Data Goblins Blog — DATA GOBLINS

Oct 25

Oct 25 The Data Café - A Secret Sauce for Adoption

What kinds of things can we do to ensure adoption once the reports are live? One of the easiest ways is to host a regular “data café” surrounding the solution. In this article we examine why this is valuable.

Oct 18

Oct 18 Converting a Power BI Dataset .bim to a .pbix with pbi-tools

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling

Have you ever wondered how to convert Power BI metadata (i.e. from Tabular Editor) to a .pbix? Recently, I needed to do this. Thankfully, pbi-tools (and Mathias Thierbach) came to the rescue! This is not supported by Microsoft, but it’s interesting to know that this approach does exist.

Oct 18

Oct 18 Power BI App Checklist

Kurt Buhler

In this article, we look at how to make a good Power BI app. Paying attention to these checklist items will result in more professional, consistent app experiences that make it easier for users to find what they need and for you to drive adoption of reports.

Oct 18

Oct 18 Power BI Dashboard Checklist

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

In this article, we look at what we need to make a good dashboard, and some important considerations with access & permissions

Oct 18

Oct 18 Power BI Dataflow Checklist

Kurt Buhler

Getting/Transforming Data

Dataflows can be a very useful and powerful data transformation tool to centralize & govern transformation logic. In this article are some points to consider when making & deploying Power BI Dataflows in your organization.

Oct 4

Oct 4 Power BI Data Visualization - Ideas & Wishlist

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

Power BI is a powerful tool that has also enabled millions of people worldwide to easily visualize & explore their data. Despite that, inflexibility to the visualization configuration and formatting can make it difficult to fulfill visual requirements. What are some of the biggest feature gaps with data visualization in Power BI, and why is this important?

Sep 6

Sep 6 Exploring App Audiences in Power BI

Kurt Buhler

In this article, we explore Power BI App Audiences and why they are such a powerful feature for managing and using content in Power BI Apps.

Sep 1

Sep 1 Power BI Dataset Checklist

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling

In this post, we look at what we can do to make our datasets easier to use, understand & maintain.

Sep 1

Sep 1 Power BI Report Checklist

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

In this post I list some tips for checking to make sure your report is ready for handover to someone else.

Aug 30

Aug 30 Designing Models and Reports for your Future Self: Part 1

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption

In this post, we look at what can be done to facilitate a smoother handover of Power BI datasets & reports. First, we examine the mentality & activities needed to create sustainable, hygienic solutions, and why that is important.

Aug 23

Aug 23 You can do this, dammit

Kurt Buhler

Jul 28 Looking for your input for a future session about Mental Health

Kurt Buhler

Jul 26 Training Power BI End-Users with reporTee

Kurt Buhler

Governance/Administration, Data Culture & Adoption

Training users is important in every Power BI project. It’s particularly important when implementing Power BI, or if users are not familiar with Power BI reports. However, creating good training material is time-consuming, and difficult. In this article, I introduce reporTee, a licensed, out-of-the-box training tool to get users oriented in Power BI reports.

Jul 19

Jul 19 “We need this report in Power BI”

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption, Data Visualization

In this article, I discuss 3 common approaches to collecting reporting requirements, arguing in favor of the third approach - working iteratively & collaboratively with business users to make the report.

Jul 5

Jul 5 Disable Auto-scaling in Power BI Visuals

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

‘Responsive Visuals’ is a lesser-known feature that in general helps users make better graphs without fawning over visual settings & parameters. However, disabling it might be necessary at times when you are trying to achieve a specific result that Power BI default visuals won’t seem to permit.

Jun 28

Jun 28 Visualize Power BI Dependencies with Tabular Editor and Mermaid

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling, Data Visualization

I share a method in Tabular Editor to generate mermaid flowchart syntax to visualize model object dependencies. This code can be directly copied into an Azure DevOps wiki to automate documentation, or into mermaid.live to get an image of the resulting flowchart.

Jun 21

Jun 21 Dimensions of Self-Service in Power BI: Part 2 - The Dimensions of Learning

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption

In this post, I write about the learning paths users take when using self-service solutions in Power BI. Specifically, I illustrate a way to conceptualize these learning paths, making it easier to segment users and create meaningful training programs.

Jun 21

Jun 21 The Impact Factor of Power BI External Tools

Kurt Buhler

Governance/Administration

In this post, I explain why External Tools are necessary & discuss the challenges in adopting them.

Jun 14

Jun 14 Dimensions of Self-Service in Power BI: Part 1

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption, Governance/Administration

In this post, I write about the options for self-service tooling in Power BI. Which tools to use for which cases, by whom & why? I've found it's helpful to visualize the different dimensions of this, to know the options & understand user skill/solution paths.

Jun 7

Jun 7 The value Power BI could bring to Academic Research

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption

I believe that Power BI - if successfully adopted & supported in a research department - has the potential to deliver tremendous value. In this article, I try to explain how, and why this benefits researchers & society as a whole.