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Data-Driven Decision Making with Power BI | Intergalactic Learn With The Nerds Day

Written by Angelica Choo Quan | May 19, 2026

  In the intergalactic Learn with the Nerds session, Angelica Choo Quan dives into the world of data-driven decision-making using Power BI. This session covers the Power BI report development lifecycle from data discovery to report design and buildout, with a focus on creating interactive and engaging reports.

 

Introduction

Angelica Chucoin begins the session by introducing the topic and outlining the importance of data-driven decision-making. She emphasizes the significance of Power BI in transforming raw data into meaningful insights.

Connecting Data

Angelica demonstrates how to connect data from various sources, specifically an Excel workbook. She explains the process of navigating to the location of the file and selecting the appropriate tables or worksheets for analysis.

Shaping Data in Power Query Editor

Angelica walks through the Power Query Editor, highlighting its features such as the queries pane, query settings, and the formula bar. She explains the importance of renaming queries and showcases various data transformation options, including:

  • Adding and removing columns
  • Merging queries
  • Appending rows

Creating Custom Columns

Angelica demonstrates how to create a custom column using the M query language. She adds an end date column to the project table by leveraging the date.addmonths function, showcasing the flexibility of Power Query Editor.

Adding a Date Table

Angelica explains the importance of a separate date table for efficient time-based analytical calculations. She shows how to add a new query and insert a sample script to create a date table with various date-related columns.

Loading Data into Power BI Desktop

Angelica discusses the process of loading data into Power BI Desktop, emphasizing the importance of applying transformations to all rows of data. She explains the automatic relationship detection feature and manually creates relationships between tables.

Building the Report

Angelica begins the report buildout by adding visuals such as:

  1. Bar charts
  2. Map visuals
  3. Column charts
  4. Card visuals

She demonstrates how to format these visuals, add slicers, and create a cohesive report layout.

Using Copilot in Power BI

Angelica provides a sneak peek into the capabilities of Copilot in Power BI. She showcases how Copilot can suggest report pages based on the semantic model and assist in building out visualizations.

Creating a Gantt Chart

Angelica adds a Gantt chart to the report, explaining its usefulness in comparing details about various projects. She demonstrates how to add fields such as:

  • Project name
  • Task ID
  • Start date
  • End date
  • Employee name

Setting Up Drill Through Pages

Angelica sets up a drill-through page to provide detailed insights into specific data points. She explains the process of linking fields between pages and creating a more detailed view without overcrowding the main report page.

Creating Report Page Tooltips

Angelica demonstrates how to create report page tooltips to display customized information when hovering over visuals. She adds a donut chart to the tooltip page and links it to the main report page.

Enhancing Analysis with DAX

Angelica concludes the session by emphasizing the importance of DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) in enhancing data analysis. She introduces the next session led by Mitchell Pearson, which will cover DAX in detail.

Conclusion

Angelica wraps up the session by summarizing the key points and encouraging viewers to explore the next session on DAX. She highlights the impact of Power BI on data-driven decision-making and its potential to transform businesses.


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