Tag
18 posts
October 29, 2025
Mike and Tommy explore how data modeling changes when your source data comes from event-driven systems rather than traditional transactional databases. They discuss the shift from state-based to event-based thinking and what it means for semantic models.
July 23, 2025
Mike and Tommy answer a mailbag question about building Excel dashboards with future migration in mind. They break down practical steps for making the leap from Excel to Power BI easier — starting with Power Query, tables, and pivot charts.
March 7, 2025
Mike and Tommy tackle a mailbag question from Mehmet about best practices for managing multiple datasets in Power BI. They dive into whether composite models are the right approach for joining data across models.
February 19, 2025
Mike and Tommy compare two practical ways to manage small-but-critical reference tables: Power BI Dataflows Gen1 versus a Fabric SQL database. They break down tradeoffs around refresh, governance, CI/CD, and downstream consumption so you can pick the simplest option that still scales.
January 22, 2025
Mike and Tommy tackle a common Fabric design question: can you ship analytics by building only a Bronze layer, or do you really need Silver and Gold. They break down what you gain (and lose) when you skip refinement layers, and share practical rules of thumb for keeping models trustworthy, performant, and maintainable.
January 17, 2025
Mike and Tommy dig into a deceptively simple question: can you build Power BI reporting straight off the Bronze layer and call it ‘done’? They break down when it’s a smart shortcut, when it’s a trap, and the minimum guardrails you need to keep raw data from becoming everyone’s problem.
January 1, 2025
In this episode, Mike and Seth walk through what it really takes to migrate Excel-based reporting into Power BI without losing trust in the numbers. They share practical guidance on scoping, modeling, and rollout so your migration improves the experience instead of recreating spreadsheet chaos at scale.
May 31, 2024
A practical pattern: separating semantic models from report content so many creators can build thin reports securely. The team walks through roles, RLS, and workspace strategies.
May 8, 2024
Quick wins create momentum in BI projects. The team discusses how to pick the right wins, build trust, and avoid trading short-term speed for long-term maintainability.
March 22, 2024
Mike and Tommy dig into the quality problem in analytics work — why teams keep shipping brittle solutions and how to change the incentives. They lay out practical habits for raising the end-to-end quality bar, from requirements and modeling to testing and automation.
January 26, 2024
Episode 288 is a practical checklist for gathering semantic model requirements: who the model is for, what definitions must be nailed down, and the constraints (grain, security, refresh) that drive design decisions.
October 18, 2023
Ep. 259 asks the question every Fabric builder runs into: does a star schema still matter in a Direct Lake world? The answer: yes—especially if DAX is involved—but Fabric changes where the shaping work belongs (upstream) and raises the bar on governance.
September 20, 2023
Ep. 251 focuses on where AI genuinely helps (and where it doesn’t) in a BI workflow—turning vague questions into clear requirements, accelerating DAX and documentation, and improving communication—while staying realistic about security, governance, and hallucinations.
September 15, 2023
Ep. 250 tackles the practical question every Fabric team hits fast: what belongs in OneLake, and how do you decide the right boundaries for lakehouses, workspaces, and semantic models. Mike, Tommy, and Seth break down the OneLake vs. lakehouse naming confusion, then land on governance-first patterns that keep shared dimensions, security, and reuse from turning into a data swamp.
September 1, 2023
Ep. 246 is a practical guide to spotting the difference between Power BI trivia and real capability: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom—and how to hire for (and build) the kind of judgment that survives messy, real-world projects.
July 19, 2023
In Ep. 233, the crew answers a mailbag question on how much detail belongs in a Power BI report—covering model grain, drillthrough patterns, and ways to keep users in flow without turning VertiPaq into a row-level warehouse.
July 12, 2023
In Ep. 231, Mike, Tommy, and Seth unpack what a “data model” actually is and why it matters—from conceptual diagrams to logical fields and finally the physical star schema you build in Power BI. You’ll learn how clearer modeling conversations reduce DAX complexity, improve trust, and set teams up for scalable, reusable reporting.
October 4, 2016
Organize your Power BI data model by creating a dedicated measures table. Group all your DAX measures in one place for cleaner, more maintainable reports.