Power BI Training
Power BI Training — Rookie to Rock Star
The world's #1 premier training on Power BI. RADACAD runs both in-person and remote/online training events, and provides custom bespoke training for your organisation. 7 modules — from beginner to advanced data science. Taught by Microsoft MVPs.
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Course overview
Power BI Training: Power BI from Rookie to Rock Star
Length
1 to 10+ days
Includes lectures and labs. Depends on modules enrolled.
Delivery
Online or In-person
Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or in-person worldwide.
Type
Public or Corporate
Public or private (corporate) training options available.
The well-known worldwide training in the Power BI field — the most comprehensive Power BI training on the planet. From one to over ten days of training delivered by well-known experts and MVPs, authors of books, and speakers at many conferences. In this training course, you will learn Power BI from beginner to advanced, covering simple data analysis situations as well as complex business intelligence scenarios.
You will learn about all Power BI components — Power Query (Get Data and Transform), Modelling and DAX, Visualization, Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, Gateway configuration, and architecture — all with live demos, best practices, and real-world scenarios. This course is designed in separate modules based on audience type: data analyst, data wrangler, data modeler, data architect, or data scientist. Delivered to thousands of people all around the world.
Instructor
Taught by the world's leading Power BI expert
Reza Rad
Microsoft Regional Director & Data Platform MVP · Author · International Trainer & Speaker
Reza Rad is a Microsoft Regional Director, best-selling author of more than ten Power BI books, invited speaker at the world's largest Power BI and data conferences, and a consultant delivering real-world analytics solutions every day. He designed this course content himself and has delivered it to thousands of professionals across 80+ countries worldwide.
What you receive
Everything you need after training
Every attendee receives a comprehensive set of materials to continue learning after the course ends.
All data & Power BI files
All demo and example files from the training to practise with
Training handout
Comprehensive handout covering all module content
Video training access
Access to video recordings worth $260 USD/module — complimentary to live attendees
Certificate of completion
Official RADACAD certificate recognising your achievement
Why this is the best
The only Power BI training covering all 7 modules
Created by Reza Rad — Microsoft MVP & bestselling author
Content created and updated directly by Reza Rad with years of experience. Author of 10+ best-selling Power BI books.
Thousands of satisfied attendees worldwide
500+ organisations have purchased our training. Five-star feedback from every cohort.
7 modules — up to 10 days of training
The only Power BI training on the planet covering 7 complete modules and all aspects of Power BI learning.
Real-world focus — not just theory
All content built from real consulting project experience. Best practices from live production Power BI solutions.
Not sure which modules are right for you?
Every team is different. Tell us your skill level and goals — we'll recommend the right modules and schedule a programme that works for your group. No obligation.
Course curriculum
Power BI from Rookie to Rock Star — 7 Modules
The most comprehensive course for Power BI on the planet — split into 7 independent modules. You can enrol in any module separately or take the whole course. Each module is designed to be taken regardless of order.
01
Power BI for Data Analysts (Essentials and Visualization)
2 days
Designed for data analysts who have the data modeled and ready to visualize. You will learn all components of Power BI needed for building reports and dashboards — Power Query, Modeling and DAX, Visualization, Power BI Service — and advanced visualization techniques including mobile reports, interactivity, slicers, filters, and parent-child reports.
1.1 — Introduction to Power BI
Introduction to Power BI: What is Power BI?
