Category Archives: Self-Service BI
P3 Jobs: Time to Come Home?
Welcome Home: It’s not just a bombastic prog-metal song
Continuous hiring mode
In P3’s history, we’ve had a bit of a “reactive cyclical” hiring model. Demand for our services would grow, stretching us to the limits of staffing, so we’d add 1-2 new consultants. And those new consultants would instantly take us from “short of capacity” to “excess capacity,” so we’d kinda pause hiring for awhile. Then the cycle would repeat.
I think that era is over, and we’re now going to be continually hiring. The value proposition we bring to clients is second to none, and that reputation has a way of getting around over time. Plus we now have a full-time marketing department (I have a team reporting to me again!), and they’re very good at what they do.
The Best Place to Work
If you’re keen on the Power Platform, I think we are THE best place to work. That’s the kind of bold claim that must be followed up with some “why” detail, so here goes…
We are committed to The Right Thing.
You know all those frustrating moments when you KNOW something could be faster/more effective/less stupid, but “the powers that be” block the proposed improvement for some sort of selfish or fearful bureaucratic reason? Or even worse, because they don’t like where the idea came from (aka you)? Yeah, that doesn’t happen here. Our clients hire us, by definition, because they want to evolve. If they wanted slow, wasteful, and bureaucratic, they’d hire one of the more traditional firms in this space.
For our clients, we always pursue the path that provides the maximum possible benefit in the shortest responsible timelines. We don’t milk projects or drag them out. If something can be done for a client in a day, we do it in a day, and we’re always raising the bar in terms of how we can help their business. We feel GOOD about what we do, and if we don’t, we speak up and make changes.
Some people might call this an overrated benefit, but I chose to lead with it, because it’s HUGE. There’s something about doing valuable work, and being appreciated for it – for seeing its impact, and hearing people GUSH at you about how much you’ve helped them – that makes work feel a lot less like work. As human beings we are WIRED for this sort of positive, small-scale cooperation, and at P3, our business model is to lean into that – hard.
Corollary: it’s rarely boring.
We also don’t hoard knowledge from our clients, so over time, some of them decide to take on more and more of the work themselves, and lean on us for the harder parts. On average, this means that the projects we execute tend to be more “intellectual challenge” than “grinding slog.”
And since we avoid project plans that waste clients’ time (above), we find ourselves in the stimulating end of the pool more often than the boring one. Yes, ALL jobs have some boring parts, but we’re lighter on those than you’ll find anywhere else.
The pay is competitive. Then we add 30%.
We pay a good salary and offer top-notch benefits, so that’s good. But then we do something unusual: on average, our consultants make an additional 30% (relative to their salary) in monthly incentive bonuses.
We have a “when the company wins, you win” philosophy, and we back that with money – significant money. Attaboys (and Attagirls!) are nice, but we prefer to accompany them with currency rather than Starbucks gift cards, because that’s what WE would prefer.
We’ll still be a remote company when COVID is gone.
We shrugged off COVID because we
were ready for it before it happened
Long before COVID forced other companies into “work from home mode,” we were already 100% operating on that model. We know how to make it work, we prefer it, and we have no plans to convert to office-based when the pandemic passes.
So, no commute ever again – reclaim those hours of your life forever. And as long as you’re hitting your deliverables, the job is super flexible about how you juggle your day between personal and professional demands.
In fact we’re such an outlier on this remote work front (and our incentive plan) that Authority Magazine interviewed me about our approach last year.
You = “our people.”
Future team members who are reading this, you are ALREADY one of us, you just haven’t showed up yet 
Our interview process doesn’t explicitly select for this sort of thing, but it might as well, because everyone who comes through it shares some amazing qualities – human qualities. The people at P3 are funny, warm, interesting, and helpful. Talented and self-deprecating. Underappreciated and often isolated in their former roles.
But here, it’s kinda like that tap-dancing “bee girl” in the Blind Melon video when she finds her Bee People at the end:
Such a cheesy metaphor that I wouldn’t dare say it if it weren’t true
It’s kinda bizarre, considering the probabilities involved at our size, but we don’t have any jerks! ZERO! Just really cool people. I don’t understand it, but I love it.
