Key details

Microsoft Power BI is a suite of business intelligence (BI) data visualisation tools designed to help you make better business decisions.

Armada offers Power BI training courses to users at all levels:

• Introduction to Power BI Desktop (2 days)
• Advanced Power BI (2 days)

Microsoft Power BI training is arranged on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group. Your training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing.

Exercises provide activity-based experience, helping you build confidence using Power BI. These exercises can be tailored to deal with issues specific to your business.

Introduction to Power BI (2 days)

Provides a firm grounding in the application to produce a variety of reports. You’ll learn to:

• Connect to several different data sources.
• Carry out a range of data-cleansing activities in Power Query.
• Produce meaningful reports using a wide range of visuals and techniques.
• Publish reports to the Power BI Service
• Build a dashboard.
• Use online features.

For a list of the topics covered, see Course content.

Target audience: Those who want to begin using Power BI Desktop to create reports and visualise data and intend to progress to producing their own reports.

Prerequisites: Although not essential, a sound working knowledge of Excel and familiarity with working with files of different types is useful.

We also offer a one-day reduced-scope introductory course (1 day) – Power BI Desktop ‘Dashboard in a day’. In this course, you explore the user interface, create simple visualisations using a variety of standard settings, connect to a few different data sources, produce a variety of visualisations, publish a report to the Power BI Service and build a dashboard.

Advanced Power BI (2 days)

Focuses on the planning and building of data models from multiple source files, and using Power Query to carry out advanced data transformations. You’ll learn to:

• Extend the data model by creating additional columns and measures in DAX.
• Use a representative selection of DAX functions.
• Use the new or interesting features introduced in Power BI’s latest monthly updates, some of which add significant functionality.

By the end of the two days, you’ll be able to start building your own semantic models, sharing these with other users and produce more sophisticated reports based on DAX measures including Time Intelligence functions.

For a list of the topics covered, see Course content.

Target audience: Those who want to create advanced data models and powerful reports in Power BI desktop.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with the Power BI environment and the ability to create and format a range of visuals.

Expert Microsoft Power BI trainers

Microsoft Power BI training is hosted by highly experienced instructors. See Expert trainers.

Training guide and certificate

Course delegates receive:

• Comprehensive training materials for Power BI Desktop, to refer to throughout the course, and to use as a refresher back in the work-place.
• An e-certificate confirming successful completion of a Microsoft Power BI Desktop training course.

After course support

Following Power BI Desktop training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

General information

Course times

Standard course times are 9.30am–4.30pm.

As we’d be hosting this as a ‘closed course’ for you/your group, there’s usually flexibility to change these times to suit you, e.g. start or end 30 minutes earlier or later.

Payment

Payment for Microsoft Office training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Card payments are processed by Stripe. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Accommodation

See Accommodation local to our training centres.

Cancellations and postponements

If an on-request Microsoft Power BI course booking is cancelled giving less than 20 working days’ notice, a cancellation fee is payable. View cancellation terms.

If an on-request Microsoft Power BI course booking is postponed giving less than 20 working days’ notice, a postponement fee is payable. View postponement terms.

Terms and conditions

Expert trainers

Microsoft Power BI training courses are hosted by:

• Claire Squibb
• Simon Lambourne-Wills

Claire Squibb

Claire has used spreadsheets since the launch of VisiCalc, when she fell in love with its structured simplicity – and the fact that it always got the maths right!

She started training professionally in 1987 for Harlow Information Technology Centre where she obtained teaching certification.  She has always focused on spreadsheets and data, and now specialises in Microsoft Excel and Power BI, keeping up with new updates and features as they arrive and, where appropriate, adding them into her training material.

Although Claire teaches to all levels, she has not lost sight of the fact that her learners are not experts.  She has a lively and engaging manner and is able to explain things clearly and logically, while still giving the opportunity for more advanced learners to experiment.

Simon Lambourne-Wills

Simon has been a Microsoft Trainer and Consultant since 2007.

He has expert knowledge of a wide range of applications in the Office family. As well as the mainstream products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Power BI, etc., Simon hosts courses in the more niche tools including Yammer, Sway, Office365 Video and Planner.

When training, Simon strives to build confidence in all attendees. He achieves this by engaging and interacting with them, creating good rapport and enabling them to be involved.

Course content

Power BI Desktop ‘Dashboard in a day’ (1 day)

• Getting started with Power BI
• Importing data
• Creating reports in Power BI Desktop
• Formatting report visuals
• Simple data manipulation
• Publishing to the Power BI service
• Creating a dashboard in the Power BI Service

Introduction to Power BI (2 days)

• Getting started with Power BI
• Importing files
• Creating a simple report
• Formatting report visuals
• Changing filter interactions
• Simple data transformation
• The Data Model
• Combining tables with Append and Merge
• Creating simple calculated columns and measures in DAX
• Conditional formatting of visual elements
• Setting up drill-through pages
• Creating and testing Roles using DAX filters
• Publishing to and exploring the Power BI Service

Advanced Power BI (2 days)

• Connecting to different data sources
• Further data transformation
• Adding columns in Power Query
• Calculated columns in DAX
• DAX measures including:
  • Aggregate measures
  • Iterative measures
  • Filter measures
  • CALCULATE
• Evaluation Context in measures
• Dedicated Calendar tables
• Time Intelligence measures
• Advanced reporting features, which may include
  • Bookmarks
  • Field parameters
  • Custom tooltips
  • … and other topics of interest

Live online training

Online training lets you participate in a live Microsoft Office course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Watch our trainer demonstrate techniques in Microsoft Office.
• Interact by speaking, using chat, or raising your ‘virtual hand’ if you need assistance.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online Microsoft Power BI courses…

• Are presented by expert instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises using Microsoft Office.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with…

• Microsoft Office installed.
• A webcam and audio capability. If your computer running Microsoft Office doesn’t have these, you can use a second device, such as another computer or tablet. See Hardware recommendations for live online training for further details.

If there’s anything you’re not sure about we’ll do our best to help you. We won’t, however, be able to assist with your Microsoft Office installation.

We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. Then, a couple of days before your course, we’ll give you a courtesy call to make sure you have everything in place and answer any questions you may have.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time