Power BI Desktop; The First Experience
Power BI Website; You'll Need Just a Web Browser
Introduction to Power BI Components: Power Query, Power Pivot, Power View, and Power Q&A
1.2 — Getting Data and Transformation
What is Power Query: Introduction to Data Mash-Up Engine of Power BI
Different versions of Power Query
Power Query Introduction
Query Editor
Transformation GUI
Get Started with Power Query: Movies Data Mash-Up
Power BI Get Data from Excel: Everything You Need to Know
What is the Role of Power Query in a Power BI Solution
1.3 — Data Modelling and DAX
Power BI xVelocity engine basics and concepts
Relationships in Power BI
Hierarchies and Formatting
Sorting by other columns
Date Table
Introduction to DAX
Calculated Columns, Measures, and Calculated Tables
1.4 — Data Visualization
Power BI Desktop Visualization
Formatting Visuals in Power BI Desktop
Basic Charts and Visuals in Power BI
Sorting, Filtering, and categorization
Custom Visuals in Power BI Desktop
Maps and Geo-Spatial Visualization
1.5 — Power BI Service
Basic Sharing and using workspaces in Power BI web site
Dashboard vs. Report
Power Q&A
Mobile Dashboard Design
Row Level Security
Schedule Refresh vs. Other types of connections
Gateway's Role in the Service
1.6 — Visualization Basics
Importance of Visualization
Basic Charts; Bar and Column Charts
Clustered vs. Stacked Charts
Q&A for Reports
Quick Measures in Power BI
Drill Down and Up using visuals and hierarchies
Pages
1.7 — Slicing and Dicing
Filters
Scopes of Filters: Visual Level, Page Level, Report Level
Modes of Filtering: Basic, Advanced, Relative, Top N
Drill through Page Filter: Creating master-details page scenario in Power BI
Slicers
Types of Slicers; Date, Text, Number
Slicer Formatting
Syncing Slicer between Pages
1.8 — Advanced Visualization in Power BI
Report Page Tooltip
Controlling the interaction of Visuals in a page
Designing Power BI reports for Mobile
Grouping and Binning
Bookmark; saving the state of a page
Buttons; action items
Selection pane; visibility control in Power BI
Golden triangle; Bookmark, button, and selection pane
Colour theme or pallets in Power BI
1.9 — Best Practice Scenarios of Using Visuals
Line Chart; Trend Analysis
Combo Charts; Different Scales in one graph
Ribbon Chart; Ranking
Waterfall Chart; Cashflow
Scatter Chart; Storytelling with the data
Grouping charts: Pie, Donut chart, and Treemap charts
KPI visual
Gauge
Card Visual
Table and Matrix; showing the numbers with conditional formatting
1.10 — Geo Location Visualization: Map Visuals
Map Visual; Using Bing to find spots
Fine Tuning Address Details
Map Visual; Using Latitude and Longitude
Filled Map; Regions and Polygons
Data Category importance for the filled map
Shape Map; Having custom map visual
ArcGIS Map; Map visual which can do everything
1.11 — Custom Visuals
Adding and using a custom visual
Infographic Designer
Tachometer Gauge
Map custom visuals
Certified custom visuals
Hierarchy Slicer
Play Axis
R Custom Visuals
02
Data Modeling with Power BI
1 day
For someone with basic Power BI knowledge who wants to connect to data sources and build a data model for visualization. Covers star-schema design, relationships, dimensional modeling, and how to build a model that performs fast. By the end you can build a star schema from a data source and understand Power BI relationships and best practices.
2.1 — Relationships
Why relationships in Power BI
one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many, and one-to-one relationships
What is the direction of the relationship?
role-playing dimension and inactive relationships
relationships based on multiple columns
2.2 — Dimensional Modeling
Why data preparation
What is dimension table?
What is fact table and different types of it?
Do you need a date dimension?
Power BI default or custom date table
What is star-schema?
2.3 — Star Schema in Action
Combining dimension tables
Creating shared dimension
Combine tables or create relationships?
What fields to hide?
Build your first star-schema
One dimension filters another dimension
2.4 — Calculations
DAX or M?
Row-based calculation or aggregations?
Calculated tables
Measures Vs. Calculated columns
2.5 — Better Data Model
Move shared tables to dataflows
Shared datasets and how to use it
Reducing the size of the model
Important consideration about dates in Power BI
03
Power Query: Get Data and Transform
2 days
Designed for data wranglers, data developers, or data transformers. Learn all things about Power Query from zero to hero — from basic data connections through to advanced M scripting, custom functions, error handling, generators, structured columns, and performance tuning. After this course you can implement any type of data transformation through Power Query.