And I’m looking forward to seeing you around our virtual hallways
#PowerBI – Change the data source in your composite model with direct query to AS/ Power BI Dataset
I have been playing around with the new awesome (preview) feature in the December Power BI Desktop release where we can use DirectQuery for Power BI datasets and Azure Analysis services (link to blogpost)
In my case I combined data from a Power BI dataset, Azure Analysis Services, and a local Excel sheet. The DirectQuery sources was in a test environment.
I then wanted to try this on the actual production datasets and wanted to change the datasources – and was a bit lost on how to do that but luckily found a way that I want to share with you.
Change the source
First you click on Data source settings under Transform data
This will open the dialog for Data source settings and show you the list of Data sources in the current file.
Now you can either right click the data source you want to change
Or click the button “Change Source…”
Depending on your data source different dialogs will appear
This one for my Azure Analysis Services Connection
And this one for Power BI Dataset
And this one for the Local Excel workbook
Hope this can help you to.
Happy new year to you all.
You must know about this shortcut key in #PowerBI Desktop
Working with the field list on a large model in Power BI Desktop can quickly make you end up with a lot of expanded tables and you collapsing them one by one.
Don’t do that
Even though that is good if you want to improve your chances of beating your kids in Fortnite – it probably won’t – so instead do one of the following
If you want to use your mouse
Click the show/hide pane in the header of the Fields panel
This will collapse all expanded tables in the field list at once – plus if you have used the search field – it will clear that as well.
But you want to do it using the keyboard use
ALT + SHIFT + 1
This will collapse all the expanded tables as well.
Here is a link to the documentation about short cut keys in Power BI desktop – run through them – there might be some that can save you a click or two
Keyboard shortcuts in Power BI Desktop – Power BI | Microsoft Docs
Planning at the speed of COVID: P3 and Power On
It’s not adversity which defines you, but how you respond to it.
GPS and Steering Wheel
Power BI = GPS. Power On = Steering Wheel.
In 2020 we’ve been talking a lot about how important it is to be both intelligent AND agile in the face of unpredictable business conditions. During “normal” times, you can often get away with guessing that tomorrow will resemble yesterday, and simply following your well-worn business map. But 2020 has thrown all of that out the door, and even though 2021 is hopefully kinder, we all know that it will be far from a return to normal.
To survive and thrive in chaos, you have to SEE changing conditions clearly and quickly, but then also ACT – decisively. And taking action is a team sport – everyone needs to know their new targets. They need to believe in them. And they need to know how their actions play into the new overall plan.
Agile Planning, Integrated with Power BI
Register now for our webinar on agile planning
The velocity at which you need to change plans is unheard of now and as such, planning needs to be nimble and continuous. To facilitate this we need tools that enable faster and more collaborative planning. We’ve been using PowerOn for several years now with our clients and it has performed very effectively in this role, resulting in a more effective and efficient planning process as well as organizational gains.
Organizational planning is a holistic exercise. Changes to forecasts and assumptions can have sweeping impacts across the organization. With our solution utilizing Power BI and PowerOn visual planner we can instantly see how changes to our input assumptions and forecast, impacts everything from financials including the P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow, to operational functions including inventory, production, headcount, resource load, and training needs.
Planning also cannot exist in a vacuum. We know that as we seek to make planning more agile and continuous we need to make it more collaborative. Of course, in the past, the more collaborative the process, the slower it would be as there would be more versions of the forecast and plans to keep track of and update over time as the actuals changed.
PowerOn’s Visual Planner solution includes a workflow process to review and approve forecasts and add commentary/notes on any data point. This. facilitates a collaborative process that includes input across the organization while not bringing forward movement to a crawl.
The ability to continuously plan and make decisions in an agile, collaborative way is not just a competitive advantage anymore, it is essential to future success.
Want to learn more about how PowerBI and PowerOn can help transform your planning? Please join us on Thursday, December 10th from 12 pm – 1 pm CST for a webinar.
Use hidden measures and members from #PowerBI dataset in an Excel Pivot table
When you connect to a Power BI Dataset from Power BI desktop you might have noticed that you can see and use hidden measures and columns in the dataset.
But the hidden fields cannot be seen if you browse the dataset in Excel.
But that does not mean that you cannot use the fields in Excel – and here is how you can do it.
