This document discusses the transition from traditional reporting methods to using Power BI for enterprise software development, emphasizing the advantages of quicker, more accurate decision-making based on data. It provides a timeline of significant developments in data reporting tools, highlights the pros and cons of using Power BI, and offers tips for creating reports effectively. The author shares their personal journey with Power BI, illustrating how it has enhanced business processes and data visualization.

1. Enterprise Software Development
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2. Power BI
Finally I can make decisions
based on facts
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.NET User Group - October 2016

3. SSW General Manager
Ulysses Maclaren
#ulyssesmac
ulysses.maclaren
ulyssesmaclaren
 At SSW for over 10 years
 Obsessive Scrum Master
 Teaches Salsa and won a World Latin Dance Cup in
2014
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4. Disclaimer:
I am not a developer

5. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Table of
Contents
Tips
Summary

6. 1970 – First Database systems invented, known as Decision Support Systems (DSS)
1985 – Excel
1991 – SQL Server 1.1
1991 – Crystal reports (AKA Quick Reports)
1992 – Access 1.0
2004 – SQL Server Reporting Services
2011 – Telerik Reporting
2015 – Power BI
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7. Google Trends

8. Join the Conversation #PowerBI @UlyssesMac

9. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Tips
Summary

10. I have questions:
Who could I book
for upcoming
client work?
Are my salespeople
keeping on top of
their opportunities
How is the
company going
financially?
No problem… I’ll
make you a report
in SQL Reporting
Services 

11. Reporting Services (old)
Once reports have been developed, I
can get key information quickly
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12. Reporting Services (old)
Once reports have been developed, I
can get key information quickly
These reports allow me to answer FAQs
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13. Reporting Services (old)
Once reports have been developed, I
can get key information quickly
These reports allow me to answer FAQs
I can see dashboards, and with
enough work, they can look pretty good
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14. The Problems
Long report development time
High cost of report development
Delayed answers to key questions
Missed opportunities
I can’t freely ask new questions
This does not breed a culture of curiosity
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15. The Big Problem
Due to the difficulty in getting quick answers, I was
making decisions based on guesses and war
stories
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16. Examples:
Should I talk the boss into opening a new office in
another state? – high $$
When should I hire a new guy (or sack)?
What technologies should we be focussing on?
Plus more… like seeing trends on an Ad Hoc basis
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17. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Tips
Summary

18. I can’t show you client reports - Private data

19. Timesheet data from
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20. Finance data from
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21. Sales data from CRM
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22. Phone call data from Phone call data from

23. Source Control data from

24. Here’s some I prepared earlier

27. My Journey
• A developer setup my 1st dataset
• Started with the browser editor
• Moved to Desktop
• Using Git for source control
• Discovered calculated columns
• Discovered the Custom Visualisations Marketplace
• New Power BI reports are now very fast to spin up

28. Custom Visualisations Marketplace

29. Power BI - Pros
Reports can be made by power users
Easy to drill up/down
Can interactively cross filter charts
Easy to merge multiple data sources into one report
Dashboards are mobile friendly (responsive)
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30. Power BI - Pros
Data gets refreshed on a schedule
Can easily be triggered manually
Can also be set up with direct query
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31. Power BI - Unexpected benefits
Data cleaned
Business processes improved – new fields added
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32. Power BI – Cons – our version is at http://bettersoftwaresuggestions.com/category/microsoft/powerbi/

33. Power BI - Cons
No alignment helper controls for visualisations
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34. Power BI - Cons
No alignment helper controls for visualisations
No year-month slicer (I had to add a custom
dimension for this)
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35. Power BI - Cons
No alignment helper controls for visualisations
No year-month slicer (I had to add a custom
dimension for this)
Can’t hide slicer section
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36. Power BI - Cons
No alignment helper controls for visualisations
No year-month slicer (I had to add a custom
dimension for this)
Can’t hide slicer section
No easy way to specify financial year rather than
annual year
Join the Conversation #PowerBI @UlyssesMac

37. Power BI - Cons
No alignment helper controls for visualisations
No year-month slicer (I had to add a custom
dimension for this)
Can’t hide slicer section
No easy way to specify financial year rather than
annual year
No source control for collaboration
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38. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Tips
Summary

39. Creation Process
Connect to a data source
Use the modelling tab to
manipulate your data set
Create visualisations on
reports and dashboards
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40. Join the Conversation #PowerBI @UlyssesMac

46. Warning:
Live Demo

47. Join the Conversation #PowerBI @UlyssesMac

48. Summary
Pull in the data you want…
Tables from SQL Server in this
case
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49. Summary
Click on Edit Queries | Choose
Columns…
To focus on what you care
about
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50. Summary
Drag and drop fields to create
visualisations
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51. Summary
Add slicers and/or page filters…
To limit the dataset
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52. Summary
Advanced: Create measures or
columns if necessary to view
your data in different ways…
Using DAX
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53. Summary
Choose the visualisation type
that works best
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54. Summary
Play with formatting (e.g.
changing titles, removing
unnecessary headers, using
Aussie state colours, etc…)
NSW = Blue, QLD = Maroon
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55. Summary
Publish/share reports
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56. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Tips
Summary

57. Tips
Create measures and new
columns
This will let you see metrics and
slice up your data any way you
want

58. Calculated Columns and Measures
Calculated columns:
• Stored in the database
• Often used to filter/group data
Measures:
• Computed on aggregates of values
• Computed at query time
• Often used to give a numerical metric
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59. Learn some basic DAX – even just IF statements – it’s cool and less scary than I thought

60. Tips
If you can do Excel formulas…
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61. Tips
Integrate with SQL Server Reporting Services
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62. Your 1st reports will be from the starting point of “What can I do with the data I have?”

63. After that, your best reports will have the starting point of “Who am I and what do I want to know?”

64. Don’t get stuck on using your “favourite visualisation” – use the best one for the situation

65. Tips
Know when to use
Dashboards vs Reports

66. Put slicers on the left when possible… the check boxes line up

67. Tufte Principles: Think of your Data-Ink Ratio

68. Sort Order (Alphabetical sucks)

69. Question: Date Sorting

70. Making a New Report from Scratch
Power BI to the Rescue
History
The Age of Traditional Reporting
Tips
Summary

71. Remember The Big Problem?
Due to the difficulty in getting quick answers, I was
making decisions based on guesses and war
stories
Join the Conversation #PowerBI @UlyssesMac

72. Should I talk the boss into opening a new office in another state? – high $$

73. When should we hire a new guy (or sack)?

74. What technologies should we be
focussing on?

75. Plus more, like Ad Hoc seeing
trends

76. Thank you!
https://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/Consulting/Power-BI.aspx
https://rules.ssw.com.au/rules-to-better-power-bi
uly@ssw.com.au
www.ssw.com.au
Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane

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