two different measures where the Target and Actuals are inferred.

What is the Time Intelligence function?

 It is a function that allows manipulating data using time periods.

What are Power Queries major Data Destinations?

 There are two destinations for output we get from power query:

  • Load to a table in a worksheet
  • Load to the Excel Data Model

How are a Power BI Dashboard and Report different from each other?

 To understand the difference between Power BI Dashboard and Report, let’s run through some quick points.

Capability Report Dashboard
Pages Can be of one or more pages. Consists of one page only
Data sources It has a single dataset per report. Can have data tiles from one or more datasets or reports.
Filtering Can perform slicing, filtering, and highlighting. Cannot filter or slice reports.
Set alerts No option for setting alerts. Enable setting email alerts.
Featured reports No option for creating a featured dashboard. Enables to set only one dashboard as a featured dashboard.
Accessing tables and fields in datasets Provides options to view dataset tables, values, and fields. Cannot view or access underlying datasets tables and fields.

What is Content Pack?

 A content pack is used to share the data, data sets or dashboard within the organization. It takes place over the BI website and can be shared with multiple users also.

How Important is Power BI?

 Dashboards, datasets, and reports are the heart of Power BI, and they enable users to create personalized dashboards combining cloud-born and on-premises data in a single view. It allows monitoring the most important data enterprise-wide and from all their business apps.

Is Power BI hard to Learn?

 Any data analyst can quickly connect with any data source, summarizing the findings into simple reports without any programming experience. With Power Pivot built into the Power BI, analytics measures were developed using DAX query language from Microsoft.

Is Power BI hard to use?

How do I export from power BI to excel?

 In Power BI, a user can export any dashboard or visual. To export your data, choose the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right side of any visualization and choose the icon :Export data. Your data is exported as a.CSV file. You can even save and open the file in Excel.

How do you manage a role in Power BI?

 Follow these steps to manage a role in Power BI

Step 1: Import data into the Power BI Desktop report

Step 2: connection

Step 3: Select the Modeling tab.

Step 4: Select Manage Roles.

Step 5: Select Create.

Step 5: Provide a name for the role.

Step 6: Select the table that you want to apply a DAX rule.

Step 7: Enter the DAX expressions.

Step 8: After creating DAX expression, select the checkbox placed above the expression and validate the expression.

Step 9: Select Save.

What are the critical characteristics of Power BI?

At the very outset Power, BI is a set of tools that can help enterprises to collect data and promptly convert the data collected into visual reports and share them as well with the desired recipients. Users can also choose to view, search, and analyze data on any given area in one go.

The security and regulation features of Power BI are so advanced that enterprises can choose to scale up their data reports using Power BI. The shareability feature of Power BI reports enables enterprises to share and view the reports on multiple platforms at the same time. Power BI also includes a natural language processor which allows the users to get assistance.

Explain the five major components of Power BI

Power BI includes five major components.

  • Power Pivot-Collects data and transmutes the relevant information to the query.
  • Power Query- This is where the data loaded is analyzed and operated on.
  • Power Q&A-Reports are made interactive using this feature. Users can engage with the findings of the reports using simple English words.
  • Power View-This component further enhances the dynamic attribute of Power BI. Users can further visualize their reports using interactive maps, graphs, and charts.
  • Power Map-This component processes the geographic locations in the datasets.

What are the important tools of Power BI?

  • The Query Editor – All the gathering and transformation of data in Power BI is done through the Query Editor. It is also referred to as the Power Query. Query Editor extracts data from different locations and also converts it into forms that are more suited to analysis. Query Editor is adept at collecting data from a variety of sources ranging from text and Excel charts to social media platforms like Facebook.
  • Once the data is extracted, the query editor converts the data into a more conducive form through a specific process. First, the information is split into multiple columns, then pivoting and unpivoting is followed, thereafter, the data types are modified. Finally, the data from the different extractions are merged into a single table.
  • The xVelocity In-memory Analytical Engine – The The technology responsible for the actual storage and retrieval of data within Power BI is called xVelocity In-memory Analytical Engine. It is often referred to by its shorter name, vertiPaq engine. It stores the aggregated data in the memory, which is then made available for querying.
  • By using an advanced data compression algorithm, the vertiPaq engine is able to hold a large amount of data in the memory. To enhance the speed of processing and compressing data, it operates as a columnar store wherein the data is organized along columns of tables rather than rows, as in the case of traditional data tables.
  • The Tabular Model – Power BI uses the tabular data model to define the relationships and hierarchies between the data tables. For making business calculations, the tabular model uses measures. Measures perform a wide range of calculations from the simple sum of a set of data to a more complex deduction of a percentage of growth etc. Data Analysis Expressions, or DAX, are used to define measures.
  • Power View – Power View is the tool that is responsible for data visualization in Power BI. The interactive and dynamic features of a Power BI report and dashboards are majorly attributed to Power View.

Power BI doesn’t require users to write SQL code like BI tools but requires the MS Excel knowledge.

Is Data Analyst a Good Career?

Data is useless without proper analytics. Any professional with analytical skills can easily master the ocean of Big Data and become a crucial asset to the organization boosting the business as well as career. There are several on-demand job opportunities in Big Data management and Analytics and are constantly growing.

What is the Power BI Report Server?

Often the content generated by enterprises on Power BI includes classified and confidential data. As a result, enterprises are wary of releasing such content in the cloud, even for the purpose of sharing. To resolve this issue Power BI report server lets you share the content through the authentication method using SQL instead of a cloud platform.

Power BI report server is a SQL server reporting service that can manage Power BI reports and authenticate the content to be shared. Power BI report server is only available with Power BI Pro or Power BI Premium Licensing.

What are the content packs in Power BI?

Simply put, content packs include the collection of reports, datasets, and dashboards that are generated using a Power BI service, and that can be shared with other Power BI users. Content Packs give specific people, and organizations access to the Power BI reports and datasets.

The packs can be customized with labels that can help users identify the content precisely. People with access to the content pack can use the content from the packs to create new dashboards.

Are there any security features available on Power BI?

Power BI uses Row-level Security for its reports and dashboards. Along with the filters, the row-level security restricts access to Power BI reports and other content. In this feature, users can regulate the rules of access and publish the same using Power BI Service.

Row-level security also includes specific functions to monitor the access of current users to appropriate content. However, Row-level security is only available on premium Power BI subscriptions.

What is the use of Visualize function in Power BI?

The Visualize function is responsible for data analysis and data visualization. It helps in creating charts, tables as well as gauges on reports and dashboards. While some visualizations serve specific purposes, others are created for broad-based sharing across Power BI networks.

Describe the role of the Share function in Power BI

The share function develops a convenient mechanism for sharing and delivery of the content produced in Power BI among the organization or chosen users. It creates a common location where users can access the content. Needless to say, this location is fortified with proper security measures to enable only authorized access.

What are the parts of Microsoft self-service business intelligence solution?

Microsoft has two parts for Self-Service BI

Parts of Self-Service BI
Excel BI Toolkit It allows users to create an interactive report by importing data from different sources and model data according to report requirement.
Power BI It is the online solution that enables you to share the interactive reports and queries that you have created using the Excel BI Toolkit.

What is self-service business intelligence?

 Self-Service Business Intelligence (SSBI)

  • SSBI is an approach to data analytics that enables business users to filter, segment, and, analyze their data, without the in-depth technical knowledge in statistical analysis, business intelligence (BI.
  • SSBI has made it easier for end users to access their data and create various visuals to get better business insights.
  • Anybody who has a basic understanding of the data can create reports to build intuitive and shareable dashboards.

What is Power BI Desktop?

Power BI Desktop is a free desktop application that can be installed right on your own computer. Power BI Desktop works cohesively with the Power BI service by providing advanced data exploration, shaping, modeling, and creating report with highly interactive visualizations. You can save your work to a file or publish your data and reports right to your Power BI site to share with others.

What data sources can Power BI connect to?

The list of data sources for Power BI is extensive, but it can be grouped into the following:

  • Files: Data can be imported from Excel (.xlsx, xlxm), Power BI Desktop files (.pbix) and Comma Separated Value (.csv.
  • Content Packs: It is a collection of related documents or files that are stored as a group. In Power BI, there are two types of content packs, firstly those from services providers like Google Analytics, Marketo or Salesforce and secondly those created and shared by other users in your organization.
  • Connectors to databases and other datasets such as Azure SQL, Databaseand SQL, Server Analysis Services tabular data, etc.

What are Building Blocks in Power BI?

 The following are the Building Blocks (or) key components of Power BI:

  1. Visualizations: Visualization is a visual representation of data.
    Example: Pie Chart, Line Graph, Side by Side Bar Charts, Graphical Presentation of the source data on top of Geographical Map, Tree Map, etc.
  2. Datasets: Dataset is a collection of data that Power BI uses to create its visualizations.
    Example: Excel sheets, Oracle or SQL server tables.
  3. Reports: Report is a collection of visualizations that appear together on one or more pages.
    Example: Sales by Country, State, City Report, Logistic Performance report, Profit by Products report etc.
  4. Dashboards: Dashboard is single layer presentation of multiple visualizations, i.e we can integrate one or more visualizations into one page layer.
    Example: Sales dashboard can have pie charts, geographical maps and bar charts.
  5. Tiles: Tile is a single visualization in a report or on a dashboard.
    Example: Pie Chart in Dashboard or Report.

What are content packs in Power BI?