Using VBA
You can use VBA by creating a macro
The code will add the field AddressLine1 from the DImReseller dimension as a Rowfield if the active cell contains a pivotable.
Sub AddField()
Dim pv As PivotTable
Set pv = ActiveCell.PivotTable
pv.CubeFields("[DimReseller].[AddressLine1]").Orientation = xlRowField
End Sub
If you want to add a measure/value to the pivotable you need to set change the Orientation property to xlDataFields
This means that we now have added two hidden fields from the dataset
Add hidden measures using OLAP Tools
You can also add hidden measures using the OLAP Tools and MDX Calculated Measure
Simply create a new calculated measure by referencing the hidden measure in the MDX
This will add a calculated Measure to the measure group you selected
And you can add that to your pivotable
Referencing hidden items using CUBE functions
Notice that you can also reference the hidden measures using CUBE functions
Simply specify the name of the measure as the member expression in this case as “[Measures].[Sales Profit]”
You can also refer to members from hidden fields using the CUBEMEMBER functions
Hope this can help you too.
Power On!
Free Workshop From Microsoft and P3: Modern Excel Analyst In A Day
A FREE Course By P3, In Partnership With Microsoft
on Tuesday December 8th, 2020 9am-5pm EST
Do you have Excel Analysts spending hours wrangling data week after week to provide updated reporting and analytics? Do you have Analysts starting to explore how Power BI can help but they’re in need of instructor-led training & hands-on workshop to gain experience? Are you unsure how Power Pivot, Power Query, Power BI, and Power Platform are all used together with O365, MS Teams, and SharePoint? If this sounds familiar, our team can help!
First come, first scheduled in this FREE event, and seating is limited to 50! Experience how Excel, together with Power BI, can empower your analysts to transform repetitive tasks into fully automated, action-driven solutions. Modernize and empower your organization while driving critical business impact. Did we mention that it’s a free workshop?
This workshop is perfect for Excel analysts, Power BI analysts, and data enthusiasts!
Click HERE to reserve your spot
On completion, attendees will:
- Have Awareness of Power Query & Power Pivot In Excel
- Learn how Power Query & Power Pivot In Excel can improve efficiency, provide reusable seamless solutions and transform existing manual reporting into actionable insights
- Understand how Excel maps into Power BI Desktop
- Identify opportunities to use Excel & Power BI together
- Integrate Excel & Power BI solutions into Microsoft Teams & SharePoint
Spot the difference between Power BI Desktop and Power BI Desktop (Store Version) #PowerBI
On my computer I have 2 versions of Power BI Desktop installed – one from the Microsoft Store which is updated automatically and the downloaded version from downloads – and typically I have last month edition as my downloaded version.
But in my taskbar its impossible to tell the difference between the two.
Well we can solve that by changing the icon for the downloaded version – its not possible for the store version.
If you right click the icon in the taskbar and then right click the Power BI Desktop
You can select the properties for this App.
Now click the Change Icon
This will show you the current icon and now you can change this by clicking Browse – in my case I will select the icon for the PBIDocument
And click open – then icon will now be set to this
And when clicking OK
We will see the icon has changed for the Shortcut.
Notice that it will change immediately
But after a restart it will appear
Hope this can make your choice of Power BI Desktop versions easier for you as well.
How to connect to CDS from #PowerBI – Or where the h.. can I find the server URL
The last few month I have used CDS a few times in my solutions – and connected the data to PowerBI.
But one of the things I always search for is the Server URL
Above is the screen shot using the Common Data Service connector
And even the beta connector requires me to specify URL –
And even though the dialog says “Environment domain” – it is in fact the URL the connector wants – BUT without the https://
OBS – If you want to test the Beta connector – remember to enable TDS Endpoint under the Environments – Settings – Features
So where can I find the address
If you have access to the Admin center – Power Platform admin center (microsoft.com) – you can go into the environment and see URL.
If you do not have access to it – then open the model driven app and the URL is available in the address bar.
Hope this can help you.
Power On !
Tips to limit the number of steps in #PowerQuery – #PowerBI
When returning to some of my first queries built in Power Query, I always get a bit sad.
My old queries contain some unnecessary extra steps that makes it harder to evaluate what is happening in the query and in most cases I haven’t even bothered to rename the steps which makes the queries very hard to read for me and for others.
