Explicit Measures Podcast

We made it to fifty (50!). To celebrate, the guys are taking a step back from technical deep dives, as they curated the best of the best Power BI jokes, memes, and best content the community has shared. If you are a Power BI pro, we promise you will be able to relate!  All the content today is around what those in Power BI deal with, and we are not alone in the technical problems, frustration...

The guys are diving into Power BI Governance Part 2: Vision, Strategy, and Staffing. Again, we are using the amazing Microsoft Adoption Roadmap, focusing on the Strategy, and Staffing Sections. Links from today: Power BI adoption roadmap: Governance - Power BI | Microsoft Docs 10 Data Management and Governance Actions to Reset, Increase Impact and Enable Remote Work What is the RACI model? And whe...

The guys are still in Houston talking through the Community Summit 2021. Alot of Dynamics folks at the conference, where does Power BI fit into that story? Automated Insights in Power BI is a relatively new feature for Premium Users, which has blown Mike, Seth, and Tommy's mind. However, they find it "interesting". What would do they think the feature plays in for Users, and where do they want to...

Mike & Tommy are live in Houston for the Community Summit NA 2021! Let's face it. We have all failed at building and delivering solutions via data to our stakeholders. And it comes in all shapes and sizes. And it's not just your DAX or Power Query. What counts as failing, and what were your worst moments? The guys shares what it means to fail in Power BI both from the development and deliverin...

Anyone building Power BI Reports knows the amount of intricate tasks that are involved from data source to visuals in a Report. But what are the final enhancements you can make that really make it stand out? What about too much? When does it bloat your report? The guys discuss their best advice and their own checklists. Tommy finally released his article on the Scanner API! Read how to get it work...

This is the first part of what we believe will be at least a 3-part series on Governance in Power BI. Future Governance episodes will be released later in the future.  Using the amazing Power BI Adoption Roadmap series, today the guys kick-off what Data Governance is by defining the introductory statements outlined in the Adoption Roadmap article on Governance (article here: https://docs.micr...

We have a mailbag topic!  In the Power BI Space, there are more than enough areas of expertise that require skill and knowledge on. I am going from DAX all the way to adoption. So this begs the question: Is it better to be "somewhat" knowledge in all aspects or become a Master of a few particular areas? Get in touch: Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @Powe...

The last couple of weeks the Power BI team at Microsoft has released some major improvements to Goals in the Power BI Service (see articles below). With this feature that was announced back at MBAS 2021 in May, we wanted to check in and see how the adoption or the usage has been, and where do we see Goals being used by teams and users in it's current form. Does Goals in Power BI have enough featur...

Technical Debt. The concept of buildup of unscalable solutions that causes rework in a solution, and eventually catch up on you. Anyone in the Power BI Space should already see the relationship between Technical Debt and building Power BI models and maintaining reports for an organization.  The guys dive in how this relates to a Power BI Professional, offering different concepts of debt. Have...

It does not matter if you are just starting off in Power BI or a season veteran, or even an all-star: You are going to run into complications with your models. It's not about avoiding messy models sometimes as much as it is about the ability to audit, clean, and optimize one. The guys run through their best approaches and tools that have served them well over the years in cleaning, optimizing, and...

One of our more favorite segments, we imagine Microsoft gave us $100 to spend on however we want to enhance the Power BI Service. Where would we have the Microsoft team put their time and effort, and where would we put our dollars on making the Power BI Service a better experience for Consumers, Admins, and Authors? Get in touch: Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting...

We know how important phones and tablets are to our culture. This is the same for companies and users. Microsoft continually enhances the Power BI mobile experience for users on a monthly basis, however do you see the usage of reports on user's mobile devices as you would expect? The guys dive into the Mobile experience, and what role it should play in the Power BI platform. Get in touch: Send in...