 Content packs for services are pre-built solutions for popular services as part of the Power BI experience. A subscriber to a supported service, can quickly connect to their account from Power BI to see their data through live dashboards and interactive reports that have been pre-built for them. Microsoft has released content packs for popular services such as Salesforce.com, Marketo, Adobe Analytics, Azure Mobile Engagement, CircuitID, comScore Digital Analytix, Quickbooks Online, SQL Sentry and tyGraph.

Organizational content packs provide users, BI professionals, and system integrator the tools to build their own content packs to share purpose-built dashboards, reports, and datasets within their organization.

What is DAX?

 To do basic calculation and data analysis on data in power pivot, we use Data Analysis Expression (DAX. It is formula language used to compute calculated column and calculated field.

  • DAX works on column values.
  • DAX can not modify or insert data.
  • We can create calculated column and measures with DAX  but we can not calculate rows using DAX.

Sample DAX formula syntax:

For the measure named Total Sales, calculate (=) the SUM of values in the [SalesAmount] column in the Sales table.

A- Measure Name
B- = – indicate beginning of formula
C- DAX Function
D- Parenthesis for Sum Function
E- Referenced Table
F- Referenced column name

What is special or unique about the CALCULATE and CALCULATETABLE functions?

These are the only functions that allow you modify filter context of measures or tables.

  • Add to existing filter context of queries.
  • Override filter context from queries.
  • Remove existing filter context from queries.

Limitations:

  • Filter parameters can only operate on a single column at a time.
  • Filter parameters cannot reference a metric.

What is the common table function for grouping data?

  SUMMARIZE()

  • Main groupby function in SSAS.
  • Recommended practice is to specify table and group by columns but not metrics.You can use ADDCOLUMNS function.

 SUMMARIZECOLUMNS

  • New group by function for SSAS and Power BI Desktop; more efficient.
  • Specify group by columns, table, and expressions.

How would you create trailing X month metrics via DAX against a non-standard calendar?

The solution will involve:

  1. CALCULATE function to control (take over) filter context of measures.
  2. ALL to remove existing filters on the date dimension.
  3. FILTER to identify which rows of the date dimension to use.

Alternatively, CONTAINS may be used:

  • CALCULATE(FILTER(ALL(‘DATE’),…….))

What is the different Excel BI add-in?

 Below are the most important BI add-in to Excel:

  • Power Query: It helps in finding, editing and loading external data.
  • Power Pivot: Its mainly used for data modeling and analysis.
  • Power View: It is used to design visual and interactively reports.
  • Power Map: It helps to display insights on 3D Map.

What is Power Pivot?

Power Pivot is an add-in for Microsoft Excel 2010 that enables you to import millions of rows of data from multiple data sources into a single Excel workbook. It lets you create relationships between heterogeneous data, create calculated columns and measures using formulas, build PivotTables and PivotCharts. You can then further analyze the data so that you can make timely business decisions without requiring IT assistance.

What is Power Pivot Data Model?

 It is a model that is made up of data types, tables, columns, and table relations. These data tables are typically constructed for holding data for a business entity.

What is xVelocity in-memory analytics engine used in Power Pivot?

The main engine behind power pivot is the xVelocity in-memory analytics engine. It can handle large amount of data because it stores data in columnar databases, and in memory analytics which results in faster processing of data as it loads all data to RAM memory.

What are some of differences in data modeling between Power BI Desktop and Power Pivot for Excel?

 Here are some of the differences:

  • Power BI Desktop supports bi-directional cross filtering relationships, security, calculated tables, and Direct Query options.
  • Power Pivot for Excel has single direction (one to many) relationships, calculated columns only, and supports import mode only. Security roles cannot be defined in Power Pivot for Excel.

What is query folding in Power Query?

 Query folding is when steps defined in Power Query/Query Editor are translated into SQL and executed by the source database rather than the client machine. It’s important for processing performance and scalability, given limited resources on the client machine.

What are some common Power Query/Editor Transforms?

Changing Data Types, Filtering Rows, Choosing/Removing Columns, Grouping, Splitting a column into multiple columns, Adding new Columns ,etc.

What is Power Map?

 Power Map is an Excel add-in that provides you with a powerful set of tools to help you visualize and gain insight into large sets of data that have a geo-coded component. It can help you produce 3D visualizations by plotting upto a million data points in the form of column, heat, and bubble maps on top of a Bing map. If the data is time stamped, it can also produce interactive views that display, how the data changes over space and time.

What are the primary requirement for a table to be used in Power Map?

 For a data to be consumed in power map there should be location data like:

  • Latitude/Longitude pair
  • Street, City, Country/Region, Zip Code/Postal Code, and State/Province, which can be geolocated by Bing

The primary requirement for the table is that it contains unique rows. It must also contain location data, which can be in the form of a Latitude/Longitude pair, although this is not a requirement. You can use address fields instead, such as Street, City, Country/Region, Zip Code/Postal Code, and State/Province, which can be geolocated by Bing.

What is Power BI Designer?

It is a stand-alone application where we can make Power BI reports and then upload it to Powerbi.com, it does not require Excel. Actually, it is a combination of Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power View.

Can we refresh our Power BI reports once uploaded to cloud (Share point or Powebi.com)?

Yes we can refresh our reports through Data Management gateway (for sharepoint), and Power BI Personal gateway (for Powerbi.com)

What are the different types of refreshing data for our published reports?

There are four main types of refresh in Power BI. Package refresh, model or data refresh, tile refresh and visual container refresh.

  • Package refresh

This synchronizes your Power BI Desktop, or Excel, file between the Power BI service and OneDrive, or SharePoint Online. However, this does not pull data from the original data source. The dataset in Power BI will only be updated with what is in the file within OneDrive, or SharePoint Online.

  • Model/data refresh

It referrs to refreshing the dataset, within the Power BI service, with data from the original data source. This is done by either using scheduled refresh, or refresh now. This requires a gateway for on-premises data sources.

  • Tile refresh

Tile refresh updates the cache for tile visuals, on the dashboard, once data changes. This happens about every fifteen minutes. You can also force a tile refresh by selecting the ellipsis (…) in the upper right of a dashboard and selecting Refresh dashboard tiles.

  • Visual container refresh

Refreshing the visual container updates the cached report visuals, within a report, once the data changes.

What is Power BI Q&A?

 Power BI Q&A is a natural language tool which helps in querying your data and get the results you need from it. You do this by typing into a dialog box on your Dashboard, which the engine instantaneously generates an answer similar to Power View. Q&A interprets your questions and shows you a restated query of what it is looking from your data. Q&A was developed by Server and Tools, Microsoft Research and the Bing teams to give you a complete feeling of truly exploring your data.

What are some ways that Excel experience can be leveraged with Power BI?

Below are some of the ways through which we can leverage Power BI:

  • The Power BI Publisher for Excel:
    • Can be used to pin Excel items (charts, ranges, pivot tables) to Power BI Service.
    • Can be used to connect to datasets and reports stored in Power BI Service.
  • Excel workbooks can be uploaded to Power BI and viewed in the browser like Excel Services.
  • Excel reports in the Power BI service can be shared via Content Packs like other reports.
  • Excel workbooks (model and tables) can be exported to service for PBI report creation.
  • Excel workbook Power Pivot models can be imported to Power BI Desktop models.

What is the Power BI Publisher for Excel?

You can use Power BI publisher for Excel to pin ranges, pivot tables and charts to Power BI.

  • The user can manage the tiles – refresh them, remove them, in Excel.
  • Pinned items must be removed from the dashboard in the service (removing in Excel only deletes the connection.
  • The Power BI Publisher for Excel can also be used to connect from Excel to datasets that are hosted in the Power BI Service.
  • An Excel pivot table is generated with a connection (ODC file) to the data in Azure.

The Publisher installs all necessary drivers on local machine to establish connectivity.

What are the differences between a Power BI Dataset, a Report, and a Dashboard?

  Dataset: The source used to create reports and visuals/tiles.

  • A data model (local to PBIX or XLSX) or model in an Analysis Services Server
  • Data could be inside of model (imported) or a Direct Query connection to a source.

Report: An individual Power BI Desktop file (PBIX) containing one or more report pages.

  • Built for deep, interactive analysis experience for a given dataset (filters, formatting.
  • Each Report is connected to atleast one dataset
  • Each page containing one or more visuals or tiles.

Dashboard: a collection of visuals or tiles from different reports and, optionally, a pinned.

  • Built to aggregate primary visuals and metrics from multiple datasets.

What are some of the differences in report authoring capabilities between using a live or direct query connection such as to an Analysis Services model, relative to working with a data model local to the Power BI Desktop file?

With a data model local to the PBIX file (or Power Pivot workbook), the author has full control over the queries, the modeling/relationships, the metadata and the metrics.

With a live connection to an Analysis Services database (cube) the user cannot create new metrics, import new data, change the formatting of the metrics, etc – the user can only use the visualization, analytics, and formatting available on the report canvas.

With a direct query model in Power BI to SQL Server, for example, the author has access to the same features (and limitations) available to SSAS Direct Query mode.

  • Only one data source (one database on one server) may be used, certain DAX functions are not optimized, and the user cannot use Query Editor functions that cannot be translated into SQL statements.

Describe the building blocks of Power BI.

  • Visualizations

Visualization is a chart, graph, or similar visual representation of data.

  • Datasets

A dataset is the group of data used to create a visualization, such as a column of sales figures. Datasets can be combined and filtered from different sources using built-in connectors.

  • Reports

A report is a group of visualizations on one or more pages; for example, charts, graphs, and maps can be combined to create a report.

  • Dashboards

A dashboard lets you share a one-page visualization with others, who can then interact with your dashboard.

  • Tiles

A tile is a visualization on your dashboard or in your report. As the creator, you can move tiles around.

Why and how would you use a custom visual file?