So, in order to improve here are some tips that can make mine and your queries shorter and easier to read.
Always Rename your Steps
Always spend time to rename your steps and avoid spaces in the step name.
Makes it easier to read and is documentation.
Especially important because the step name does not necessarily describe what is happening.
In this example I used the Remove Other columns function, and the step name refers to that function
– but what is actually happening is I am selecting specific columns – notice the formula bar – Table.SelectColumns
So, rename the step.
Check if you can avoid a column rename step
Using the interface in the Query Editor makes it very easy to get the “Renamed Columns” step but it can sometimes be avoided – For instance expanding a record column – in this example the DimGeography Column
– in this example the DimGeography Column and then double clicking the headers returned will lead into 2 steps but notice the last argument in the formula bar.
That is a list of column names that will be given and by modifying that we can do the expansion and renaming in one step.
Avoid the empty filter steps ie to not filter by (Select All)
When testing my queries, I sometimes filter the result to check the data
And then to clear it I sometimes use the (Select All) to remove the filter
This however leaves a filter step in your query where the Table.SelectRows function just is “each true”.
If you use the clear filter instead
The Filter step will be deleted
Limit the number of Rename Columns
Doing column renaming during the query steps can lead to several column renaming steps.
Try to do only 1 renaming step.
Limit the number of steps with Remove columns
Try to consolidate the column selection or deletion of columns in one step.
And remember the optional parameter in the Table.SelectColumns and Table.RemoveColumns where you can specify what should happen if a field in the column list is missing.
Don’t reorder your columns
You can change the column order in the Query editor but there is no need to do it
The columns will appear in alphabetical order in your data model anyway.
If you have a large table and can’t find the column use the Go to Column to locate it
A good bad example
Yes, this is one of my queries
This is the query after a clean-up – it does exactly the same but in fewer step and with a proper explanation in the step name.
Do you have any tips ?
This was a few tips to limit the number of steps in your query.
Let me know if you have any in the comments.
Stay queryious.
Tips to limit the number of steps in #PowerQuery – #PowerBI
When returning to some of my first queries built in Power Query, I always get a bit sad.
My old queries contain some unnecessary extra steps that makes it harder to evaluate what is happening in the query and in most cases I haven’t even bothered to rename the steps which makes the queries very hard to read for me and for others.
So, in order to improve here are some tips that can make mine and your queries shorter and easier to read.
Always Rename your Steps
Always spend time to rename your steps and avoid spaces in the step name.
Makes it easier to read and is documentation.
Especially important because the step name does not necessarily describe what is happening.
In this example I used the Remove Other columns function, and the step name refers to that function
– but what is actually happening is I am selecting specific columns – notice the formula bar – Table.SelectColumns
So, rename the step.
Check if you can avoid a column rename step
Using the interface in the Query Editor makes it very easy to get the “Renamed Columns” step but it can sometimes be avoided – For instance expanding a record column – in this example the DimGeography Column
– in this example the DimGeography Column and then double clicking the headers returned will lead into 2 steps but notice the last argument in the formula bar.
That is a list of column names that will be given and by modifying that we can do the expansion and renaming in one step.
Avoid the empty filter steps ie to not filter by (Select All)
When testing my queries, I sometimes filter the result to check the data
And then to clear it I sometimes use the (Select All) to remove the filter
This however leaves a filter step in your query where the Table.SelectRows function just is “each true”.
If you use the clear filter instead
The Filter step will be deleted
Limit the number of Rename Columns
Doing column renaming during the query steps can lead to several column renaming steps.
Try to do only 1 renaming step.
Limit the number of steps with Remove columns
Try to consolidate the column selection or deletion of columns in one step.
And remember the optional parameter in the Table.SelectColumns and Table.RemoveColumns where you can specify what should happen if a field in the column list is missing.
Don’t reorder your columns
You can change the column order in the Query editor but there is no need to do it
The columns will appear in alphabetical order in your data model anyway.
If you have a large table and can’t find the column use the Go to Column to locate it
A good bad example
Yes, this is one of my queries
This is the query after a clean-up – it does exactly the same but in fewer step and with a proper explanation in the step name.
This was a few tips to limit the number of steps in your query.
Let me know if you have any in the comments.
Stay queryious.