Explicit Measures Podcast

188: Mailbag! When to Use Excel Over Power BI?

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have another mailbag! The guys discuss the following: Is there a time when I should use Excel over Power BI? The situation I am thinking about is w...

187: 21 Mind Traps in BI

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Watch this video first! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYYkRaU0xh8 How does the 21 mind traps video relate to us in the Power BI world? Mike, Seth, &...

186: DataOps in For Power BI

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, and Tommy dive into DataOps processes and methods and how much they should be integrated with Power BI developers. Links: https://www.kers...

185: Mythical Man-Month: The Second System Effect

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy dive back into the Mythical Man-Month series and tackle the idea of the Second System Effect and how it relates to Power BI de...

184: Is an Analytical Engineer a BI Developer?

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Based on this tweet: Andy Cutler on Twitter: "Is an Analytics Engineer a BI Developer? All the skills I’m seeing align with that." / Twitter What is...

183: Should We Have More Icons & Buttons In Our Reports?

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy look at their practices to see if there is a larger need in our reports for more user interaction on the canvas itself.  ...

182: Learning By Doing - Using Sample Reports & Database for Growing Your Skills

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by Kurt Buhler (DataGoblins), Mike, Seth, & Tommy review how essential sample data, dummy reports, and messing around with non-business f...

181: Should We Always Hide Power BI Objects?

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy pick up a potentially contentious topic... Should ALL Power BI models have certain objects hidden from the report view? While ...

180: Power BI Champions Deep Dive

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The guys have extensively covered the Power BI Adoption roadmap and strategies, but one missing piece not truly reviewed is the importance of what are...

179: Searching In Power BI Desktop - A Must-Use Feature?

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Coming off the winds of an earlier episode, just how important is it for any report author to not just get familiar with searching in Power BI Desktop...

178: Why Power BI Is So Difficult

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy talk through a conversation from Tim Warner, a Content Developer at Microsoft.  The crux of the argument revolves around ...

177: Where do the DAX Window Functions Fit Into Our Existing Processes?

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you missed the December 2022 Power BI update, you missed a potentially altering way we think about DAX measures!  Three new functions were rel...

176: Should We Be Utilizing Report Subscriptions More?

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You have seen Microsoft update the subscription feature recently, and the guys review this potentially underutilized feature and how could it be broug...

175: How Do you QA Power BI Assets?

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy discuss a question asked on Twitter revolving on ensuring the highest quality of reports, content, and data from a team of dev...

174: Push Sources to Power BI or MDM?

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We got a mailbag! Here is the question: How strict should one be to always push new data sources through our framework before we build tabular models....

173: Dear Satya

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy write letters to Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft on their wishes for Power BI, and where the biggest needs are. Get in tou...

172: Display Folders or Measure Tables in Power BI?

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy dive into a common but hard-to-find feature in Power BI - Display Folders or Measure Tables for our DAX Measures? What is the ...

171: Does Power BI Need a Figma Design System?

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Based off this article on Bibb.pro...https://www.bibb.pro/post/why-business-intelligence-needs-a-figma-design-system Does BI "require" a Figma design ...

170: Plan To Throw One Away

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys go back to the Mythical Man Month and speaking on an important topic: Plan to Throw One Away.  The idea back in the day and still true n...

169: BI or Change Management?

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys discuss two great articles around if the skill and success of Power BI resolves around Change management abilities.  https://jenstirrup....

168: Too Many Systems for Our Power BI Process - Deciding on The Right Tools for Projects

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft has fully become a player in the data industry. From Power BI (obviously) to Azure, Machine learning, Purview, Synapse, Power Apps.... Just ...

167: Security Groups in Power BI - Where Does it Work?

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are talking about Security Groups in Power BI with an introduction to where it works.  And for those of you who this sounds boring: trust us, ...

166: DAX For Style

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Taking a different approach to DAX, the language and toolbelt of the DAX language goes far beyond just crunching numbers. What can DAX do to enhance t...

165: What Makes a Visual Confusing?

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are going back into the Enrico Bertini well of amazing insights.  On the surface, the question of what makes a visual confusing is simple. But...

164: Defining Corporate Data

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The growth of self-service and fast moving data has lead to the lack of what is defined as corporate data. What comes from the top, and should we trea...

163: Data Modeling Semantics

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Based on a post on LinkedIn, arguing that data modeling has become a "second class citizen" and no longer paired with business concepts from day 1 of ...