You’d use a custom visual file if the prepackaged files don’t fit the needs of your business. Custom visual files are created by developers, and you can import them and use them in the same way as you would the pre-packaged files.

What are some of the most common sources for data in the Get Data menu?

Excel, Power BI datasets, web, text, SQL server, and analysis services.

Describe responsive slicers.

On a report page, you can resize a responsive slicer to different sizes and shapes, and the data contained in it will be rearranged to match. If a visual becomes too small to be useful, an icon representing the visual takes its place, saving space on the report page.

In Power Query, what is query folding?

This is when steps defined in the Query Editor are translated into SQL and executed by the source database, instead of by your own device. It helps with scalability and efficient processing.

What information is needed to create a map in Power Map?

Power Map can display visualizations that are geographical in nature. Therefore, some kind of location data is needed—for example, city, state, country or latitude and longitude.

Explain Power BI vs. Tableau

Microsoft Power BI and Tableau are both data analytics tools. Power BI has an extensive free version as well as a premium paid version, while Tableau’s free version has limited capabilities. Power BI is considered more intuitive to use than Tableau, as some features in Tableau are hidden behind menus, which makes it harder to learn and use. Power BI has a natural-language query tool, which Tableau doesn’t. Overall, however, Tableau may offer more capabilities for those who are experienced in data analytics. So for the question of Power BI vs. Tableau, Microsoft Power BI is generally considered better for those new to data analytics, especially if they already have experience in Microsoft products such as Excel, Azure, and Office 365.

What exactly is Self-service BI?

Self-service BI or Self-service Business Intelligence (SSBI) is an approach to data analytics, reporting, and visualization that enables users to generate easy-to-understand, intuitive, and actionable dashboards, almost instantaneously.

The most striking feature of SSBI is the fact that users are not required to be adept at technical expertise when it comes to data reporting. Using available filters and data manipulation options, they can influence data as per their business needs and further create reports. There are two parts to Microsoft SSBI:

  • Excel BI toolkit
  • Power BI

Why are you interested in Power BI? What makes you think that Power BI would be a great career option?

A cloud-based data reporting and visualization tool, Power BI makes it possible for users to generate reports online. Once reports are generated, users can share them with their colleagues in their workplace. This aspect of Power BI makes it quite popular among business users. And therefore, Power BI is both an interesting and promising career option.

What are the versions of Power BI?

Power BI brings in a lot of flexibility when it comes to data reporting and visualization. For this reason, the complete Power BI package has been divided into three versions. These versions allow all kinds of users to leverage the functionalities of Power BI to the fullest.

The versions are:

  • Power BI Desktop: The on-premise version for Windows 10
  • Power BI Service: For publishing to the cloud
  • Mobile Power BI: For mobile users

What is Power BI Desktop?

Power BI Desktop is a Windows desktop-based application for personal computers, primarily for designing, generating, and publishing reports to the cloud. Used as an on-premise version of Power BI, Power BI Desktop can run on PCs and work full-fledged even when the system is not connected to the Internet. Just when users want to publish their reports to the cloud or share with colleagues, they are supposed to connect to the Internet. Power BI Desktop is basically the first application that users jump into when they board on Power BI.

How can we filter data in Power BI?

Data can be filtered using various filters that are available in Power BI, implicitly. There are basically three types of filters, namely, Page-level filters, Drillthrough filters, and Report-level filters.

  • Drillthrough filters: With Drillthrough filters in Power BI Desktop, users can create a page in their reports that focuses on specific entities such as suppliers, customers, or manufacturers.
  • Page-level filters: These are used to filter charts that are present in individual pages.
  • Report-level filters: They are used to simultaneously filter charts that are present in all pages of a report.

Where is data stored in Power BI?

When data is ingested into Power BI, it is basically stored in Fact and Dimension tables.

  • Fact tables: The central table in a star schema of a data warehouse, a fact table stores quantitative information for analysis and is not normalized in most cases.
  • Dimension tables: It is just another table in the star schema that is used to store attributes and dimensions that describe objects stored in a fact table.

What is Row-level Security?

Row-level security restricts the data that a user can view and has access to, based on filters. For configuring row-level security, users can define rules and roles in Power BI Desktop and publish the same to Power BI Service. Also, the username() function can be used alongside table relationships to restrict the data to the current user.

However, for enabling row-level security, a Power BI Pro subscription account is required, and Excel sheets can only be used when they are converted to the .pbix file format.

What is DAX? What are the benefits of using variables in DAX?

DAX or Data Analysis Expressions can be used to query and return data by a table expression. It is a formula language that is used to perform basic calculations and data analysis on the data in Power Pivot. Also, it is used to compute calculated columns, calculated fields, and measures. However, data cannot be inserted or modified using DAX.

DAX Syntax:

Total Sales = SUM(Sales[SalesAmount])

Where ‘Total Sales’ is a ‘Measure’; ‘SUM’ is a ‘DAX Function’, and ‘Sales[SalesAmount]’ represents the referenced table and the referenced column name.

Benefits of using variables in DAX:

  • Variables can be reused in DAX queries, thus avoiding additional queries of the source database.
  • Variables make DAX expressions understandable.

How are relationships defined in Power BI Desktop?

If there are no null values or duplicate rows, relationships between tables can be defined in two ways:

  • Manually: Users can manually define relationships between tables using primary and foreign keys.
  • With the autodetect feature: When enabled, this inherent feature of Power BI detects relationships between tables and creates them automatically.

What do you know about Power BI Query Editor?

By using Power BI Query Editor, users can load data from a wider number of data sources and apply transformations on them, including adding new columns and measures.

Power BI Query Editor comprises four tabs:

Query Editor Tab Use Case
Home ·        Import data from Query Editor into the New Query group

·        Use the Parameter group to create and manage parameters

·        Include a function to refresh the preview data for the current table, or all tables, in the dataset

·        Manage columns, reduce rows, and sort groups

Transform ·        Change the data types of columns, rename columns, replace values, and fix errors in the Any Column group

·        Structured Column group provides options for working with the nested data

·        Run R Script function enables to run R Queries directly on Power BI Query Editor

Add Column ·        Use Add Custom Column to create a new column using a DAX formula

·        Use Conditional Column to add a column based on the values in another column

·        Use the From Number group to apply statistical, standard, and scientific functions to numerical columns

View ·        Show or hide Query Editor Settings

·        From here, the Advanced Editor window can be opened to view and edit the query code

What are the most common data shaping techniques?

The most common data shaping techniques are:

  • Removing Columns and Rows
  • Adding Indexes
  • Applying a Sort Order

. What is the difference between Calculated Columns, Calculated Tables, and Measures?

Calculated Columns Calculated Tables Measures
·        Added to tables by applying DAX formula on the existing data

·        DAX formula defines values in new columns rather than querying data sources

·        Useful when data sources do not contain data presented in the desired format

·        Created using DAX formula to define values

·        Created in both Report and Data views

·        Work well for intermediate calculations and the data that users want to be stored in the model

·        Use other DAX functions to create complex calculations

·        Used for highlighting running totals, comparing sales, sales forecasting, and other purposes

·        Created in both Report and Data views

 

Which In-memory Analytics Engine is used in Power Pivot?

The primary in-memory analytics engine behind Power Pivot is xVelocity. This engine handles large amounts of data as it stores data in columnar databases. In in-memory analytics, all data is loaded to RAM memory, and therefore processing speed is really fast.

Is it possible to refresh Power BI Reports after they are published to the cloud?

Yes, it is possible. Gateways can be used to do so.

  • For SharePoint: Data Management Gateway
  • For Powerbi.com: Power BI Personal Gateway

What gateways are available in Power BI and why use them?

A gateway basically acts as a bridge between on-premise data sources and Azure Cloud Services.

  • PersonalGateway: Data can be imported and valid on Power BI Service only. Also, this gateway can only be used by a single person.
  • On-premises Gateway: This gateway is the advanced form of Personal gateway. It supports Direct Query, and multiple users can use this for refreshing data.

How can geographic data be mapped into Power BI Reports?

Through map chart and filled map chart, Power BI makes it possible for users to visually map geographic data, both globally and regionally.

  • Power BI integrates with Bing Maps to find default coordinates for locations in a process known as geocoding.
  • This integration means that users do not need to provide longitude and latitude coordinates.

What happens when you click on a single data point in one of the multiple visuals in a report?

When we do that, data gets selected and copied to the clipboard. Further, the copied data can be pasted anywhere as per the requirement of the user.

What is a Power BI?

Power BI is a Business Intelligence and Data Visualization tool which helps you to convert data from the various data source into interactive dashboards and BI reports. It provides multiple software connectors and services.

Why use Power BI?

Here are four primary reasons for using Power BI tool:

  • Pre-built dashboards and reports for SaaS Solutions.
  • Power BI allows real-time dashboard updates.
  • Offers Secure and reliable connection to your data sources in the cloud or on-premises
  • Power BI offers fast deployment, hybrid configuration, and secure environment.
  • Helps you in data exploration using natural language query

What are the drawbacks of using Power BI?

Here, are the main drawbacks of Power BI:

  • Dashboards and reports only shared with users having identical email domains.
  • Power Bl does not mix imported data, which is accessed from real-time connections.
  • Power BI can’t accept file size larger than 1 GB.
  • Dashboard does not accept or pass user, account, or other entity parameters.

Name out three important Power BI tools

Three important power BI tool are:

  • Power BI Desktop—It is used for desktop computers
  • Power BI service—It is an online software as a service tool
  • Mobile Power BI apps—They are used for iOS and Android devices.

What are the important components of the Power BI toolkit, and what do they do?

