BI Dashboard Development in Excel & Power BI Training Course

This course equips participants with practical skills to design and build interactive, data-driven dashboards using Microsoft Excel and Power BI. It focuses on data preparation, modeling, visualization, dashboard design, and reporting automation. Participants will learn how to transform raw data into clear, interactive dashboards that support business insights, performance monitoring, and decision-making across functions.

Target Groups

• Business intelligence and data analysts
• Finance and accounting professionals
• Monitoring and evaluation officers
• Operations and project managers
• HR and marketing analysts
• Reporting and administrative staff
• Data professionals transitioning to BI roles
• Public sector and NGO reporting teams
• Anyone working with Excel or Power BI for reporting

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Build professional dashboards in Excel and Power BI
• Import, clean, and transform data from multiple sources
• Create data models for reporting and analysis
• Use formulas, DAX, and calculations effectively
• Design interactive and dynamic visual dashboards
• Apply best practices in data visualization and reporting
• Automate reporting and dashboard refresh processes
• Improve data-driven decision-making
• Publish and share dashboards securely
• Develop end-to-end BI reporting solutions

Course Modules

Module 1: Introduction to BI Dashboarding

• Overview of BI tools and dashboarding concepts
• Excel vs Power BI capabilities
• Dashboard design principles
• Understanding business reporting requirements
• Data-driven decision-making basics

Module 2: Data Preparation in Excel & Power BI

• Importing data from multiple sources
• Cleaning and transforming datasets
• Power Query basics
• Handling missing and inconsistent data
• Structuring data for dashboards

Module 3: Data Modeling for Dashboards

• Relationships between tables
• Star schema basics
• Creating data models in Power BI
• Excel data modeling techniques
• Optimizing models for performance

Module 4: Excel Dashboard Development

• Pivot tables and pivot charts
• Advanced Excel formulas for reporting
• Slicers and interactive controls
• Conditional formatting for insights
• Building dynamic Excel dashboards

Module 5: Power BI Visualization Techniques

• Creating charts, graphs, and KPIs
• Using filters, slicers, and drill-through
• Designing interactive reports
• Formatting and layout best practices
• Custom visuals and enhancements

Module 6: DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) Basics

• Introduction to DAX formulas
• Measures vs calculated columns
• Common DAX functions for KPIs
• Time intelligence functions
• Creating dynamic metrics

Module 7: Advanced Dashboard Design & Interactivity

• Building executive dashboards
• Dynamic storytelling with visuals
• Cross-filtering and interactions
• Drill-down and hierarchy analysis
• Designing user-friendly dashboards

Module 8: Data Refresh, Automation & Sharing

• Automating data refresh in Power BI
• Publishing reports to Power BI Service
• Sharing dashboards securely
• Scheduling updates and reports
• Version control and workspace management

Module 9: Performance Optimization & Best Practices

• Optimizing Excel dashboards
• Improving Power BI performance
• Reducing data load and complexity
• Avoiding common dashboard mistakes
• Ensuring scalability and usability

Module 10: Capstone Project and Case Studies

• Building a full BI dashboard in Excel and Power BI
• Real-world business reporting case studies
• KPI tracking and executive dashboard exercise
• Dashboard presentation and review
• Emerging trends: AI-powered BI, natural language queries in Power BI, real-time dashboards, embedded analytics, and self-service BI ecosystems