162: The Mythical Man-Month & Power BI Development

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Based on a link from Paul Turley's blog (and an episode on getting your data into shape).  The idea behind this is observations from software eng...

161: Power BI as Part of Office Installer

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft has released a bombshell to the entire Office 365 ecosystem: Power BI Desktop is included with the Office Installer. What implications and e...

160: Power BI Roadmap Suggested Timeline of Events

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy dive into a new diagram on the suggestion for implementing the Power BI Adoption Roadmap, from getting familiar to success. Do...

159: Data Thinking Gaps in Power BI

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy dive into an amazing article by Enrico Bertini, on what Data Thinking and the gaps there.  What is the importance of crit...

158: Exploring App Audiences in Power BI

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another amazing article by Data Goblins on utilizing the features in Apps, Mike, Seth, & Tommy discuss the alternate ways to use the audiences as ...

157: Why Communities Fail

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever seen a community fall apart, or lose its luster? In the context of Power BI, we are part of many communities, but why do some lose their...

156: The Trough of Disillusionment

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Adoption & Promotion... Using @Gartner_inc "Trough of Disillusionment", what should Power BI Pros expect and can we avoid this at our organization...

155: Polishing the Power BI Experience (Tenant, Apps, Landing Pages)

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy focus on everything OUTSIDE the report landing page, and the report itself. What can we do to further help organizations and c...

154: How Do You Scale Yourself?

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This came from a conversation with an attendee at the Data Insights Summit in Chicago: There are so many features and projects to work on in the Power...

153: Revisiting Power BI Datamarts - Choosing Gold Datasets or Datamarts

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Datamarts in #PowerBI... We have 5 months to work with, so where do they fit for teams, solutions? The Explicit Measures podcast revisits datamarts a...

152: Deployment Pipelines - Should They Always Be Used?

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Power BI Deployment Pipelines are fast becoming an essential feature for organizations and BI teams. With the newly release deployment history, the ab...

151: Getting Your Data Into Shape - Power BI Style

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With another amazing article by Paul Turley, the guys dive into the importance of star schemas and being able to mess around in Power BI.  Articl...

150: Mailbag! The Seven-Step Problem Solving Process for Power BI

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy break out another mailbag and how the 7 step problem solving process relates to Power BI.   https://www.mckinsey.com...

147: Mailbag! Do We Need Graphic Design Skills In Power BI?

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another quick episode this week (last short one we promise) as the guys are out doing Power BI things! This is a mailbag asking all about how much do ...

149: Communicating With Your Stakeholder on Power BI Adoption

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy review the components and the value of communication with executive sponsorship in Power BI Adoption. What makes it effective,...

148: Mental Models for Visualization in Power BI

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, and Tommy dive into another amazing article by Enrico Bertini: The Three Mental Models Model for Data Visualization (substack.com)  -...

146: Mailbag! Adding Data Friendly Names in Power BI?

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We got a mailbag this week! This is a shorter episode, as people have stuff to do! We are tackling when the process and the placement of adding data f...

145: Data Insights Summit Recap

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We recap the Data Insights Summit in Chicago and the amazing experience, sessions, and new looks into Power BI coming up! Get in touch: Send in your q...

144: People Process, Technology - Part 3 - Technology

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the last part of our 3 part series on People Process, and Technology. We are all in on technology, and how is it unique to Power BI?  Th...

143: Power BI Collaboration Methods

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What, where, and more importantly, WHY is collaboration in Power BI becoming increasingly important? Mike, Seth, & Tommy discuss just that on toda...

142: People, Process, Technology - Part 2 - Process

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today is part two of our series on #powerbi and People, Process, and technology. Today, process. The most underrated of the 3, and potentially the mos...

141: The Rise of Dataflows

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dataflows in Power BI are fast becoming part of the workflow than ever before. With consistent updates, major releases, and an overall solid product, ...

140: Special Edition! Datamarts with Charles Webb

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Special Edition of the Explicit Measures Podcast! This episode we have Product Manager Charles Webb from the Microsoft team joining us with a discussi...

139: People, Product, Technology - Part 1 - People

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today begins our 3 week Tuesday series on something all #powerbi professionals need to have a hard look on. The People, Process and Technology framewo...

138: What Is Your Next Career Step?

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy go back to why they think they are in Power BI for the long haul (and why you should be too), what they realized early on, and...