  • Power Query: It allows you to discover, access, and consolidate information from different sources.
  • Power Pivot: A modeling tool.
  • Power View: It is a presentation tool for creating charts, tables, and more.
  • Power Map: Helps you to create geospatial representations of your data.
  • Power Q&A: Allows you to use natural language to get answers to questions.

What information is required to create a map in Power Map?

Power Map can display visualizations which are geographical in nature. That’s why some kind of location data is needed, for example, city, state, country or latitude and longitude.

What are the important features of Power BI dashboard?

  • It allows you to drill through the page, bookmarks, and selection pane.
  • It allows you to create various tiles like web content, images, textbox, and integrate URLs.
  • Allows you to set report layout to mobile view.

What are the steps to go to Data Stories Gallery in Power Bi communities?

Steps to go to Data Stories Gallery:

  • First, open PowerBI.com in a favorite browser.
  • By hovering on Learn
  • Click on Community
  • Scroll down little, and you will find Data Stories Gallery.
  • Anyone can submit her or his Data Story as well.

What is Power Pivot Data Model?

It is a model that contains data writes, tables, sections, and table relations. These data tables help you to develop for holding data for a business substance.

What is Power Query?

Power query is an ETL tool which helps you to clean, shape, and modify data utilizing instinctive interfaces without doing anything.

Which programming language is used in Power Query?

M-code is a new programming language that is used in power query. It is similar to other programming languages and easy to use.

List out benefits of using Variables in DAX.

Here, are benefits of using DAX function:

  • By declaring and evaluating a variable, the variable can be reused multiple times in a DAX expression, which helps you to avoid additional queries of the source database.
  • Variables can make DAX expressions more useful and logical.
  • Variables is only scoped, which should be measure or query which can’t be among measures.

Explain data source filter.

It is a parameter to filter the data into machines.

What is content packs?

These are pre-built solutions build for popular services as a major part of the Power BI experience.

What are the types of filters available in Power BI Reports?

Important filters of Power BI reports are:

  • Visual-level Filters
  • Page-level Filters
  • Report-level Filters

How to handle Many to Many relationships in Power BI?

You can use Crossfiltering option in Power BI to address the Many to Many relationships.

Explain x-velocity in memory.

It is the main engine which is used in power pivot. It allows you to load the large set of data into Power BI data.

Explain the term Custom Visuals.

Graphs or visual which are not included in Power BI desktop are imported for better visualization.

Is it possible to have created multiple active relationships in Power BI?

No, we can’t set multiple active relationships in Power BI.

Explain the term incremental refresh?

Increment refresh is a newly added data so that there is no need to truncate or load the entire data.

Is the Power BI tool available for free?

You can access Power BI for free. However, if you wish to use all the feature of Power BI, then you can use its pro subscription account. The subscription account offers an enhanced version of several features that are available with Power Bi free account.

What kind of data can you store in Power BI?

In Power BI, you can store mainly two types of data.

Fact Tables:

The central table in a star schema of a data warehouse is a fact table that stores quantitative information for analysis, which is not normalized in most cases.

Dimension Tables:

It is a table in the star schema which helps you to store attributes and dimensions which describe objects that are stored in a fact table.

Can you create multiple dynamic connections between two tables?

No, we can’t create more that one multiple dynamic connections.

What is the use of Power BI designer?

Power BI Designer allows users to create intuitive reports and dashboards, easily and quickly. It also helps users to change visual views of their data at fingertips for better analytics and informed decision-making.

Can you refresh Power BI reports after they are published to the cloud?

Yes, it is possible. Gateways can be used to do so.

  • For SharePoint: Data Management Gateway
  • For Powerbi.com: Power BI Personal Gateway

Why is TOP N not accessible for the Page and Report Level Filter?

ToP N is not accessible for the Page and Report Level Filters because their channels are associated with different visuals.

Explain the collect function.

Collect function excludes null value. It does aggregate spatial values. You can’t transform data to another format.

Explain z-order in Power BI?

Z-order is a design strategy which is used for arranging visual over shapes. It can be defined as an implementation method which can be applied whenever reports have multiple elements.

What is the only prerequisite for connecting to a database in Azure SQL Database?

The only prerequisite for before connecting to a database is that the user need to configure firewall setting to allows remote connections.

Name widely recognized information forming systems.

The most widely recognized information forming systems are:

  • Removing columns and rows
  • Adding indexes
  • Applying for a sort order

What happens by clicking on a single information point in one of the various visual in a report?

When you click on single information point data gets select and copied to the clipboard. Moreover, the copied data can be pasted in any place according to your requirement.

What does DATENAME function do?

DATENAME function shows the name of the specific part of the date that is given.

What is the DATEPART function?

It returns date function as an integer. However, DATENAME function does the same thing, except it returns the name of the part of the date.

What does DATEDIFF function do?

This function gives a difference between 2 dates based on the specified Date part.

What is the use of MID function?

MID function returns the string character from the specified index position.

How can you apply percentile function in Power BI?

PERCENTILE function allows you to returns the data value of the specific percentile number.

What is the SIGN function?

Sign function returns the direction of the values. If it returns 1, if positive then 1, if 0 then 0.

What is the use of statewith function?

This function returns the logical answers TRUE if the sub-string is the starting string for the superstring. If it is not, it will return false.

Data Category settings should be used for mapping information to geographic areas in Power BI?

Scope and Longitude (e.g. 47.6080, – 122.3351)

What do you use as a consolidate inquiry in Power BI?

Join Queries are used as a consolidate inquiries in Power BI

What is the option to unpivot data in the question proofreader?

Unpivot line is a choice to unpivot any data in the question proofreader.

What is the M dialect capacity to sort a segment in inquiry supervisor?

The command for this purpose is Sort-> Table

Which Power in BI visual is ideal for estimating execution against an objective?

Projectile Power Bi visual is most fitting for this purpose.

What context style is allowed by Power BI DAX?

Power BI DAX content style is both Row and Filter.

What is Power BI DAX style?

It is both Row and Filter Context

How can I purchase Power BI suite?

You can purchase Power BI licenses version directly from their website www.powerbi.com.

 

What are the Different Components in Power BI?

These are various Power BI components

  1. Power BI Service:
    • Power BI Desktop
    • Power BI Services
    • Power BI Mobile
    • Power BI Gateway
    • Power BI Premium
    • Power BI Report Server
    • Power BI Embedded
  2. Power Pivot
  3. Power Query
  4. Power Map
  5. Power View
  6. Data Management Gateway
  7. Data Catalog
  8. Power BI Q&A

What is the Differentiate between Power BI and Power BI Pro?

 Power BI offers distinct kinds of features to help you get started in searching for data in a completely new way.  Power BI Pro, on the other hand, caters with some additional features like scheduling data, live data sources, storage capacity, along with complete interactivity and much more.

Define Excel BI Toolkit?

 Excel BI Toolkit allows users for creating an interactive report with importing data from a distinct range of sources and model data according to requirement.

What is the Cost of Power BI?

 Both Power BI Desktop and Power BI are free of cost. For Power BI Pro, users have to pay $9.99 per month after a 60-day free trial.

What are the basics needed for using Power BI?

  • To use Power BI, you need to have a  web browser and a work email address.
  • work email addresses finishing in .mil and .gov are not supported currently.

What is the need of signing up with work email?

 Power BI does not email addresses provided by telecommunications providers and consumer email services, thus there is a need of signing up with work email.

Is there any support by Power BI available for mobile devices?

 Yes, Power BI supports mobile devices. It consists of apps for iOS devices, Windows 10 devices, and Android smartphones. You can install Power BI apps from the below app stores:

  • Google Play
  • Apple Store
  • Windows Store

What are the building blocks in Power BI?

 The building blocks of Power BI are,

  • Visualizations
  • Data Sets
  • Reports
  • Dashboard
  • Tiles

What is Power Pivot and what are the filter writes in Power BI?

 Power Pivot is an in-memory component that enables storing compressed data. It is used to build data models, relationships, creating formulas, calculated columns from different resources.

Filters are applicable in:

  • Visualization level
  • Report Level
  • Page-Level

What data sources can Power BI connect to?

 The following data sources that support Direct Query in Power BI are as follows:

  • Amazon Redshift
  • Azure Data Explorer
  • AtScale (Beta)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure HDInsight Spark
  • Google BigQuery
  • Azure SQL Data Warehouse
  • HDInsight Interactive Query

Does Power BI store data?

 Datasets are the data sources that are uploaded or connected to databases. These sources include Excel workbooks and Power BI Desktop files. The following are also included in your data capacity. Reporting Services on-premises visualizations are pinned to a Power BI dashboard.

What must be installed to use Power BI?

 To use the Power BI service for free, you need a work email and a web browser. With this, you can explore data as well as create reports in Power BI Desktop. The mobile app can be downloaded from the following stores:

Google Play, App Store and Windows Store.

How one can get started with Power BI?

 There are some resources to get assistance and get started with Power BI. They are as follows:

  • Webinars
  • Power BI Blog
  • You can get started with an article on Power BI
  • You can get started with a video on YouTube
  • Last but not least, joining a related community and get answered

What is a Dashboard?

 The dashboard is used to visualize the strategic data of one or multiple reports in a glance.

What is the difference Between SUM() and SUMX()?

 Sum function (Sum()) takes the data columns and aggregates it totally but SumX function (SumX()) lets you filter the data which you are adding.

What are the data destinations for Power Queries?

  • There are two destinations for output we get from power query:
  • Load to a table in a worksheet
  • Load to the Excel Data Model

What is the data source filter?

 A data source filter is a parameter of data filtering before loading into machines.

