Power BI Desktop - Level 1 Introduction

Course Overview

Transform Your Data Into Actionable Insights
Power BI is Microsoft’s powerful business intelligence platform designed for interactive visualisation and reporting. This introductory course takes you from zero to confident user in just one day. With a strong focus on visualisation and practical data import, this course will empower you to transform data into meaningful insights.
Power BI and Excel may both be Microsoft tools used for data analysis, but Power BI is fundamentally different from Excel in both purpose and functionality.
Unlike Excel, which is a spreadsheet application primarily designed for manual data entry, calculations, and static reports, Power BI is a dedicated business intelligence platform focused on dynamic, interactive, and visual data exploration. Power BI does not rely on cells, formulas, or worksheets in the way Excel does. It uses a data modelling engine, relationships between datasets, and powerful DAX formulas specifically built for analysis at scale. It’s designed to connect to multiple data sources, automate data refreshes, and create rich dashboards that update in real time.
While Excel users may find some familiar concepts, Power BI operates on an entirely different level of automation, scalability, and interactivity, and it can be learned independently without any Excel background—although Excel experience can certainly help.
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Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:
• Business professionals with little or no Power BI experience
• Excel users looking to expand into data analytics
• Analysts or managers who generate or interpret reports
• Anyone interested in building interactive dashboards and visual reports
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What You Will Learn

• Introduction to Power BI and its components
• Connecting to data sources (Txt, Excel, CSV, PDF, Web)
• Power Query Editor basics: cleansing and transforming data
• Creating a data model and building relationships
• Designing visual reports using bar, line, donut, pie, table, card, and KPI visuals
• Adding interactivity: slicers and filters
• Export reports or publish to the Power BI Service (free tier)
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Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
• Navigate Power BI Desktop with confidence
• Import, clean, and transform data using Power Query
• Build simple, robust data models
• Design clean, effective visual reports and dashboards
• Publish through Power BI Service
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Exclusions

The following topics are outside the scope of this course
• Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) coding
• Measures and Calculated Columns
• No custom visuals from AppSource
• No R/Python or AI visuals
• No Power BI Service Pro features (e.g., sharing, workspaces)
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Delivery Format

This is a classroom-based course, with no more than 10 participants. Each participant will have access to a fully equipped workstation with Microsoft Power BI Desktop installed. The instructor will guide the course using live demonstrations, practical exercises, and real-time feedback.

Training Environment Includes:
• Individual PCs with Microsoft Power BI Desktop
• Course materials and online notes
• Comfortable classroom setting conducive to learning

Participants are not required to bring their own laptop.
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Key Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Build a basic Power BI report from scratch
• Apply essential Power Query transformations
• Understand and apply relationships in your data
• Visualise data professionally with appropriate visuals
• Publish your reports using My Work Space
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