137: Where Should Data Live in Power BI?

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With Microsoft ever growing their data platform (if you do not believe us, think of Power BI, now read this: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/ga...

134: Our Most Underrated Power BI Features

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Surprise! We forgot to Publish 134 from last week: There are more features, settings, and components in the Power BI Ecosystem that you can count, and...

136: We Need This In Power BI - Reporting Requirements

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are diving into another amazing article, this time by Kurt Buhler (LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtbuhler/) and this is all about how we...

135: The Storytelling Debate in Power BI

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So we know Storytelling is a buzz word in our industry... But how much storytelling are we actually doing, and as Mike, Seth, & Tommy get into it,...

133: Fields Parameters in Power BI

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy are finally ready to tackle the amazing Field Parameters feature in Power BI, and what the true implications and impact on new...

132: Breaking Down Personalize Visuals in Power BI

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys discuss the importance, role, and needs of the Power BI feature for consumers to personalize any visual in a Power BI Report.  Just how ...

131: Do You Still Need a DBA?

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy discuss the following article and if a Database Administrator is still a required role on its own, or if the DBA is merging wi...

130: The Power BI Community in 2022 & Beyond

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy discuss how much the Power BI Community has changed and is connected, and what does the future of User Groups, conferences, an...

129: Beyond Precision - Expressiveness In Visualization

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike, Seth, & Tommy are again inspired by an article by Enrico Bertini on Data Visualization:  https://filwd.substack.com/p/beyond-precision-...

128: Mailbag! Major Rebuilds On Bad Power BI Reports

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have another Mailbag! Mike, Seth, & Tommy received a question that was a must-talk topic.  How many times have you as a Power BI developer...

127: Mailbag! Spoke But No Hub? Power BI Non-Centralized

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's topic comes from the mailbag! to get your own question discussed, see the links below. We have talked loads about the need for a strong Hub (c...

126: Just Send It!

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The delicate dance between perfection and delivery. What are the core things you should do before you "send it out the door", and what is acceptable t...

125: Local & Global Power BI Models

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys talk in-depth about the importance and weight of creating and standardizing "Global" models in an organization. With the introduction of data...

124: Data Mart First Impressions

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yes, it's finally the guys time to review the biggest release by Microsoft this year. Data Marts. If you have not heard of this feature - GET TO IT. T...

123: What's Your Problem? Problem Solving in Power BI

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You poll 100 Power BI developers, and there is a good chance that the majority of every-day builders love to figure out technical puzzles. We have to ...

122: In Too Deep - Dealing With Complicated Power BI Models

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When we get in the weeds of a new / major report project, many times the models build on themselves. First we have the discovery, exploration, and fig...

121: Architecture of Data Implementation - Power BI Usage Guides

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are going back to the Usage Scenarios series in the Microsoft Docs, focusing on the scenarios below: Personal (review from last week) Team...

120: On Building Expertise - Adapting & Growing Your Power BI Skills

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This comes in hot from another great article by Matthew Roche - link here: https://ssbipolar.com/2022/04/16/on-building-expertise/ We have seen just i...

119: Measuring Trust - Adoption of Data & Power BI

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean that your organization and people have "successfully" adopted and utilize Power BI? One of our favorite buzz words is "trust", yet d...

118: Power BI Implementation Usage Scenarios - Reviewing the Planning Documentation

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are taking a look at the next edition in the Power BI Adoption planning, this time over 10 more amazing articles focused around the different...

117: Asking the Right Data Questions and Asking The Data Questions Right

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Based off this BRILLANT article by Enrico Bertini, we are focusing on the one skills you never thought you needed when you got into data: Being able t...

116: Is The Power BI Platform Better Than the Classic Microsoft BI Architecture Stack?

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we are looking back on how the BI Architecture has changed - the tools of old (SSIS, Analysis Services) vs the "business" tools (dataflows, data...

115: The Importance Of Push-Back on Power BI Reports

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone who creates Power BI reports for a living knows the dance of the request and the value. Does every request deserve time and effort?  Thus ...

114: Do We Need More Forecasting In Our Power BI Reports?

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys give their first true impressions of Data Marts in Power BI, should we be using it, and what is needed first off. Forecasting - Not what is p...

113: All About Microsoft Build 2022

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys cannot wait to get into Microsoft Build 2022, covering all the announcements for the Power BI Developer.  1. PowerPoint for Power BI 2. ...

