PowerBI.tips

Month: July 2024

  • Overcoming Challenges in the Center of Excellence

    Overcoming Challenges in the Center of Excellence

    Starting a center of excellence (COE) can feel daunting. We face political challenges. This article pushes to explore the challenges of a COE and some recommendations to handle these challenges.

    The Importance of Attention to Detail

    Microsoft does a great job in outlining the key aspects of COE. For more details on this topic check out the Fabric adoption roadmap found here. A summary of those items are in the list below:

    I strongly feel that documenting the result of these conversations is a huge win. The documentation can be used to show leadership that you have a solid plan. Discussing these topics pushes towards a health data culture. Lastly, when you bring documentation to leadership you show thought of aspects that drive success.

    Foundational Attributes for Success

    The optics of the COE matter. COE performance and leadership are crucial, as they can impact the entire organization. Don’t underestimate the value of setting clear goals. Taking time to identify pain points with your current organization structure help with planning process for the COE.

    • Setting clear goals
    • Addressing pain points that you see, plan to solve those pain points
    • Just start, don’t worry about making the COE perfect, plan for adjustments

    Sometimes I feel that people try to over plan. Therefore, read up on the best practices provided by Microsoft’s documentation, write down your decisions then get moving! I have observed just by communicating and developing the plan really creates some momentum. Bear in mind it won’t be perfect in the first iteration. Plan on being flexible to adjust the COE to the organizations needs.

    Recommendations for Overcoming Challenges

    • Attention to Detail: Paying attention to aspect you can control of the COE’s performance. Engage leadership so they support the development of the COE. Remember the COE is a vote in the direction of better data culture for your company.
    • Setting Clear Goals: Defining clear goals helps the team align towards a unified direction. Address pain points that could derail or distract from the creation of the COE. Connect the success of the COE to Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) outlined by the leadership team.
    • Regular Communication with Executives: Regular communication with the executive team helps remove mis-aligned expectations. When you win let leadership know, they can promote your success. Success means more buy-in from the company.
    • Feedback: Gathering feedback and pivot. Have empath for the process and be willing to adjust. If something is not working within the COE try something new. Ask others involved in the COE for recommendations, some of the smartest people are the ones you already work with.

    For more thoughts on the COE and overcoming those challenges check out our episode on the explicit measures podcast.

  • Exploring the Power of Semantic Link

    Exploring the Power of Semantic Link

    Semantic link is one of the most promising technologies coming from the Microsoft Power BI and Fabric team. Semantic link has the potential to automate so many redundant tasks and tedious work. Automating and using code enables BI developers to free up time for more value-added work. Join Stephanie Bruno and Mike Carlo as they do a thorough demo of using Semantic Link.

    Semantic link is a powerful tool that allows direct access and manipulation of data within semantic models using code and notebooks. It offers automation, streamlined data extraction, and centralized data management within models. Throughout this workshop, we’ll delve into the diverse functionalities of semantic link and its potential benefits for data scientists, analysts, engineers, and fabric admins.

    This demo covers a range of topics, including:

    • Accessing and visualizing a Power BI report within a notebook
    • Exploring the list of reports in a workspace
    • Retrieving insights about tables and columns in a semantic model
    • Listing and comprehending measures within a semantic model
    • Visualizing and understanding table relationships
    • Utilizing semantic link for data access and manipulation

    Live Demos and Practical Demonstrations

    Our expert presenter, Stephanie Bruno, will lead live demonstrations and hands-on exercises to illustrate the practical applications of semantic link. The demos will encompass:

    • Creating a new notebook and connecting it to a workspace
    • Retrieving and visualizing reports within the notebook
    • Exploring tables, columns, and measures within a semantic model
    • Understanding and visualizing table relationships
    • Accessing and manipulating data using semantic link
    • Employing DAX magic to write and evaluate DAX expressions

    Throughout the workshop, we’ll showcase how semantic link empowers data scientists to access and utilize measures without the need to reconstruct complex logic. Additionally, we’ll highlight the seamless integration of semantic link with Python, facilitating efficient data manipulation and analysis.

    More where that came from

    If you like this type of training and content, join us over at Training.tips for 60+ hours of additional training.