Power BI for Beginners: Build Your First Report—with AI
Build a Power BI report from supplied data. Learn Power Query, relationships, DAX measures, visuals, refresh checks, and responsible AI-assisted review.
Build a Power BI report from supplied data. Learn Power Query, relationships, DAX measures, visuals, refresh checks, and responsible AI-assisted review. Work through connected modules with original READY teaching, realistic cases, worked examples and knowledge checks.
Practice with the supplied evidence, compare your reasoning with the explanations, and keep useful ideas in your private notes. Work at your own pace and return to your saved place.
Lessons are included with a free READY account. Training completion is separate from job-role certification and vendor credentials. Check the member course page for current completion-certificate availability.
WHAT YOU’LL PRACTICE
Capabilities you can put to work.
Distinguish Desktop authoring from service sharing. Import the supplied CSV and inspect its schema. Define the report question and row meaning.
Apply explicit text normalization in Power Query. Resolve confirmed duplicates without dropping valid records. Retain missing-data exceptions and reconcile row counts.
Distinguish saved imported data from refreshed source data. Diagnose a refresh failure at the relevant transformation step. Verify source coverage separately from process completion.
Identify the one and many sides of a relationship. Set and verify a single-direction filtering path. Diagnose unmatched or duplicated keys before trusting categories.
Create a row-wise Sales measure with SUMX. Explain filter context through a selected region. Use DIVIDE and distinguish orders from units.
Choose visuals suited to a total and category comparison. Use a slicer and test its effect on related visuals. Keep report titles, units, and limitations visible.
Provide readable labels and meaningful visual alternatives. Test totals and filter combinations against independent expected results. Distinguish a slicer from an access-control boundary.
Assemble a reproducible report handoff. Explain service-sharing requirements without promising free collaboration. Separate a beginner build from PL-300 preparation and professional evidence.
YOUR COURSE OUTLINE
Course Modules
Review each module’s focus before you sign in. Your account shows which learning activities are currently available.
01
Create your first local report file
+
Import typed source tables and define a concrete report question.
02
Prepare and refresh data
+
Use explicit transformations, preserve exceptions, and verify changed source fixtures.
03
Build a model and trustworthy measures
+
Connect unique products to orders and validate calculations under filters.
04
Design and test the report experience
+
Build clear visuals, verify interactions, and distinguish filtering from security.
05
Complete the project and handoff
+
Deliver a reproducible local project and state its exact scope.
Supported Windows environment for hands-on Power BI Desktop; reading and checks require no installation
Work through the modules at a pace that lets you reflect and apply what you learn.
Know what’s included.
Is this training free, and how do I start?
The course overview is public. Sign in with a free READY account to use all 5 guided modules and save your progress. A free account is required to start learning. Existing members can sign in.
Does completing training mean I am certified?
No. Course completion and an optional READY learning certificate are separate from READYScore job-role certification. The member experience shows certificate eligibility and the existing READY$ policy.
Is this an official vendor course or credential?
This is original, independent READY training. READY is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. Course completion does not confer a provider credential. Training does not guarantee exam success or confer a vendor credential.
Does this assert learning hours or CEU/CPE eligibility?
The member course page shows the current estimated learning time and certificate eligibility. READY learning records do not guarantee that an outside provider will accept CEU/CPE credit; check that provider’s requirements. Existing certificate records are preserved.
Is Power BI Desktop free?
Microsoft provides Power BI Desktop free for local authoring. Service sharing has separate licensing and organizational requirements; the course does not require it.
Can I complete the hands-on build on a Mac?
The described native Desktop path needs a supported Windows environment. You can read the lessons and complete knowledge checks without it, but this course does not claim identical native Mac or browser steps.
How is this different from PL-300 training?
This course guides a first local report build. READY’s existing PL-300 preparation covers broader certification-relevant analytical judgment. Neither course alone awards the Microsoft credential.
