Power BI Setup Guide

Free Desktop — connect to Gold KPI tables

NoteWhen you need this

Power BI is optional and self-paced — not required for the main workshop day.

Who When
Trainees After Module 4 / dbt exercise when all 12 kpi_* Gold tables exist
Trainer Module 7 optional demo — trainer prepares before class

Hands-on lab: Exercise: Power BI Dashboard (five pages, all 12 KPIs) · DAX/theme reference: Power BI dashboard guide

What you need (free tier)

Per Get Power BI Desktop:

Requirement Notes
Windows PC Desktop is Windows only (system requirements)
Power BI Desktop Free download — Microsoft Store or Download Center
Gold KPI tables From Databricks, Snowflake, or dbt exercises — 12 kpi_* tables
Warehouse credentials Snowflake username/password or Databricks PAT (same as pipeline exercises)
Microsoft account Optional — only if you publish to My Workspace

You do not need Power BI Pro, Premium, or an on-premises data gateway for the self-paced lab (Import mode).

Install Power BI Desktop

  1. Download from Get Power BI Desktop
  2. Run the installer (or install from Microsoft Store for automatic updates)
  3. Launch the app — confirm you see Home, Insert, Modeling on the ribbon (getting started)

Connect to your Gold tables

Use one data platform — Snowflake is simplest if you completed the dbt exercise.

Option B — Azure Databricks

Official steps: Azure Databricks connector

  1. Home → Get data → search Azure Databricks
  2. Server hostname + HTTP path from SQL Warehouses → Connection details
  3. Personal Access Token (same PAT as in .env)
  4. Navigator: mhpdeworkshop_databricks_2026 → {attendee_id}_gold → kpi_* tables → Load

Verify the connection

In the Data pane you should see 12 tables:

kpi_borough_analysis          kpi_popular_routes
kpi_data_quality_metrics      kpi_revenue_by_hour
kpi_distance_bands            kpi_time_of_day_analysis
kpi_passenger_count_analysis  kpi_top_pickup_zones
kpi_payment_type_analysis     kpi_trip_efficiency
kpi_trips_by_day              kpi_trips_by_hour

Quick visual check: drag kpi_trips_by_hour[pickup_hour] and [total_trips] onto a Line chart — values should be non-empty.

Next steps

  1. Complete Exercise: Power BI Dashboard (~45–60 min — five pages, all 12 KPIs)
  2. Optional DAX measures: Power BI dashboard guide
  3. Optional theme: copy JSON from full guide § Apply theme → save as mhp-theme.json → View → Themes → Browse for themes

Troubleshooting

Issue Solution
No kpi_* tables in Navigator Finish Databricks, Snowflake, and dbt exercises first
Snowflake login fails Resume warehouse DE_WORKSHOP_WH; confirm role DE_WORKSHOP_ROLE
Connector error after Desktop update See Snowflake connector 2.0 notes; use latest Desktop build
Databricks connection fails SQL warehouse running; correct HTTP path; use Azure Databricks connector
On macOS / Linux Desktop not available — read exercise steps or use a Windows VM for hands-on

Official documentation