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14 posts
March 4, 2026
Mike and Tommy explore AI-assisted TMDL workflows and the hot reload experience for faster Power BI development. They also cover the new programmatic Power Query API and the GA release of the input slicer.
November 12, 2025
Mike and Tommy tackle the messy reality of source control in BI—branching, merging, TMDL, save-to-folder, and whether BI teams are ready for real git workflows. Plus, the Microsoft SQL Community Conference gets announced.
November 7, 2025
Mike and Tommy explore the evolving role of AI in semantic modeling—from Anthropic's MCP code execution to TMDL-aware AI workflows. They also discuss 'context rot' and what happens when AI assistants lose track of long conversations. Plus, new Data Agent improvements and the upcoming card visual migration.
November 5, 2025
Mike and Tommy explore developer experience (DevEx) in the BI world—what makes tools stick, why UDFs (User Defined Functions) in DAX are a game-changer, and how Tabular Editor's TMDL scripts and notebooks fit into modern BI development workflows.
October 22, 2025
Mike and Tommy debate the big question: should you migrate from PBIX to PBIP? They break down who benefits most from the new project format, whether it's too developer-heavy for business users, and what the migration path looks like.
September 26, 2025
Mike and Tommy rank Fabric features in a pyramid format—from the single most essential feature at the top to the supporting cast at the base. A fun exercise that reveals what they think matters most in the Fabric ecosystem right now.
July 21, 2025
The explicit measures podcast unpacks what DevOps means. It's not software, it's a way of thinking. Matthias is the creator of the beloved TMDL format.
June 6, 2025
Mike and Tommy debate whether your next investment of time should go toward making reports better or making your semantic model AI-ready. They unpack Microsoft's new 'Prep Data for AI' features — AI instructions, AI data schema, and verified answers — and ask the hard question: is the juice worth the squeeze?
May 16, 2025
Mike and Tommy unpack TMDL — the Tabular Model Definition Language — tracing its origins from the monolithic BIM file to today's human-readable, file-per-object format. They explore practical use cases in VS Code, from find-and-replace renaming to AI-powered measure descriptions and unused-object cleanup with GitHub Copilot.
February 7, 2025
Mike and Tommy compare the classic Tabular Editor workflow—C# scripting, macros, and model metadata automation—with the newer TMDL-based experience showing up in PBIP and Power BI’s TMDL view. They break down where TMDL makes collaboration and source control dramatically better, and where Tabular Editor still earns its place in a serious semantic model toolbelt.
February 5, 2025
Mike and Tommy walk through their ‘draft’ of the Microsoft Fabric January 2025 update, calling out the changes they think will matter most for Power BI and Fabric practitioners. From TMDL scripting and semantic model version history to Copilot/Q&A improvements and OneLake catalog metadata, this episode helps you prioritize what to test next.
September 6, 2024
Deployment pipelines are getting a UI overhaul, and it changes how teams compare, deploy, and manage artifacts across stages. In this episode, Mike and Tommy talk through what the new experience means for business teams who want repeatable releases without turning CI/CD into a science project.
March 1, 2024
TMDL is a promising step toward real source control for Power BI semantic models—human-readable files you can diff, review, and deploy. In Episode 298, Mike, Tommy, and Seth unpack what’s changing in Desktop and how Copilot can speed up measure documentation.
April 12, 2023
They break down what source control actually buys you in Power BI—safe releases, clear diffs, and parallel work—then map today’s workarounds to what’s coming next. Along the way, they highlight new announcements like TMDL and deployment pipeline change review that push Power BI closer to real CI/CD.