3.1 — Get Data
Introduction to Power Query
Query Editor
Get Data from Web
Basic Transformations
Get Data from Excel
Use First Row As Headers / Use Headers as First Row
Get Data from SQL Server
3.2 — Data Types and Data Structures
Base data structures in Power Query
Get Data from JSON
Transforming Table, Record, and List
Data Types in Power Query
Query Operations
Enable Load; Performance Boost
Query Operations; Duplicate, and Reference
3.3 — Combine Queries
Dimensional Modelling; Designing the data model
Append, creating a single big query of the same structure
Merge; Joining queries when the structure is different
Join types in Merge
Tips to consider after Merge or Append
3.4 — Better Power Query Editor Experience
Groups; Folders in Query Editor
Steps Operations
Splitting query steps
Moving steps up or down
Add as new query / Drill Down
Be Careful of Actions; Undo!
3.5 — Reducing Number of Rows; Filtering
Row Operations; Removing rows
Row Operations; Keeping rows
Remove/Keep Errors
Remove/Keep Duplicates
Using Remove/Keep combination for troubleshooting report
Filtering based on Individual values
The dilemma of the basic filtering
Advanced Filtering
Sorting
3.6 — Column Operations
Column Operations
Choosing Columns
Removing Columns
Data Type Change
Locale consideration for the data type
Replace Values
Fill Down/Up; Very Useful for Excel
3.7 — Table Transformations
Group By; Changing the granularity of the data table
Group by Advanced
Scripting and Group by; First and Last item in each group
Transpose; rows to columns and reverse
Pivot; changing the name-value structure to columns
Unpivot; changing the budget column structure to rows
3.8 — Text Transformations
Split Column by Delimiter
Split Column by number of Characters
Split into rows instead of columns
Merge (Concatenate)
Format
The difference between Clean and Trim
Parse (XML or JSON)
Extract part of the text
3.9 — Numeric Transformations
Standard transformations; Divide, Integer-divide, Multiply, Add etc.
Scientific transformations; logarithm, power square, etc.
Statistics transformations
Rounding
Information functions; Is Even, Is Odd, and Sign
Dealing with faults in Numeric calculations
3.10 — Date and Time Transformations
Date Transformations (Year, Month, Quarter, Week, etc.)
Extending Fiscal Date Column
Time Transformations (Hour, Minute, Second, etc.)
Adding Time/Date banding
Duration Transformation and Data Type
Age Calculation
Local Date or Time
Time zone consideration for Power BI
3.11 — Structured Column Transformations
What is a Structured Column?
Expand
Aggregate
Expand and Aggregate: Performance Consideration
3.12 — Add Column Transformations
Add Column vs. Transform?
Add Column with a Transformation
Index Column: Row Number
Conditional Column
Add Column by Example; When you don't know which transformation to use
Add Custom Column: Generic
3.13 — Functions and Parameters; Dynamic Power Query
Defining Parameters
Using Parameters in an existing query
Advanced GUI for parameters
Creating Function from a query
Invoking the sample function
Add Column Transform: Invoke Custom Function
When the advanced GUI does not exist
3.14 — Power Query Formula Language: M
What is M? and the importance of learning M
M Syntax
End of the line
Variable Names
Special Characters
Escape Character
Step by Step Coding
Literals
Function Call
Comments
A real-world example
3.15 — Working with Data Structures in M
Primitive Value
List
Record
Table
Function
Navigating through List and List functions
Navigating through Record and Record functions
Navigating through Table and table functions
Concatenating lists and records
3.16 — Advanced M Scripting
#Shared Keyword; function library of Power Query
Parameters in the code
Custom Functions through scripting
Error Handling in Power Query
Generators in Power Query: Implementing Loop Structure
EACH: singleton function
Sample Custom Function: Day Number of Year Custom Function
3.17 — Performance Tips and Tricks
Enable Load; Simple, but Efficient
Reducing Number of Columns
Query Folding
Grouping and Aggregation; Performance Consideration
Merge; Before and After, things to Consider
3.18 — Error Handling
Keep/Remove Errors; Troubleshooting report
Count Rows
Reference/Duplicate
Replace Errors
Data Type considerations
3.19 — Use Cases
Date Dimension with Power Query; building the base table
Adding Fiscal columns to the Date dimension
Getting public holidays live and merging to the date dimension
Looping through files in a folder with Power Query
04
DAX and Calculations in Power BI
2 days
Designed for data modelers who have data prepared and ready to be modeled for analysis. Learn DAX from zero to hero — from simple calculations to complex expressions for solving real-world BI challenges. Covers evaluation context, aggregation, iterators, filter functions, time intelligence, parent-child hierarchies, and performance best practices.