What are the Different Products in the PowerBI family?

 Below are different Power BI services/products:

  • Power BI Desktop
  • Power BI Services
  • Power BI Mobile
  • Power BI Gateway
  • Power BI Premium
  • Power BI Report Server
  • Power BI Embedded

What is Power View?

 Power View is a data visualization technology, which lets you create interactive graphs, charts, maps and other visuals to bring life to your data. It is available in Excel, SQL Server, SharePoint, and Power BI.

Which language is used in Power Query?

 A new programming language is used in a power query called M-Code. It is easy to use and similar to other languages. M-code is case sensitive language.

Which datasets are used to create a dashboard with streaming data tiles?

 Streaming datasets (we need to have data which is cached in memory before we use streaming data sets)

Hybrid Datasets

Describe DAX.

 DAX stands for Data Analysis Expressions. It is a collection of operators, functions, and constants used to calculate in formulas and return values. In other words, it helps you create new info from data you already have.

How is data security implemented in Power BI?

 Power BI applies models with Row Level Security.

  • Dynamix security involves using USERNAME functions in definitions.
  • A DAX expression can be applied on tables filtering their rows at query time.
  • A table is typically created in the model that relates to specific dimensions and roles.

What is the procedure to buy Power BI Pro?

 Power BI license can be purchased at powerbi.com. However, you can also get assistance from Microsoft partners to aid using Power BI implementation.

Is the Power BI service accessible on-premises?

 The user cannot avail the service as an internal or private cloud service. However, with Power BI and Power BI Desktop, the user can connect to their on-premise data sources securely.

Explain the Power Pivot Data Model.

 It is a model that is made up of data types, tables, columns, and table relations. The data tables are generally constructed to hold data for a business entity.

Define Power Query.

 Power Query is an ETL tool to clean, shape, and transform data without any code using intuitive interfaces. With this:

You can import data from various sources like to databases from files

Append and join data from a wide range of sources

You can shape data as needed by adding and removing it

Is there any process for refreshing Power BI reports one uploaded to the cloud?

 Of course, Power Bi reports can be refreshed with Data Management Gateway and Power BI Personal Gateway.

What is the major difference between Power BI personal Gateway and Data Management Gateway?

 Power BI Personal Gateway is used for reports that are deployed in Powerbi.com. Data management, on the other hand, is an app installed the gateway on source data machines to deploy reports on Sharepoint and schedule to refresh automatically.

Differentiate between older and newer Power BI.

 There is a new design tool that is used in the new Power BI called Power BI Desktop. It is a standalone designer, including Power Pivot, Power View and Power Query in the back end. Whereas, Older Power BI consists of excel add-ins. In the newer Power BI version, there are several graphs available including treemap, line area chart, waterfall, combo chart, etc.

Is it possible in the power pivot data model to have more than one active relationship between two tables?

 No, it is not possible. There cannot be more than one active relationship in the power pivot data model between two tables. It is possible to have only one active and many inactive relationships.

What are the general data shaping techniques?

 The common data shaping techniques are:

  • Removing Columns and Rows
  • Adding Indexes
  • Applying for a Sort Order

Which data sets can be used to create dashboards with streaming data tiles?

  • Streaming datasets
  • Hybrid Datasets

State the advantages of the Direct query method.

 The advantages of Direct query method are listed as follows:

User can build huge data sets data visualizations using the Direct Query Method, but Power BI desktop supports data visualizations on smaller sets alone. There is no limit to the dataset for direct query method and a 1GB dataset limit is not applicable in this method.

What are the three main tabs in Reports development Window?

 The major tabs in Reports development Window are as follows:

  • Relationship tab
  • Data Modeling Tab
  • Report Tab

What is the major difference between a Filter and Slicer?

 Using Normal filters users were not allowed to interact with dashboards or reports, but using slicers we can interact with dashboards and reports.

What is meant by Gateway and what are its different types?

 The Gateway acts as an extension between azure cloud administration and on-premise data source. There are two major types of Gateways listed as follows:

  • Individual Gateway
  • On-Premise Gateway

What is the Embed Code?

 There is an option in Power BI service, which publishes to the web to generate a link address for the Power BI report and can be shared across clients.

How do you Hide and Unhide a Specific Report in Power BI?

 In the menu bar, choose Selection pane and hide/unhide the report and the action to pass to bookmark.

What is z-order in Power BI?

 Z-order is a design strategy used to arrange visuals over shapes. It can also be defined as a method applied to implement when reports consist of multiple elements. Moreover, this can also be used to refresh the display when the order of items in a report is changed.

Can we Refresh Data Reports that are uploaded to the Cloud?

 Yes, you can refresh the data reports which are uploaded to the cloud. Power BI personal gateway and Data management gateway helps you acquire the same.

How to Toggle Between Two Option and Make it Interact with the rest of the Visualizations in a Report?

 Toggling is an action that is achieved in Power BI reports when there exist two or more dimensions. With “Enlighten Slicer”, you can show this in Power BI and can be imported from Marketplace.

How can You Change the Value Measure to Show Multiple Measures Dynamically?

 You can dynamically change and switch functions to show multiple measures using harvesting measures.

What does rank() do?

 Rank() calculates regular competition rank thus returning identical values. You can ask for ascending or descending values in the second argument accordingly.

How do I Prepare for a Power BI Interview?

 The main aspect to learn before attending any PowerBi interview is “how the data representation and general business intelligence is going to work!”

Is Business Intelligence a Good Career?

 One of the great reasons for choosing a career in BI is the on-demand outlook. According to a report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for expert BI managers and analysts expected to soar to 14% by 2026, with the overall need for data professionals to climb to 28% by 2020.

Is Power BI better than Tableau?

 Both Tableau and Power BI allow the user to connect to distinct data sources. However, Tableau provides better support to connect to a different data warehouse, and Power BI is heavily integrated with Microsoft’s portfolio like the Azure cloud platform.

Is Power BI free to Use?

 Users can use Power BI for free. However, the Power BI Pro subscription avails more from Microsoft Store. The subscription offers an enhanced version of various features available with the free Power BI account. Most business users use the subscribed account as it offers more data refreshers per day and other features as compared to the free version.

What are the essential applications of the Power BI?

 Power BI is mainly used by:

  • PMO – Project Management Office
  • Developer & Database Administrator
  • Business & Data Analyst
  • IT Team, IT Professional
  • Data Scientist
  • Consumer for End User Report

Is Power BI better than Excel?

 Power BI is a more powerful tool compared to Microsoft Excel. Power BI is easy to use and is much more flexible while Microsoft Excel is not so handy to use. Power BI is mostly used for data visualization and dashboard sharing to a large number of users while Microsoft Excel is mostly used for in-depth driver analysis.

How do you answer behavioral interview questions?

 These can be answered in four simple steps as follows:

Step 1: Situation. Describe the situation or set the scene

Step 2: Task. Describe the issue or problem you were confronted with

Step 3: Action

Step 4: Results

Give the difference between Power BI vs Tableau.

Here are key differences between Power BI vs Tableau

Feature Power BI Tableau
Data visualization Focuses only on modeling and reporting Best tool
Cost Less expensive Very expensive since it uses data warehousing
Machine Learning It is associated with Microsoft Azure. It has python Machine learning.
User Interface Simple and easy to use Use a customized dashboard
Data handling It drags down slow when handling huge data Handles bulk data

 

What are the different versions of Power BI available?

The complete package of Power BI comprises a variety of tools, which in turn facilitates flexibility of use. In that regard, enterprises may choose to use only the version of Power BI that seems the most relevant to their use. Three of the most popularly available versions are :

  • Power BI for Desktop – As can be understood from the name, this version is best suited for those using Windows 10 and higher configurations of desktop operating systems.
  • Power BI Service -This version is helpful to launch and share the data reports through the cloud.
  • Power BI for mobile – As explained from the name, this version is best for use on mobile phones.

What are the different data filters available in Power BI?

The data loaded on Power BI may be filtered through the three prominent filters.

  • Drillthrough Filters – Through this filter, users are able to create a specific page in their reports, which emphasize on a particular entity.
  • Page-level Filters – Page-level Filters enable users to filter out specific information in particular pages.
  • Report level filters – This filter assists in filtering out particular data in the entire report.

How does Power BI store data?

Once data is loaded in Power BI, it is stored in two forms of tables.

  • Fact Tables – This is the storehouse of quantitative data. On most occasions, these aren’t normalized.
  • Dimension Tables – These stores more qualitative information. They contain the attributes and dimensions of the data in the fact tables.

What do you mean by DAX? How does using variables benefit DAX?

Data Analysis Expressions or DAX essentially define measures that are used to make calculations in Power BI. It is helpful for querying and returning data by table expression. As a formula language, DAX performs data calculations and analysis. Alongside measures, DAX also computes data and fields.

Using variables can make DAX work smoothly. Not only can variables be reused in the Query Editor, but it also helps in avoiding any additional queries in the source databases. It is with the help of variables that we can understand the DAX expressions.

What do you mean by Power BI service?

Power BI service is what makes Power BI accessible to the users. It is a cloud-based portal through which the Power BI content can be shared. Most of the Power BI service features are free for use at PowerBI.com. However, more exclusive and accentuated features for organization-level sharing of content can be availed through Power BI Premium Licensing or Power BI Pro.

Can Power BI be used on mobiles?

While both the Power BI service and Power BI report server can be accessed through any browser both on desktop or on mobiles, there are mobile-optimized Power BI apps available as well.

There are Power BI apps compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS devices, which enable users to connect to Power BI service as well as Power BI report server on their smartphones and even tablets and iPads.

