In this article I share my ideas for experienced Excel users that want to discover Power BI. This is bases on both my own experience as well as what I recommend to all of my students every month in the Power BI analist training course. This article is also a short follow up related to my other article about experienced Excel users that want to discover Power BI.
My tips for experienced Excel users who try to understand Power BI:
- Watch Youtube video’s from channels such as Enterprise DNA, Curbal or BI Elite.
- Do not watch the Microsoft monthly update video’s yet
- Do not watch the famous YouTube channel Guy in a Cube or SQL-BI yet
- Practise what you see on YouTube with relatively easy data models, such as the Northwind dataset (see this Curbal video how to start).
- If books are your preference (and remember you are from Excel background), then the book Power pivot and Power BI from Rob Collie and Avi Singh is a great start.
Now I will explain all of my 5 recommendations:
1 Youtube channels
Start simple! You know you’re good in Excel, so start with Power BI channels that have a lot of content related to starters. These (Enterprise DNA, Curbal or BI Elite) are great sources that primarily focus on DAX and visualisations. Also these YouTube channels have clear and understandable video’s. Curbal even has lots of free downloads to test yourself.
2 Do not watch the Microsoft Power BI monthly updates (yet)
This is only a really great source for when you have already gained quite some experience in Power BI. All the very important features of Power BI (Desktop) were already added years ago, and just have minor updates from time to time. Or in other words by using an example: I think it is not useful yet to understand the usage of Direct Query support for Q&A yet (this was in the august 2020 YouTube video update). Instead start discovering all the great characteristics of Power BI Desktop (like the Query editor), creating some DAX measures etc.
3 Do not watch the great YouTube channel Guy in a Cube or SQL-BI (yet)
Guy in a Cube is a really great source (yes Adam and Patrick I watch almost all of your video’s). Again this source is very very useful when you already have some experience in Power BI. For example you want to start discovering the Power BI Service, or really want to understand the Power BI Licensing. Also for deployment strategies and governance, Guy in a Cube is a great source!
The same logic applies for SQL-BI. This channel with an extensive website has many great detailed articles, for example about the exact usage of particular DAX functions. My recommmendation is to first start exploring other channels.
4 Practise, practise, practise!
These datasets (Northwind for example) are good starters to create your first DAX measures yourself. The Curbal YouTube channel also has a lot of video’s where the Northwind dataset is used as an example. The data in this dataset is already cleaned (so hardly any need to use the Query Editor).
5 For when you prefer a book over a YouTube channel
Power pivot and Power BI from Rob Collie and Avi Singh is a good start for experienced Excel users, since this book demonstrates that the DAX language can be used both in Power BI as well as in Excel (yes, you read this correct).
Let me know what you think of these tips, by replying in the comments below!