Unlocking the Secrets of Survey Data in Power BI

In this video, Nick from Pragmatic Works explains how to work with survey data in Power BI, focusing on optimizing the data for better performance and ease of reporting. Survey data often comes in wide tables with multiple columns representing different questions, which can make reporting difficult and inefficient. Nick demonstrates how to use the unpivot function in Power BI to transform survey data into a format that is easier to use and more efficient for performance.

Challenges of Survey Data in Power BI

Survey data typically contains multiple columns for questions, making it hard to visualize the data correctly in Power BI. Attempting to report on such data with tables or matrices often results in confusing and cluttered visuals. Nick shows that in its current state, the data doesn’t display the desired insights, making it difficult to interpret and inefficient to work with.

Step 1: The Problem with Wide Tables

Nick begins by highlighting the inefficiencies of working with wide tables, where each question is a separate column. Reporting on such data can lead to poor performance and complicated visuals that don't provide the necessary insights.

Step 2: The Solution - Unpivoting Columns

The key solution is to unpivot the columns in Power BI. By unpivoting, each question becomes a row instead of a column, creating a “longer” and “thinner” table. This transformation increases performance and simplifies reporting. Nick explains that Power BI performs better with thin tables, even if the number of rows increases significantly.

Step 3: Using the Unpivoted Data

After unpivoting, Nick shows how the transformed data can be used in Power BI visuals like matrixes or bar charts. The data is now much easier to work with, and Power BI is able to handle the increased number of rows efficiently. Nick provides examples of how the unpivoted data leads to more accurate and easier-to-understand visuals.

Conclusion

By unpivoting survey data, users can greatly improve the performance of their Power BI reports while making the data more consumable. This method can be applied not only to survey data but also to any dataset with similar structures. As a result, users can create more responsive, clearer reports that provide better insights.

Don't forget to check out the Pragmatic Works' on-demand learning platform for more insightful content and training sessions on Power BI and other Microsoft applications. Be sure to subscribe to the Pragmatic Works YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on the latest tips and tricks.