Describe the Gather function of the Power BI process

The Gather function in Power BI collects and transforms data. As with the case of Query Editor, the data is gathered using the Gather function from multiple sources and stored in a single location. This facilitates smooth and prompt data analysis.

Following the collection, the data is transformed, which necessarily entails the removal of errors and any inconsistency. The end product of this process is clean data, which is aligned with the rest of the data stores in Power BI.

What role does the Store Function perform in Power BI?

Once the data is gathered, it is stored in a single location. This store is interchangeably referred to as “data warehouse or data mart.” There is, however, a slight difference between the scope of the two. While a data warehouse accumulates data from any part of the organization, data mart only incorporates data from a particular area or department of the organization.

The Store function saves the data in formats that allow for fast retrieval and analysis. It also aggregates numerous individual data transactions for determining particular outputs. The Store functions help in optimizing the data for online analytical processing (OLAP.

Describe the Model Function in Power BI

The Model function increments the role of the Store function. It mainly serves two purposes. It presents the queried data to the users in a visual and comprehensible form without any tables or field names.

Secondly, it securely stores internal formulas to perform business calculations in a single location. This eliminates the need to re-create the calculations every time a need arises. They can simply be pulled out using the model function.

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a cloud-based data sharing environment. Once you have developed reports using Power Query, Power Pivot and Power View, you can share your insights with your colleagues. This is where Power BI enters the equation. Power BI, which technically is an aspect of SharePoint online, lets you load Excel workbooks into the cloud and share them with a chosen group of co-workers. Not only that, but your colleagues can interact with your reports to apply filters and slicers to highlight data. They are completed by Power BI, a simple way of sharing your analysis and insights from the Microsoft cloud.

Power BI features allow you to:

  • Share presentations and queries with your colleagues.
  • Update your Excel file from data sources that can be on-site or in the cloud.
  • Display the output on multiple devices. This includes PCs, tablets, and HTML 5-enabled mobile devices that use the Power BI app.
  • Query your data using natural language processing (or Q&A, as it is known.

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What are the different types of filters in Power BI Reports?

 Power BI provides variety of option to filter report, data and visualization. The following are the list of Filter types.

  • Visual-level Filters: These filters work on only an individual visualization, reducing the amount of data that the visualization can see. Moreover, visual-level filters can filter both data and calculations.
  • Page-level Filters: These filters work at the report-page level. Different pages in the same report can have different page-level filters.
  • Report-level Filters: There filters work on the entire report, filtering all pages and visualizations included in the report.

We know that Power BI visual have interactions feature, which makes filtering a report a breeze. Visual interactions are useful, but they come with some limitations:

  • The filter is not saved as part of the report. Whenever you open a report, you can begin to play with visual filters but there is no way to store the filter in the saved report.
  • The filter is always visible. Sometimes you want a filter for the entire report, but you do not want any visual indication of the filter being applied.

What are the most common DAX Functions used?

Below are some of the most commonly used DAX function:

  • SUM, MIN, MAX, AVG, COUNTROWS, DISTINCTCOUNT
  • IF, AND, OR, SWITCH
  • ISBLANK, ISFILTERED, ISCROSSFILTERED
  • VALUES, ALL, FILTER, CALCULATE,
  • UNION, INTERSECT, EXCEPT, NATURALINNERJOIN, NATURALLEFTEROUTERJOIN,
    SUMMARIZECOLUMNS, ISEMPTY,
  • VAR (Variables)
  • GEOMEAN, MEDIAN, DATEDIFF

How is the FILTER function used?

The FILTER function returns a table with a filter condition applied for each of its source table rows. The FILTER function is rarely used in isolation, it’s generally used as a parameter to other functions such as CALCULATE.

  • FILTER is an iterator and thus can negatively impact performance over large source tables.
  • Complex filtering logic can be applied such as referencing a measure in a filter expression.
    • FILTER(MyTable,[SalesMetric] > 500)

What are some benefits of using Variables in DAX ?

Below are some of the benefits:

  • By declaring and evaluating a variable, the variable can be reused multiple times in a DAX expression, thus avoiding additional queries of the source database.
  • Variables can make DAX expressions more intuitive/logical to interpret.
  • Variables are only scoped to their measure or query, they cannot be shared among measures, queries or be defined at the model level.

Can we have more than one active relationship between two tables in data model of power pivot?

No, we cannot have more than one active relationship between two tables. However, can have more than one relationship between two tables but there will be only one active relationship and many inactive relationship. The dotted lines are inactive and continuous line are active.

What is Power Query?

 Power query is a ETL Tool used to shape, clean and transform data using intuitive interfaces without having to use coding. It helps the user to:

  • Import Data from wide range of sources from files, databases, big data, social media data, etc.
  • Join and append data from multiple data sources.
    • Shape data as per requirement by removing and adding data.

What are the data destinations for Power Queries?

 There are two destinations for output we get from power query:

  1. Load to a table in a worksheet.
  2. Load to the Excel Data Model.

Can SQL and Power Query/Query Editor be used together?

Yes, a SQL statement can be defined as the source of a Power Query/M function for additional processing/logic. This would be a good practice to ensure that an efficient database query is passed to the source and avoid unnecessary processing and complexity
by the client machine and M function.

What are query parameters and Power BI templates?

Query parameters can be used to provide users of a local Power BI Desktop report with a prompt, to specify the values they’re interested in.

  • The parameter selection can then be used by the query and calculations.
  • PBIX files can be exported as Templates (PBIT files.
  • Templates contain everything in the PBIX except the data itself.

Parameters and templates can make it possible to share/email smaller template files and limit the amount of data loaded into the local PBIX files, improving processing time and experience .

Which language is used in Power Query?

 A new programming language is used in power query called M-Code. It is easy to use and similar to other languages. M-code is case sensitive language.

Why do we need Power Query when Power Pivot can import data from mostly used sources?

Power Query is a self-service ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool which runs as an Excel add-in. It allows users to pull data from various sources, manipulate said data into a form that suits their needs and load it into Excel. It is most optimum to use Power Query over Power Pivot as it lets you not only load the data but also manipulate it as per the users needs while loading.

What are the data sources for Power Map?

 The data can either be present in Excel or could be present externally. To prepare your data, make sure all of the data is in Excel table format, where each row represents a unique record. Your column headings or row headings should contain text instead of actual data, so that Power Map will interpret it correctly when it plots the geographic coordinates. Using meaningful labels also makes value and category fields available to you when you design your tour in the Power Map Tour Editor pane.

To use a table structure which more accurately represents time and geography inside Power Map, include all of the data in the table rows and use descriptive text labels in the column headings, like this:

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In case you wish to load your data from an external source:

  1. In Excel, click Data > the connection you want in the Get External Data group.
  2. Follow the steps in the wizard that starts.
  3. On the last step of the wizard, make sure Add this data to the Data Model is checked.

What is Power View?

 Power View is a data visualization technology that lets you create interactive charts, graphs, maps, and other visuals which bring your data to life. Power View is available in Excel, SharePoint, SQL Server, and Power BI.

The following pages provide details about different visualizations available in Power View:

  • Charts
  • Line charts
  • Pie charts
  • Maps
  • Tiles
  • Cards
  • Images
  • Tables
  • Power View
  • Multiples Visualizations
  • Bubble and scatter charts
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Is Power BI available on-premises?

No, Power BI is not available as a private, internal cloud service. However, with Power BI and Power BI Desktop, you can securely connect to your own on-premises data sources. With the On-premises Data Gateway, you can connect live to your on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services, and other data sources. You can also schedule refresh with a centralized gateway. If a gateway is not available, you can refresh data from on-premises data sources using the Power BI Gateway – Personal.

What is data management gateway and Power BI personal gateway?

 Gateway acts a bridge between on-premises data sources and Azure cloud services.

Personal Gateway:

  • Import Only, Power BI Service Only, No central monitoring/managing.
  • Can only be used by one person (personal); can’t allow others to use this gateway.

On-Premises Gateway:

  • Import and Direct Query supported.
  • Multiple users of the gateway for developing content.
  • Central monitoring and control.

What is a calculated column in Power BI and why would you use them?

Calculated Columns are DAX expressions that are computed during the model’s processing/refresh process for each row of the given column and can be used like any other column in the model.
Calculated columns are not compressed and thus consume more memory and result in reduced query performance. They can also reduce processing/refresh performance if applied on large fact tables and can make a model more difficult to maintain/support given
that the calculated column is not present in the source system.

How is data security implemented in Power BI?

Power BI can apply Row Level Security roles to models.

  • A DAX expression is applied on a table filtering its rows at query time.
  • Dynamic security involves the use of USERNAME functions in security role definitions.
  • Typically, a table is created in the model that relates users to specific dimensions and a role.

What are many-to-many relationships and how can they be addressed in Power BI?

Many to Many relationships involve a bridge or junction table reflecting the combinations of two dimensions (e.g. doctors and patients. Either all possible combinations or those combinations that have occurred.

  • Bi-Directional Cross filtering relationships can be used in PBIX.
  • CROSSFILTER function can be used in Power Pivot for Excel.
  • DAX can be used per metric to check and optionally modify the filter context.

Why might you have a table in the model without any relationships to other tables?

There are mainly 2 reasons why we would have tables without relations in our model:

  • A disconnected table might be used to present the user with parameter values to be exposed and selected in slicers (e.g. growth assumption.)
    • DAX metrics could retrieve this selection and use it with other calculations/metrics.
  • A disconnected table may also be used as a placeholder for metrics in the user interface.
    • It may not contain any rows of data and its columns could be hidden but all metrics are visible.