112: Leveraging Text in Power BI

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We all know the importance of labels and data on a Power BI Report. But what about the actual text? From Title's to help boxes, how much is too much, ...

111: Dealing With Spokes - Centralized Power BI and Departmental BI

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's #PowerBI podcast may be a situation you are in as a #PowerBI author:  Centralized BI, with many "spokes" (different teams of BI)? Or you ...

110: Calculation Groups in Power BI

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys start off about the biggest shipment coming to Power BI in the last 3 years (what that is is being announced at Build 2022) and what they thi...

109: Peripheral Skills for a Power BI Professional

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is all about the outside of Power BI - what soft skills can set you above and beyond in the BI space? The guys also celebrate their year annivers...

108: Adding Max(Value( )) - Brining, Developing, & Selling Solutions In-House

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You have an amazing solution that will change the business using #PowerBI & the #PowerPlatform - but how do you sell it? The guys discuss just tha...

107: How to Retire a Power BI Report

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We all love creating reports and trying new features out. However, there is another side to coin: What about removing a live report from the service a...

106: Teamwork & Aligning Goals for a Power BI Organization

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys focus on what it means to be in a BI Team. People has been a much discussed topic lately, but this time we are talking about our people! How ...

105: Analyze in Excel for Power BI

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys run through the use cases and where does Analyze in Excel fit in the Power BI Story. What are the best use cases and where have they seen suc...

103: Improving The Report Request Process

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is from a hot take online: https://twitter.com/WeHateData/status/1509538551993716736 Lukewarm take: nearly all request-based analytics workflows ...

104: Dealing with Data Silos In Power BI

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

(Note that we messed up on the live stream, so episode 103 is coming out on Thursday, you did not miss it!) We all love Power BI for the solution it p...

102: Best Practice Analyzer for Visuals & Report Design Wishlist

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are diving into a mailbag! What if we had a Best Practice Analyzer (like in Tabular Editor ApS ) for visuals and the #PowerBI report? What w...

101: Where Do you Put Your Power BI Measures

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are kicking off the other side of 100 with a topic you may think is simple but gets complicated. Where exactly do you create and organize your meas...

100: A Few Of Our Favorite Things / THANK YOU!

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We finally made it to 100! Time to update your Power BI filters that only searched for values with 2 characters!  The guys go through the a brief...

84: The Lost Episode (84): When It Fails

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have found the hidden episode! The guys got thinking after 84 was unable to be recorded: what happens when we do our demos, our systems, and our re...

99: Overcoming DAX Evaluation Context in Power BI

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are at the penultimate of episode 100!  DAX Evaluation Context is one of the hardest concepts to master and learn in Power BI, yet it is...

98: Exploring Write Back in Power BI

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are uncovering what Write Back means for Authors in Power BI: What are the use cases, where does it fit, and where do we go from here? From P...

97: Report Features for Consumers - Just How Important?

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Personal Bookmarks, Personalize Visuals, and Comments - How important and what role do they play for #PowerBI Report consumers? The guys jump into the...

96: Diving Into The Trend in Analytical Data Modeling for Power BI

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have an amazing article that  the guys dived into by Iteration Insights (Thanks to Steve Richardson) - article here: https://iterationinsights...

95: Grouping In Power BI

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys are back from vacation! Jumping right into it, there are quite a few ways grouping works in Power BI, from visual grouping to field grouping,...

94: People, Process, & Technology - Integrating A Complete Power BI Solution

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It doesn't matter if you have the best design skillset in the world, or if you can develop DAX Measures people couldn't even dream about. It doesn't m...

93: Mailbag - Documentation Solutions in Power BI - How Much Or Too Little?

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today is coming from a mailbag! The focus - How do people document their Power BI Solutions? What should included / not included, and when does the do...

92: Do We Like The New Power BI Formatter Pane?

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What a perfect day to release our episode! March 2022 Power BI is out, and the major release is the new formatting pane. What are our thoughts, what h...

91: Power BI Worlds - Consulting vs. In-House Work

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One Power BI, two different worlds?  You love Power BI, but you may have a vastly different viewpoint and experience in the platform depending wh...

90: The Importance of Drill-Through in Power BI

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys dive into the use cases of Drill-Through in Power BI - from single zoom-in's all the way to using cross-report drill-through for Direct Query...