Microsoft Power BI for Data Driven Decision Makers
You read the dashboard every week. You cannot question it.
Your managers are handed dashboards and expected to decide from them. Most cannot interrogate what they are looking at. They do not know what filter is applied, what the measure counts, or what the report quietly excludes, so they either trust it completely or ignore it. Both are expensive.
This workshop is deliberately not about building. Participants will not write DAX or model data. They will learn to read what someone else built, well enough to challenge it, and to have a productive conversation with the person who made it.
Senior leaders use this where decisions are being made on dashboards nobody questions. Analytics leads use it because a manager who asks better questions is worth more than another report. It is the reading counterpart to Microsoft Power BI Beginners, which teaches you to build.
Content, datasets, and examples are built around your actual work before delivery. Most groups train live online, and on-site in-person delivery is available by request. This workshop is available by request only, with a three participant minimum, and sits alongside our other data analytics and data literacy workshops.
This course includes
- Live, instructor led workshop delivered in two 4-hour sessions
- Hands on work with your own organization's real dashboards
- Techniques for finding filters, exclusions, and hidden aggregation
- Practice asking questions that get useful answers from analysts
- Digital learning materials and take home reference guides
- Certificate of completion for every participant
Description
The day opens with what a dashboard is actually showing, which is always less than it appears. Participants learn to find the filters in effect, understand what a measure counts and what it silently excludes, and check whether the time period is what they assumed. Most find something surprising in a report they have read for months.
The middle is interpretation. Participants learn to tell a real movement from normal variation, recognize when an aggregate is hiding the thing that matters, and spot the visual choices that make a change look larger or smaller than it is. They work on their own organization's dashboards.
The last stretch is the conversation. Participants practice asking a question an analyst can act on rather than one that produces another report, recognize when the dashboard genuinely cannot answer what they need, and learn what is cheap to ask for and what is a month of work. That single distinction usually pays for the day.
What You'll Learn at a Glance
- Find what filters are in effect and what a measure actually counts
- Identify what a report is quietly excluding
- Tell a real trend from normal variation
- Recognize when an aggregate is hiding what matters
- Spot visual choices that exaggerate or minimize a change
- Ask a question an analyst can act on
- Know when a dashboard cannot answer what you need
Details
Duration
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It assumes no Power BI experience and involves no building. Staff who need to create dashboards should look at Microsoft Power BI Beginners (Level 1) instead.
Your Data Analytics Training Goals, Customized to You
DWC provides expert data analytics and data literacy training aligned to your organization’s needs, your funding requirements, and your participants’ skill levels. With customization at every level, from content to scheduling to delivery format, DWC builds data analytics and data literacy training programs that produce measurable outcomes.
20,000+ Participants Trained | 90% Completion Rate | 1,500+ Organizations Served
Tuition
Microsoft Power BI for Data Driven Decision Makers is available by request only, scheduled around your team.
- $495 per participant, with a three participant minimum
- Private training: request a custom quote. One on one sessions and teams below the three participant minimum are priced case by case
- Larger groups: request a custom quote. We price larger cohorts case by case based on group size, schedule, and delivery format
- Optional courseware: the Power BI Data Visualization Student Guide (Logical Operations) is available at $65 per participant and is not included in the course price
Colorado state agencies, higher education institutions, cities, counties, school districts, and certified nonprofits may purchase this course directly through our State of Colorado Price Agreement. Request a quote and we will build pricing around your team.