What are the three Edit Interactions options of a visual tile in Power BI Desktop?

The 3 edit interaction options are  Filter, Highlight, and None.

Filter: It completely filter a visual/tile based on the filter selection of another visual/tile.

Highlight: It highlight only the related elements on the visual/tile, gray out the non-related items.

None: It ignore the filter selection from another tile/visual.

How does SSRS integrate with Power BI?

Below are some of the way through which SSRS can be integrated with Power BI:

  • Certain SSRS Report items such as charts can be pinned to Power BI dashboards.
  • Clicking the tile in Power BI dashboards will bring the user to the SSRS report.
  • A subscription is created to keep the dashboard tile refreshed.
  • Power BI reports will soon be able to be published to SSRS portal

What is the format available in Power BI?

  • Power BI Desktop—for desktop computers
  • Power BI service—an online SaaS (software as a service)
  • Mobile Power BI apps—for iOS and Android devices

All of these can be used in conjunction. For example, you might create a report on your desktop, and then publish and share it online so that colleagues on mobile devices can read it.

What are the main components of the Power BI toolkit, and what do they do?

  • Power Query: lets you discover, access, and consolidate info from different sources
  • Power Pivot: a modeling tool
  • Power View: a presentation tool for creating charts, tables, and more
  • Power Map: lets you create geospatial representations of your data
  • Power Q&A: lets you use natural language to get answers to questions; for example, “What were the total sales last week?”

What is a content pack, and why would you use one?

A content pack is a ready-made, predefined collection of visualizations and reports using your chosen service (for example, Salesforce. You’d use one when you want to get up and running quickly, instead of creating a report from scratch.

What are the three fundamental concepts of DAX?

  • Syntax

This is how the formula is written—that is, the elements that comprise it. The Syntax includes functions such as SUM (used when you want to add figures. If the syntax isn’t correct, you’ll get an error message.

  • Functions

These are formulas that use specific values (also known as arguments) in a certain order to perform a calculation, similar to the functions in Excel. The categories of functions are date/time, time intelligence, information, logical, mathematical, statistical, text, parent/child, and others.

  • Context

There are two types: row context and filter context. Whenever a formula has a function that applies filters to identify a single row in a table, row context comes into play. When one or more filters are applied in a calculation that determines a result or value, the filter context comes into play.

What are the categories of data types?

  • All
  • File
  • Database
  • Power BI
  • Azure
  • Online Services
  • Other

Name some commonly used tasks in the Query Editor.

  • Connect to data
  • Shape and combine data
  • Group rows
  • Pivot columns
  • Create custom columns
  • Query formulas

What is grouping, and how would you use it?

Power BI Desktop groups the data in your visuals into chunks. You can, however, define your own groups and bins. For grouping, use Ctrl + click to select multiple elements in the visual. Right-click one of those elements and, from the menu that appears, choose Group. In the Groups window, you can create new groups or modify existing ones.

Explain the term “M language”.

This is the programming language used in Power Query. It’s a functional, case-sensitive language that’s similar to other programming languages and easy to use.

What are the differences between visual-level filters, page-level filters, and report-level filters?

Visual-level filters filter data within a single visualization. Page-level filters work on an entire page in a report, and different pages can have different filters. Report-level filters filter all the visualizations and pages in the report.

How does the Schedule Refresh feature work?

You can configure an automatic refreshing of data daily or weekly, and at different times. You can schedule only one refresh maximum daily unless you have Power BI Pro. In the Schedule Refresh section, simply use the pulldown menu choices to select a frequency, time zone, and time of day.

What is the difference between Managed Enterprise BI and Self-service BI?

The limitations of Managed Enterprise BI led to the birth of Self-service BI. There are significant differences that separate them.

Managed Enterprise BI Self-service BI
Here, data flows in from a plethora of sources and, for this reason, there is no order in which companies ingest and manage their data sources. This enables companies to ingest data from any data source, seamlessly. Companies take in data from any source in any format.
Companies fail to conduct their business operations, effectively, as they are not able to report and analyze data and collaborate for collecting valuable insights from it. With data ingestion falling into order, companies are able to process data and, consequently, conduct business operations with ease.
There are time constraints and a lack of proper information when it comes to analyzing data. Analyzing data is easy, and it is done implicitly. Time constraints are hence alleviated.
Third-party vendors are employed to help companies make the most out of their data sources, leading to budget problems and slow productivity. There is no need of third-party vendors anymore and all associated constraints are eradicated.
Complex programming skills are necessary for generating reports. Users could generate intuitive and actionable dashboards almost instantaneously without executing complex programming codes.

Mention the important features of Power BI.

Features of Power BI are many. The most notable ones are:

  • It allows users to transform data into visuals and share those visuals with colleagues.
  • It allows users to explore and analyze data from all sources (in an all-in-one view.
  • It allows users to scale across organizations with built-in governance and security.
  • Once an output is generated, users can display the same in multiple devices that are compatible with the Power BI application.
  • With Power BI natural language processing or Power BI Q&A, users can perform queries on reports using simple English words.

Is Power BI free to use?

Well, users can use Power BI for free. However, the best of Power BI can be availed with the Power BI Pro subscription account. This can be purchased from the Microsoft Store. The subscription account basically offers an enhanced version of several features that are available with the Power BI free account. Most business users use a subscribed account as it offers more data refreshes per day and other features as compared to the free version.

What are the major components of Power BI?

There are five different components of Power BI.

  • Power Pivot: Fetches and cleans data and loads on to Power Query
  • Power Query: Operates on the loaded data
  • Power Q&A: Makes it possible for users to interact with reports using simple English language
  • Power View: Lets users create interactive charts, graphs, maps, and other visuals
  • Power Map: Enables the processing of accurate geographic locations in datasets

What is the purpose of the ‘Get Data’ icon in Power BI?

When users click on the Get Data icon in Power BI, a drop-down menu appears and it shows all data sources from which data can be ingested.

Data can actually be directly ingested from any source including files in Excel, CSV, XML, JSON, PDF, and SharePoint formats and databases such as SQL, Access, SQL Server Analysis Services, Oracle, IBM, MySQL, and much more. Also, Power BI datasets and Power BI data flows are compatible. Data can also be taken in from Azure and other online sources.

What are Content Packs?

Content packs are packaged reports, dashboards, and datasets, which can be shared with other Power BI users in the organization. When a content pack is connected on the Powerbi.com portal, report items are merged into workspace lists.

The most notable features of content packs are as follows:

  • Provide access to specific groups or entire organizations
  • Can be customized with a title and a description to help users select the right pack
  • Users who have access to the content pack can create new dashboards from the contents

What are the different views in Power BI Desktop?

There are three different views in Power BI, each of which serves a different purpose:

  • Report View: Users can add visualizations and additional report pages and publish the same on the portal from here.
  • Data View: Data shaping can be performed through Query Editor tools.
  • Relationship View: Users can manage relationships between datasets in this view.

What is Bidirectional Cross-filtering in Power BI?

Bidirectional cross-filtering in Power BI Desktop allows data modelers to determine how they want filters to flow for data using relationships between tables. With bidirectional cross-filtering, the filter context is propagated to a second related table on the other side of a table relationship. This can help data modelers solve the many-to-many problem without writing complicated DAX formulas. Thus, bidirectional cross-filtering simplifies the job for data modelers.

What is Advanced Editor in Power BI?

Advanced Editor can be used to see the query that Power BI runs against data sources to import data.

  • The query is written in M-code, the Power Query Formula Language
  • To view the query code from Power BI Desktop, choose Edit Queriesfrom the Home tab
  • From either the Home or the View tab, click on Advanced Editorto work on the query. The Advanced Editor window opens, displaying the code for the currently selected query
  • When we make transformations to our data in Query Editor, the steps are saved to the Applied Steps in the Query Settings
  • These steps are also applied to the code in the Advanced Editor

Why should General Formatting be applied to data in Power BI?

By formatting data, users can help Power BI categorize and identify data, making it much easier to work with.

  • Enter a custom formula to create a new column, including calculations using values from the other columns
  • To create a new column, click on Add Custom Column
  • In the new column name box, type the name of the column and add the formula to the custom column formula box; for example, [ShipDate] – [OrderDate]
  • Select a column from the available columns list and click on Insert or double-click to add it to the custom column formula text box. Then, click on OK
  • The new column is appended to the table, and the formula is visible in the Formula Bar

Custom Column Formula:

= Table.AddColumn(#”Sorted Rows”,

“DaysOrderToShip”, each [ShipDate] –

[OrderDate])

The above code is the formula to create a custom column, which calculates the days from when an order was placed to when it got shipped.

What is Power BI Designer?

A powerful and flexible new tool under Power BI umbrella, Power BI Designer empowers users to create intuitive reports and dashboards, easily and quickly, and also lets users change visual views of their data at fingertips for better analytics and informed decision-making. This designer is a host of drag-and-drop capabilities that help users place content exactly where they want it on the report canvas in a well-structured layout.

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What is z-order in Power BI?

Z-order is a design strategy that is used for arranging visuals over shapes. Also, z-order can be defined as an implementation method that can be applied when reports have multiple elements. Further, this can also be used to refresh the display after the order of items in a report is changed.

What is the prerequisite for connecting to a database in Azure SQL Database?

There is only one prerequisite for this. Before connecting to a database in Azure SQL Database, users should configure firewall settings to allow remote connections.

What is BI?

Business intelligence is a technology-driven method. It helps you to analyze data and to provide actionable information which helps corporate executives, business managers, and other users to take decisive business decisions.

What are the important components of Power BI?

Important components of Power BI are: 1) Data Integration, 2) Data Processing, and 3) Data Presentation

What is Dax Function?