4.1 — Introduction to DAX
Syntax of DAX
Naming in DAX
Operators and Operands
Logical Operations
Data Types in Power BI Model
Overview of Functions in DAX
Variables
DAX or M? When to use Which?
4.2 — Calculations in Power BI
Calculated Column; Row by Row
Measure; Single Output
Calculated Table; A derived table
Calculated Column? Maybe a good candidate for Power Query transformation
Measures are Dynamic
4.3 — Aggregation and Iterator Functions
Aggregation Functions
Implicit Measures vs. Explicit Measures
Sum of an Expression: SumX
Iterator Functions
Difference between SUM and SUMX
4.4 — Filter Functions
ALL
Filter Functions to be used inside other functions
Examples of using ALL function
ALL and SUMX; Percentage Calculation
AllExcept
Filter Function: Custom Filter
Values/Distinct; getting a unique list of values
4.5 — Evaluation Contexts and Conditional Sum
Row Context
Filter Context
Exception for Row Context
Exception for Filter Context
Calculate Function
Conditional Sum; Three ways of Implementing; pros and Cons
Variables in DAX and using them for debugging
4.6 — Relationship Functions
Related: Many to one
RelatedTable: Sub table that can be used as a filter
CrossFilter: Changing Direction of relationship
UseRelationship: using an inactive relationship
TreatAS function
4.7 — Time Intelligence Functions
Choosing the Date Table: Built-in or Customized Date Table
Mark as Date Table
Year to Date, Quarter to Date
Fiscal Year to Date
Same Period Last Year
Year over Year Comparison
ParallelPeriod vs SamePeriodLastYear vs DateAdd
Running Total
Rolling 12 Month Sales
Average 12 Month Sales
Rolling 6 Months
Flexible time banding
Time zone consideration in Power BI
4.8 — Dynamic DAX: Parameters
Numeric Parameter Definition through GUI
GenerateSeries DAX function
SelectedValue DAX function
Sample Scenario: Customer Retention with Dax and Power BI
Other Types of Parameters? Parameter Table
SWITCH
Sample Scenario: Selection of Measures in a table dynamically
4.9 — Parent-Child Functions
Organizational Hierarchy or Chart of Accounts: unknown levels
Path function
PathLength: getting the number of levels
PathItem: finding a specific level
PathItemReverse
PathContains: Security Pattern
LookupValue: To get the other related fields
4.10 — Best Practices Tips and Tricks
Modelling Best Practices
Understanding when to switch between Power Query and DAX
Considerations for very large tables
A tool that helps: Power BI Helper
05
Power BI Design Patterns
1 day
Power BI Design Patterns are architectural designs of dimensional models combined with Power Query techniques and DAX calculations — designed for solving real business case scenarios. A design pattern's technique can be applied with minimal changes to similar patterns in other scenarios. Recommended for anyone building Power BI data models.
Design Patterns Covered
What are design patterns and how to use them
Customer retention
Inventory stock on-hand
Subscription
Age-based analysis
Static banding or binning
Dynamic banding or binning
Budget Vs. Actual
…and more patterns covered in the full course
06
Power BI for Data Architects (Architecture and Administration)
2 days
Designed for a data architect or administrator designing the architecture of leveraging Power BI in a solution. Covers strategy and architecture rather than development — Power BI Service, connection types, sharing methods, row-level security, gateway configuration, integration with other tools, and architecture blueprints. No previous modules required.
6.1 — Power BI Service
Power BI Components
Power BI Service Content; Dashboard, Report, and Dataset
Dashboard Features in the service
What is Gateway?
