Data modeling in Power BI – basis for effective reporting
Unfortunately, data modeling is not given enough attention in many business intelligence (BI) projects and its value is underestimated. Above all, you want to show results quickly – i.e. meaningful reports with diagrams and tables. However, this can quickly take its toll, as reports based on a poor data model can usually only be expanded or managed with great effort. New BI tools such as Power BI do not solve the entire problem, but they support the data modeling process with innovative functionalities.
Who does not know that? You start a BI project with a catalog of requirements that is not always complete. However, the clients do not want to wait so long until everything is defined, but rather see results as quickly as possible for various reasons. The team gets to work and needs (too) much time for the ETL phase (Extract, Transform, Load) because the interfaces to the various data sources are not that simple or were not documented enough.
Sufficient time had been planned for the data modeling phase, but since ETL took longer, the data modeling had to be “shortened” to make time for visualization. The client sees the reports, but not the data model. Ultimately, the client is satisfied, but wants extensions that should be implemented “tomorrow”. And then the problem really begins. The data model works, but any extensions make the data model susceptible to inconsistencies or require laborious programming. The effort increases disproportionately and reporting becomes prone to errors.
Microsoft Power BI, as a third-generation BI tool, does not solve the entire problem, but it comprehensively supports the data modeling process with innovative functionality. From the automatic recognition of relationships to the visual support of the model viewer to the optimization and verification of the data model - there is always a toolbox and an active and excellent community available that makes data modeling easier and faster.
Data modeling was greatly expanded and expanded, especially in the fall updates of Power BI. The new Model View enables easy navigation and quick recognition of dependencies. The good practice collection from the community is an invaluable resource, and I personally have received many suggestions on how data modeling can be improved.
If you know more about Power BI If you want to find out more and if you also want to put your data modeling on a new basis, then contact us. We would be happy to talk about our experiences and support you in your reporting challenges.