It is a formula expression language called (DAX) that can be used with various visualization tools like Power BI. It is also known as a functional language, where the full code is kept inside a function.

What are the data types of Dax?

Data types of Dax are: 1) Numeric, 2) Boolean, 3) DateTime, 4) String, and 5) Decimal.

What are the essential applications of the Power BI?

Power BI is mainly used by:

  • PMO – Project Management Office
  • Business & Data Analyst
  • Developer & Database Administrator
  • IT Team, IT Professional
  • Consumer for End User Report
  • Data Scientist

What types of data types are available in Power BI?

Important Data sources used in Power BI Desktop are:

  • All
  • File
  • Database
  • Power BI
  • Azure
  • Online Services
  • Other

What is grouping? How can you use it?

Power BI Desktop allows you to group the data into small chunks. For grouping, you should use Ctrl + click to select multiple elements in the visual. Right-click one of those elements which appear in groups window.

Explain the term responsive slicers.

On a report page, you can easily resize a responsive slicer to various sizes and shapes, and the data contained in it should be rearranged according to it. In case if the visual becomes too small to be useful, an icon representing the visual ability to take its place, thus saving the space on the report page.

Define the term ‘M language.”

It is a programming language used in Power Query. It’s a functional, case-sensitive language which is similar to other programming languages and easy to use.

Where incremental licensing refresh feature is accessible?

Incremental refresh feature mainly used for high-end scalability of data by publishing only on that workspace in Power BI Service where Premium capacity is needed.

How can you analyze Power BI reports data in excel?

You need to follow the below-given steps:

  • Open Power BI Admin portal, go to tenant settings and select -> Analyze.
  • Check that Power BI Administrator has enabled Excel option or not.
  • Then at the upper right corner, click settings to download and install Excel updates.
  • Next, go to the left-hand side navigation pane, go to the workspace, click on the dataset, click on Eclipses (three dots) and select Analyze in Excel.
  • Download ODC file, save, and double click on it.
  • After that needs to provide power BI user id and password.

What is Power Pivot, and what are the filter writes in Power BI?

Power Pivot is an in-memory component which offers highly compressed data storage. It helps you to build a data model, creating formulas, relationship, calculated columns from various resources.

Filters are applicable in:

  • Visualization level
  • Page Level
  • Report Level

How can you perform Dynamic filtering in Power BI?

Dynamic Filtering in Power BI is done using the following steps:

  • Once all the data are set up, publish a detail report to Power BI.
  • Publish it to group workspace.
  • Create a filter link
  • Create a DAX calculated column.
  • Public overview report

What are Tiles in Power BI?

Tile is an important feature of power BI services and can be said as a picture of the data which can be pinned to the dashboard.

What is on-premise gateway?

On-premise gateway acts as a bridge which helps you to transfer the data, which is on-premise (not on the cloud) safely and securely.

Name two types of connectivity modes in Power BI?

Two types of connectivity modes used in Power BI are:

  • Import
  • Direct Query

Explain the term data alerts.

Alert works on data that is refreshed, Power BI looks for an alert, and it reaches the alert threshold or the limit then the alter will be triggered.

What is the calculated column?

It is a calculating expression of DAX which allows calculation on data stored in a new column.

What is query collapsing?

The process of converting the steps in power query editor to SQL and executing it by the source database is called query collapsing.

What is Bookmark?

Bookmark in Power BI helps you to capture the configured view of a report page in a specific time. This includes filter and state of visual which can use a short cut to come back to the report that you can add as a bookmark.

What are the advantages of using a variable in Power BI?

Variables help you to create more logical Queries and which should be used for multiple DAX functions.

Why use selection pane in Power BI?

Selection Pane helps you to take control over visuals which require to be displayed and which should not be displayed. It allows you to combine multiple visual pages in the group and is also used in bookmarking.

State the main difference between District() and Values() in DAX?

The only difference between two functions is that with District help you to calculate the null values.

State the major differences between MAX and MAXA functions

If you want to calculate numeric values, then use MAX. However, if it is for non numeric values, then you should use MAXA.

Is on-premise access possible in Power BI?

No, it is not possible to access Power BI services on private or internal service cloud. However, by using Power BI desktop, you can connect with the on-premises data sources.

What is the major difference between the old version and a new version of Power BI tool?

The latest version has more robust features, and it is famous with the name Power BI Desktop. This is an all in one solution for Power View, Power Pivot, and Power Query in the backend. Power BI offers many add-ins for Excel, which is useful for better visualizations.

State the main difference between Filter and Slicer.

If you are using the normal filter user cannot interact with the dashboard. On the other hand, slicer allows users to have an interaction with Reports as well as Dashboards.

What is the Embed Code?

Power BI online contains an option for publishing on web that will generate a link address for the Power BI report. You can share these links to others, which is called embed code.

What are the method to hide and unhide a specific report in Power BI?

To hide and unhide specific report, you have to go to selection Pane in the menu bar, and press hides/unhide toggle button to bookmark.

How can you compare Target and Actual Value from a Power BI report?

You need to use Gauge chart to compare two different measure.

What is Custom Visuals?

Custom Vizual are those visual which are not available in BI desktop, which are imported from the market for the purpose of better visualization.

What are the gateways that available in Power BI?

The two gateway method available in Power BI are:

  • On-premises information door
  • On- premises information door ( personal mode)

What is natural language search choice?

The natural language search choice is language-based learning for communicating with information as a part of Power BI suite for Office 365 advertising.

Can you join two unique information source in the same Power BI dashboard?

Yes, we can join two unique information source in the same Power Bi dashboard. We can also merge comparable reports in your Power Bi account into using single dashboard.

How can you differ COVAR and COVARP?

The main difference between the two is that: COVAR directly gives the same co-variance, whereas COVARP is the population covariance.

How can you assign SSRS with Power BI?

Here are the steps to integrate SSRS with Power BI:

  • SSRS Report Items like charts can be pinned to Power BI dashboards.
  • A subscription is created to keep the snapshot of data in dashboard refreshed.
  • Power BI reports will soon able to publish to SSRS portal.

Name out some important DAX functions used in Power BI.

Sum, Max, AVG, Distinct, Count, Calculate, Datediff are some important widely used DAX functions.

What is X-speed in-memory investigation motor used for Power Pivot?

The primary motto behind power turn is the x Velocity in-memory analytics engine. It allows dealing with the various measures of information as it stores data in the columnar database.

What is CORR function? When we use it?

CORR is a correlation function. It gives a correlation between two variables. It mostly ranges from -1 to 1.

State the difference between Count and CountD function.

Count function returns to count, excluding NULL values whereas Countd returns distinct values which exclude NULL values.

Explain DATEDD function in Power BI.

DATEDD function helps you to convert any input to a date format. This input can number, string, or a data type input.

What is the use of ENDSWITH function?

ENDSWITH function helps you to return the logical result to the given string. In case If the sub-string is available at the end of the sub string, then it returns TRUE.

What is IFNULL function?

If the value is not NULL iFNULL function result is the first expression, if it is not, then it will return the second expression.

What is the use of INDEX Function in Power BI?

INDEX function helps you to retrieve the index of the respective row.

What is the main difference between LTRIM and RTRIM?

LTRIM function helps you to remove the white space from the LEFT of the string. RTRIM helps you to remove it from the right the last index.

What is the use of split function?

SPLIT function is used to split the string database on the given delimiter.

What is the need of signing up with business email?

Power BI is not supporting, the email address given by telecommunications or consumer email service providers. Thus, there is need for signing up with work email.

Name the market place where you can download the Power BI mobile apps.

  • App store
  • Google Play
  • Window Store

In which year Microsoft invented Power BI Embedded?

In, the year 2016 Microsoft discharged new administration which is named as Power BI Embedded.

What area do you go to change and reshape data in Power BI?

Data Editing helps you to change and reshape data in Power BI.

What is the process to refresh Power BI reports when it is uploaded into the cloud?

Power BI, reports can be refresh using Data management, gateway, and Power BI Personal Gateway.

What visual would you need to use to show solitary esteem?

Disseminate Plat is a visual you should use to show solitary esteem.

Which of the following Power BI memberships allows you the right permit to see Power BI content with the various Power BI applications?

Power BI Premium P1 is an application which gives this type of solutions for you.

Which field composes can be added to the Field well of a Slicer visual?

Computing segments should be made with a DAX articulation.

In, Power Bi, where do you discover the Q&A highlight?

You will get at the highest point of a report in the Power BI benefit.

How can you dynamically change the value measure to show multiple measures?

You can do this by using harvesting measure and switch function.

What is self-service business intelligence?

Self-service Business Intelligence SSBI is a method to deal with data investigation which empowers business clients to channel, fragment, and break down their data, without top to the bottom specific information.

So, this brings us to the end of the Power BI Interview Questions blog. This Tecklearn ‘Top Power BI Interview Questions and Answers’ helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in Power BI or Business Intelligence Domain. If you wish to learn Power BI and build a career in Business Intelligence domain, then check out our interactive, Power BI Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period.

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  • Microsoft Power BI Introduction
  • Power BI Products
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Power BI Workflow

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  • Power BI Vs MSBI
  • History of Power BI
  • Power BI Products
  • Data modelling and relationships

Power Query for Data Transformation

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  • Learning about Power Query for self-service ETL functionalities
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Power BI Desktop & Administration

  • Reports and Visualization
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  • On Premises Data Gateway
  • Gateway Clusters

Introduction to Power Q & A

  • Power Service
  • Power Q & A best practices
  • Integrating with SaaS applications
  • Gateway

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