HW7 ‐ Mastering Power BI: Interactive Features and Smart Data Strategies - yentingw-gin/BIDD330_Spring2025_Reporting GitHub Wiki

Power BI is a powerful tool for transforming raw data into compelling visuals and actionable insights. To go beyond basic reporting and build dashboards that serve as a reliable source of truth, BI practitioners need a strong understanding of how data sources and preparation influence data accuracy and integrity. In addition, taking advantage of advanced features such as Drillthroughs and Bookmarks can significantly enhance the user experience by enabling deeper exploration of key metrics and topics. These capabilities help create more interactive, insightful dashboards that support better decision-making.

In this article, we’ll walk through how to set up Drillthroughs and Bookmarks in Power BI, and explain why working with a structured database is more effective than relying on raw data or flat files like CSVs.

Adding Interactivity with Drillthroughs and Bookmarks

Drillthrough pages enable users to explore specific details based on their selections. For example, clicking on a region in a summary chart can take the user to a detailed data breakdown for that area. This keeps the main dashboard concise while offering deeper insights on demand.
- Watch the video: How To Make a Drillthrough Page in Power BI
Bookmarks allow you to save the state of a report page, including filters, selected visuals, and visibility settings. You can use bookmarks to build features like toggle switches, slide-out filter panels, or a navigation menu that walks users through the report.
- Watch the video: Power BI PAGE NAVIGATION Panel

Why Build with a Database Instead of Raw Data or CSV Files

Raw data and flat files like CSVs are rarely analysis-ready. These files often come with common issues such as:

Inconsistent formats (e.g., dates as text, numbers as strings)
Missing values or misaligned columns
Redundant or duplicated data
Lack of referential integrity (e.g., typos in category names)

A relational database, on the other hand, allows for centralized data modeling, efficient joins, and enforced data integrity. Building in SQL gives BI teams the ability to clean and optimize data at the source, and reduce the need for downstream transformations in Power BI.

Final Thoughts

Building a Power BI dashboard is more than creating polished visuals. It starts with clean, well-structured data, followed by efficient modeling and an intuitive user interface. By mastering both the technical and design aspects, BI practitioners can create user-friendly tools that support data-driven decisions.