Course Details

Power BI for Project Dashboards & Reporting Training Course Training Course: Creating interactive and insightful project performance visualizations

Introduction

Unlock the power of your project data and revolutionize your reporting with our "Power BI for Project Dashboards & Reporting" training course. In today's data-driven project landscape, static reports no longer suffice; stakeholders demand real-time, interactive insights into project performance. This intensive 10-day program equips project professionals with the essential skills to transform raw project data from various sources into compelling, interactive dashboards and reports using Microsoft Power BI. Learn to connect data, build robust models, design intuitive visualizations, and empower data-driven decision-making, ensuring your projects are always on track and transparently communicated to all stakeholders.

Duration

10 Days

Target Audience

This course is ideal for project managers, program managers, PMO analysts, project controllers, business analysts, data analysts, and anyone involved in reporting project performance and making data-driven decisions. It is particularly beneficial for those who:

• Work with project data from multiple sources (e.g., Excel, Microsoft Project, JIRA, ERPs).
• Are struggling with manual, time-consuming project reporting processes.
• Want to create dynamic, interactive dashboards and reports.
• Seek to enhance stakeholder communication and visibility into project health.
• Are looking to leverage business intelligence tools for project insights.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the "Power BI for Project Dashboards & Reporting" training course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the core concepts of Power BI and its application in project management reporting.
• Connect to diverse project data sources, including Excel, databases, and project management tools.
• Transform and clean raw project data using Power Query for optimal analysis.
• Design robust data models in Power BI Desktop, defining relationships and hierarchies.
• Write Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) formulas to create calculated measures and columns for key project metrics.
• Create a wide range of compelling and interactive visualizations for project performance dashboards.
• Develop dynamic, drill-down reports that provide multi-level insights into project health.
• Publish and share Power BI reports and dashboards securely with stakeholders.
• Implement best practices for dashboard design, data storytelling, and user experience.
• Formulate a comprehensive strategy for leveraging Power BI to enhance project monitoring and control in their organization.

Course Modules

Module 1: Introduction to Power BI for Project Management

• What is Power BI? Components (Desktop, Service, Mobile) and their roles.
• The Power BI workflow: Get Data, Transform, Model, Visualize, Publish, Share.
• Why Power BI for projects? Benefits of interactive dashboards and real-time insights.
• Overview of key project management metrics and how Power BI can visualize them.
• Case studies of Power BI dashboards in real-world project scenarios.

Module 2: Getting Data into Power BI

• Connecting to common project data sources: Excel files, CSV, SharePoint lists.
• Connecting to databases (e.g., SQL Server, Access) for project data.
• Connecting to project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Jira via connectors/exports).
• Importing data from web sources and APIs (if applicable to project data).
• Understanding data import modes: Import vs. DirectQuery.

Module 3: Data Transformation with Power Query Editor

• Introduction to Power Query Editor: The ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process in Power BI.
• Cleaning and shaping project data: Removing duplicates, filling nulls, splitting columns.
• Merging and appending queries for combining disparate project datasets.
• Pivoting and unpivoting data for optimal visualization.
• Best practices for data hygiene and preparation for project reporting.

Module 4: Data Modeling in Power BI Desktop

• Understanding data relationships: One-to-many, many-to-many.
• Creating and managing relationships between project data tables.
• Designing a star schema vs. snowflake schema for project data.
• Hiding columns, sorting by columns, and setting data categories.
• Optimizing data models for performance and scalability.

Module 5: Introduction to DAX (Data Analysis Expressions)

• What is DAX? Calculated Columns vs. Measures.
• Basic DAX functions for project metrics: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX.
• Creating time intelligence functions for project tracking (e.g., YTD, MTD, previous period).
• CALCULATE function: The core of DAX for powerful filtering.
• Common DAX patterns for project variance, progress, and forecast calculations.

Module 6: Creating Project Performance Visualizations

• Overview of Power BI visualization types for project data: Bar charts, line charts, pie charts, scatter plots.
• Visualizing schedule progress: Gantt-like charts, burndown/burn-up charts.
• Cost performance visualizations: Cost variance, earned value metrics.
• Resource utilization charts and dashboards.
• Quality and risk visualizations: Defect trends, risk heatmaps.

Module 7: Designing Interactive Project Dashboards

• Principles of effective dashboard design: Clarity, conciseness, visual appeal.
• Using filters, slicers, and cross-highlighting for interactive exploration.
• Creating drill-through reports for detailed analysis from high-level summaries.
• Incorporating text boxes, shapes, and images for professional layouts.
• Best practices for user experience (UX) in project dashboards.

Module 8: Advanced DAX for Complex Project Metrics

• Iterating functions: SUMX, AVERAGEX for row-by-row calculations.
• Context transition: Understanding row context vs. filter context.
• Creating dynamic project benchmarks and targets.
• Advanced time intelligence for project forecasting and trend analysis.
• Solving complex project calculation challenges with DAX.

Module 9: Publishing, Sharing, and Collaboration in Power BI Service

• Publishing reports from Power BI Desktop to Power BI Service.
• Sharing dashboards and reports with project stakeholders.
• Understanding Power BI Workspaces, Apps, and Row-Level Security (RLS).
• Scheduling data refreshes for up-to-date project information.
• Collaboration features in Power BI Service (comments, alerts).

Module 10: Advanced Features, Best Practices & Action Plan

• Using Power BI Templates for standardized project reporting.
• Introduction to Power BI Goals for OKR/KPI tracking in projects.
• Performance optimization tips for large datasets and complex reports.
• Version control for Power BI files.
• Developing a strategy for implementing Power BI for project reporting in your organization.
• Personalized action plan for building your first project dashboards.

CERTIFICATION

• Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

• Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

• Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com