Business Intelligence User Group -2nd Wednesday of each month
Sign up
BB Dev Days Recap and Power BI Best Practices: Erik introduced the meeting with updates and a recap of bbdevdays, then invited Luis to present a high-level overview of Power BI best practices for NXT reporting, with participants including Rebecca, Lucy, Carol, Julia, Hallie, and Gethin contributing questions and insights throughout the session.
Session Overview and Agenda: Erik outlined the meeting agenda, including news, updates, and a bbdevdays recap, highlighting the availability of session recordings on the SKY Developer YouTube channel and encouraging Power BI hackathon submissions.
Power BI Reporting Best Practices: Luis presented best practices for Power BI reporting, covering topics such as naming columns, building fact tables, creating dedicated measures tables, prefixing custom columns, implementing reset buttons and filters, optimizing data, and considering report purpose, story, and design.
Technical Recommendations: Luis emphasized the importance of good data modeling habits, using star schema models, trimming unnecessary data, and leveraging AI for DAX syntax, while also recommending the use of bookmarks for reset buttons and hiding filter panels to improve user experience.
Audience Engagement and Questions: Participants, including Erik, Rebecca, and others, discussed the benefits of Power BI over native RNXT dashboards, customization options, and shared their own 'aha' moments and questions about naming conventions and report organization.
Power BI vs. Native RNXT Dashboards: Luis and Erik addressed questions from Lauren and others about the advantages of Power BI compared to native RNXT dashboards, focusing on customization, data blending, and sharing capabilities, with additional input from Rebecca and Gethin.
Customization and Data Sources: Luis explained that Power BI allows for greater customization and the ability to connect multiple data sources, including SQL and SKY API, which is not possible with native RNXT dashboards.
Sharing and Accessibility: Erik highlighted that Power BI reports can be easily shared with users who do not have access to RNXT, and that Power BI Desktop is free, making it accessible for organizations starting their reporting journey.
Native Dashboard Limitations: Luis noted that while RNXT dashboards offer some unique values, their customization is limited, and Power BI is purpose-built for data analysis and visualization, making it a more powerful tool for complex reporting needs.
Security and Data Access in Power BI: Mark raised concerns about data security in Power BI, prompting Luis, Gethin, and Rebecca to discuss best practices, including row-level security, workspace permissions, and data anonymization, with Lucy providing insights on Microsoft Fabric's granular security features.
Row-Level Security: Gethin explained the importance of implementing row-level security in Power BI to prevent users from accessing the entire data set, noting the trade-offs between aggregate reporting and row-level restrictions.
Workspace Permissions: Rebecca described how assigning users as viewers in Power BI workspaces can prevent them from downloading reports, offering an additional layer of protection for imported data.
Data Anonymization: Gethin shared that anonymizing sensitive data, such as VIP records, during the transition to Power BI can help mitigate risks of unauthorized access.
Microsoft Fabric Security: Lucy discussed how Microsoft Fabric enables more granular security controls by integrating row-level security with Active Directory, allowing for flexible access management at the semantic model level.
Integrating Custom Fields and Automating Data Refresh: Julia and others inquired about connecting action and opportunity custom fields to Power BI and automating data refreshes, with Carol, Lucy, and Rebecca providing detailed guidance on using Power Automate, queries, and scheduling techniques.
Custom Fields Integration: Carol explained that opportunity and action custom fields are best pulled into Power BI using queries, which allow for repeated rows and easier deduplication, and recommended naming proposals uniquely for effective data management.
Power Automate Scheduling: Carol and Lucy described how Power Automate templates can be used to schedule queries by ID, export results to CSV files, and refresh Power BI reports automatically, with options to save data to OneDrive or SharePoint.
Authentication and Error Resolution: Rebecca advised Hallie to use anonymous authentication for Power Automate triggers and referenced Alex's documentation for securing SharePoint lists, addressing issues with data source credentials during automatic refreshes.
Troubleshooting Power BI Access and Embedding Issues: Hallie and Catherine described recurring sign-in and access problems with embedded Power BI reports and tiles, prompting suggestions from Erik, Gethin, Carol, and others about IT policy checks, VPN requirements, and potential solutions using Microsoft Fabric capacity.
Sign-In and Access Challenges: Hallie and Catherine reported frequent sign-in prompts and access denials for Power BI dashboards embedded in SharePoint and tiles, affecting both admins and end users despite single sign-on configurations.
IT Policy and VPN Considerations: Carol suggested checking VPN and network login requirements, as some users may only access reports when connected to the organization's network, even with single sign-on.
Microsoft Fabric Embedded Reports: Gethin explained that using Microsoft Fabric capacity allows for Power BI embedded reports without login gateways, offering anonymous access based on compute usage, but noted the high cost and need for IT involvement.
Licensing and Organizational Fit: Erik discussed the differences between per-user licensing and Fabric capacity, advising organizations to evaluate their user base and consult IT or Microsoft partners for optimal solutions.