Today's episode is all about the importance of communication skills for a Power BI Professional. First and foremost, why are even talking about communication in the Business Intelligence space? It is integral to have the ability to listen, empathize, and effectively communicate to our users what their needs are, along with talking data.  What challenges have you faced when communicating as a...

With some of the major new features available to connect to live datasets in Power BI (Direct Query on Analysis Services) that allows a Power BI report connect to both a Power BI Dataset and other sources, the immediate potential becomes profound. But why should you ensure that this is the way to go, and what are the use cases and also the limitations? This question came in from a mailbag, if you...

Based on this amazing article by Microsoft on how they developed their corporate KPI's, the guys wanted to run with it and talk about how any Power BI Pro can begin to help develop for their reports and users goals and KPIs. What are the insights, and how do we help guide our stakeholders in the direction where are reports have meaningful data, and metrics that matter? https://www.microsoft.com/en...

There are more than one way to filter a Power BI Report. You can use the Filter Pane, use Slicers, interact with a visual, or even use drill-through. Now, the real question is what the experience for a user? What should you use, and what are the pitfalls and benefits to each? Join in and listen as the guys discuss.  Get in touch: Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by twee...

As companies evolve in their reporting and data systems, there has been an ongoing discussion around ownership of datasets in Power BI, including when IT gets involved. The guys discuss what would define an IT dataset and what makes up a user dataset, and dive into the evolution and the separation of Business Intelligence and data from the IT realm. Is Power BI and BI still a part of IT anymore?&n...

Another bout with the Power BI Adoption Roadmap, this time focusing on the need for and importance of Executive Sponsorship & Support. What entails or successful factors should a Pro look for in an Executive Sponsor? Is it required to be Top-Down (C-level)?  Listen in to hear what the guys have experienced with successful Sponsorship, and what to look for in a promising candidate. Moreove...

Note: Many of the guys have been working to still get episodes out despite vacation plans, we apologize for the spotty audio in some segments. We pre-recorded this week episodes due to vacations - no live chat or talk about the August 2021 Desktop release. If you are a Power BI Pro, it would be hard pressed to say you have never heard of Power BI User Groups. One of the many amazing things about w...

Note: Many of the guys have been working to still get episodes out despite vacation plans, we apologize for the spotty audio in some segments. We pre-recorded this week episodes due to vacations - no live chat or talk about the August 2021 Desktop release. Let's face it: Tables & Matrix's are the necessary evil in Power BI. Users need it, pro's hate the experience, yet they are still one of th...

We are diving back into the Power BI Adoption Roadmap with what and why of Data Culture. How do you even define it , and how do you identify it? Join the guys as we cover changing organizational behavior, providing and showing value, and getting others aligned with vision. From correlating an Italian Culture to Power BI all the way to Executive buy-in, you do not want to miss this one! Get in touc...

The guys cover somewhat of a contentious topic in the Power BI community and for professionals throughout the industry: How essential is a college degree for a professional to be successful and work in the Power BI platform at an organization? While many of us have learned and developed the technical skills online (Forums, Blogs & Articles, Videos), what did the College experience provide that...

The guys are using the amazing resource by Melissa Coates on the Power BI Adoption Roadmap (referenced here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/powerbi-adoption-roadmap-maturity-levels ) all around the Maturity Levels and looking at the Adoption Roadmap and the adoption perspectives around implementing a successful Power BI solution at an organization. What makes up maturity? How d...

The guys focus on a topic that is widely discussed but seldom agreed upon - The Power BI Pro's Resume. What is impactful, what is important, and what should you put in yours to have the best chances of showcasing your skills and what companies are looking for? Listen for the guys experience and own opinions on what matters to them.  Get in touch: Send in your questions or topics you want us t...

How often do you try new things in Power BI? What approaches or methods do you have? The guys focus today on their own experience on how they have used Power BI as a sandbox and a playground to test out learning new skills, solving problems, and using the Power BI platform to grow their arsenal of knowledge and apply community resources to their own solutions.  Get in touch: Send in your ques...