DATA GOBLINS POWER BI ANALYZE‑IN‑EXCEL CHECKLIST

Version 1.0 - Last update: Nov 14, 2022

Use the below interactive checklist to follow-up on your Analyze-in-Excel solution:

Click the question mark (?) for a link to a reference document. This will be learn.microsoft.com documentation; if none are available, this may be a Data Goblins article, or another blog post reference.

Implementation Planning

Is this the right solution for what your users need?

Define user audience - Who will use Analyze-in-Excel? What will they do with the data? ?

Define user skill level & need for advanced features (detail row expressions, DAX Queries) ?

Critically appraise usage scenario - Is Analyze-in-Excel being used for the right purpose? ?

Educate users about Analyze-in-Excel & set user expectations ?

Governance Planning

How can you enable users while mitigating the risks of an Excel-based self-service tool?

Define how people will use Analyze-in-Excel - centralized or decentralized? ?

Define how user access (build permissions) should be granted/managed ?

Appraise data loss prevention - is there extra risk exposing data in Excel? ?

Identify model actions required before exposing dataset to Excel ?

Define how Analyze-in-Excel usage is monitored & abuse identified ?

Adoption Planning

How can you ensure Analyze-in-Excel is used, and used properly?

Create some pre-connected Analyze-in-Excel files with branding/formatting ?

Configure pre-connected Analyze-in-Excel files to reduce excessive querying ?

Create some quick-start templates for known analyses & (conditional) formatting ?

ANALYZE-IN-EXCEL END-USER TRAINING CHECKLIST

Training end-users takes time and effort, and the approach differs for every person being trained. Listed below are some elements of Power BI Analyze-in-Excel that one should consider when training them to use it effectively, and mitigate governance risk.

Train Analyze-in-Excel End-Users

How to set up Analyze-in-Excel: Install necessary dependencies, update O365, login to Excel... ?

How to connect to a Power BI Dataset from Excel with 'Get Data' ?

How to approach the analysis; only requesting what you need (i.e. filter first) ?

How to interpret & troubleshoot common errors ?

How to switch Analyze-in-Excel data sources (i.e. Switch Power BI Datasets) ?

How to sort, filter & format Analyze-in-Excel pivot tables ?

How to share Analyze-in-Excel files safely (i.e. publishing to Power BI) ?

ANALYZE-IN-EXCEL DOCUMENTATION CHECKLIST

Documentation varies from project-to-project and team-to-team, but below are some things you can consider documenting for your Power BI Analyze-in-Excel solution.

Power BI Analyze-in-Excel Documentation

Datasets where Analyze-in-Excel is being used

Active Analyze-in-Excel "super-users"

Purpose: Usage scenario & business question/problem that Analyze-in-Excel addresses

Data model features used exclusively in Analyze-in-Excel

Analyze-in-Excel Azure AD groups for access management

Who oversees/mentors the Analyze-in-Excel end-users?

Where is the Analyze-in-Excel Community of Practice located? ?