Two types of Gateway; On-premises, Personal
Configuration and Installation of Gateway
Import Data and Schedule Refresh
DirectQuery Connection
Live Connection
Composite Model
6.2 — Sharing
Basic Dashboard or Report Sharing
Workspaces in Power BI; Dev Environment
Power BI Apps; User Environment
Publish to Web
Embed in SharePoint Online; Office 365 Integrated Sharing
Power BI Embedded; Embedding content into another application
Comparison of all Sharing methods
6.3 — Security
Row Level Security
Dynamic Row Level Security
Patterns for Dynamic Row Level Security
Manager Level Access
Organization Chart Access as Dynamic Row Level Security
Profiles and Users; Dynamic Row Level Security
Dynamic Row Level Security using SQL Server Analysis Service Live Connection
6.4 — Administration and Licensing
Power BI Administrator Configuration
Usage Metrics
Customizing Usage Metrics
Power BI Licensing Guide
Power BI Premium
Power BI Embedded Licensing
6.5 — Integration
PowerPoint Integration with Power BI
Power BI and Excel; More than just an Integration
Power BI Report Server: Power BI on-premises
SQL Server Reporting Services Integration with Power BI
Real-time Streaming with Power BI, and Azure Stream Analytics
Power BI REST API
6.6 — Architecture
Architecture for Enterprise Scale
Architecture for Sharing
Architecture for Self-Service
A tool that helps: Power BI Helper
07
Power BI for AI and Data Scientists
2 days
Takes an extra step beyond descriptive analysis into predictive analytics using Power BI in combination with AI features — Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning, R, Python and more. If you want next-level data analysis using AI functionalities in Power BI, this course is for you.
Topics Covered
AI visuals in Power BI
AI functions in Power Query
R and Python in Power BI
Power BI and Azure Cognitive Services
Power BI and Azure Machine Learning
Time series with R in Power BI
Ready to book or have a question about the curriculum?
We respond to all training enquiries within one business day. Whether it's a single module or the full 10-day programme — get in touch and we'll make it happen.
Upcoming public courses
Power BI public courses open for registration
Register through RSVPify. Small groups — personalised learning experience.
Power BI
Mastering Power BI — Miami, FL
4 days · Reza Rad · In-person
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Power BI
Mastering Power BI — Zurich, Switzerland
4 days · In-person
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Power BI
Mastering Power BI — Melbourne, Australia
4 days · Reza Rad · In-person
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Also enrolling — Fabric courses
Microsoft Fabric courses open for registration
Our Fabric: Rookie to Rock Star course runs alongside our Power BI programme — often attendees combine both.
What attendees say
Trusted by thousands worldwide
A sample of the feedback from RADACAD Power BI training attendees.
★★★★★
"We organised a 4-day training event with Reza and Leila from RADACAD. From the outset, they provided great advice on what they could cover and provided a very comprehensive overview for the 25 trainees. For anyone who is considering Power BI specifically and want clarity on the best architecture and how to effectively use it, I strongly recommend contacting RADACAD. They gave us a real head start."
Brent Gamble
Team Leader BI Training and Support, Massey University
★★★★★
"Reza and Leila with RADACAD were phenomenal course facilitators and very accommodating of our group of 12. The course content was clear, well-paced, and structured intently with each lesson serving as a building block for the next. The team thoroughly enjoyed the engagement and definitely felt like Power BI Rockstars coming out of each session. Our organisation has already begun to reap the benefits."
Jasuwha (Josh) Choi
Senior Support Engineer, Microsoft
★★★★★
"Reza explains things so well and easy to understand and goes at a pace everyone can follow. He also reads the room and can tell if we like or don't like something and adjusts so that it makes sense to us."
Lynelle Rood
Global Production Analyst, Zespri International
★★★★★
"Reza completely lived up to his hype. After the class I was immediately able to pull and massage data, create useful reports and post them to dashboards. I would recommend RADACAD without hesitation."
DT
Daniel R. Tuma
Senior Systems Analyst, Cleveland Metro Schools
★★★★★
"I highly recommend this course for Power BI starters. Instructors are already MVPs for Power BI and very detailed and patient in explaining."
Mahesh Chudamani
Staff System Engineer, Visa
★★★★★
"Easily the finest quality course I've ever attended in my life. Reza knows Power BI inside out. Well worth the money and time invested — Power BI is definitely the future of business reporting."
DK
Daniel Kastelic
Otago Regional Council
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