Step 1: Importing Data and Preparing It
Sample Dataset
For this example, we would work with a sales dataset that keeps track of annual sales transactions across regions, such as:
Sample Data:
Order ID, Date, Region, Product, Category, Sales Amount, Profit, Quantity, Sales Rep
1001, 2024-01-05, East, Laptop, Electronics, 1500, 200, 2, John Doe
1002, 2024-01-07, West, Printer, Office, 300, 50, 1, Jane Smith
1003, 2024-02-10, North, Monitor, Electronics, 700, 120, 3, Alex Brown
1004, 2024-02-15, South, Chair, Furniture, 150, 30, 4, Emily Davis
1005, 2024-03-01, East, Desk, Furniture, 500, 90, 1, Mark Wilson
Import into Power BI
1. Open Power BI Desktop.
2. Click on that icon that says "Get Data"-then look for "Excel" again or any one of their many data sources.
3. Browse and load your dataset into Power BI.
4. Once it is loaded, go to Power Query Editor to clean data.
o Remove blank rows or duplicate rows.
o Format columns properly such as (dates, numbers, text).
o Rename the column headers to be clearer.
Tip: Clean data first before visualization for accuracy and consistency in reporting.
Step 2: Designing the Visualizations for the Dashboard
Data is ready to start post-creating the dashboard. The key to a good dashboard is using appropriate visualization techniques to tell a clear story.
1. Sales by Region (Map Chart)
• Drag Region to the visualization pane.
• Drag sales amount to the values field.
• Choose the Map Chart visualization.
• This will display sales distribution across different regions on a map.
Why does this matter?
This helps businesses in a way that it marks on which good performing regions available to improve on and which are NOT.
2. Performance of Sales by Time (Line Chart)
• Drag Date into X-axis.
• Drag Amount to Y-axis.
• Select as visualization the Line Chart.
Why does this matter?
A line gives a reflection of the variation of the period to which the sales occur. It indicates some improved variation or sales according to the seasons.
3. Best Selling Products (Bar Chart)
• Drag Product to X-axis.
• Drag Amount to Y-axis.
• Select Bar Chart visualization.
Why does it matter?
This data allows the easiest identification of top selling goods since the firm easily knows how to invest in the items that create revenue.
4. Breakdown of Profitability (Donut Chart)
• Drag the Category into the visualization pane.
• Drag Profit into the values section.
• Choose the Donut Chart.
Why this matters?
It allows providing an instant overview and gives rapid visibility into which ones make the most money.
Step 3: Enhancing the Dashboard with Interactivity
A static dashboard provides limited insight. With filters and slicers or drill options the user can explore the data even further.
1. Filters and Slicers:
•Create a slicer for the Region to allow users to filter sales based on location.
•Add the Date Range Filter and the Product Category Slicers.
What is the importance of this?
Filters allow control over how the users manipulate the view, thereby increasing the dynamism and intuitiveness of the dashboard.
2. Insightful Drill through:
•Create a new Drill-Through Page.
•Drag Sales Rep into the Drill-Through Field.
•This enables a user to right-click a sales rep name to check detailed sales reports associated with that individual name.
Why does it matter?
Drill-through functionality aids in deep analytical events without cluttering the main dashboard.
3. Conditional Formatting:
•Apply color coding to highlight high and low sales figures.
•Set conditional formatting rules to mark low profits in red and high profits in green.
Why this matters?
This improves readability and quickly shares important data points with the eyes of the observer.
Step 4: Building a Clean and Effective Layout for the Dashboard
A dashboard gets too cluttered and confuses users if it is so full of too many things.
The following best practices are what make it useful:
Simplicity in appearance: state only the essential metrics.
Consistency in color: maintain a clear visual hierarchy.
Readability: use readable fonts and labels.
Logical arrangement: Place the summary metrics at the top and details metrics charts below.
Step 5: Publish and Share the Dashboard
You are ready to put your dashboard into action by sharing it with your group:
1. Click "Publish" in Power BI Desktop.
2. Choose the option Power BI Service.
3. Now, head to Power BI from any browser and click on "Share".
4. Here, you can add team members and permissions for view.
A pro-tip is to schedule refreshes, so the dashboard will be updated automatically.
Real Life Applications of Power BI dashboards
📊 Retail and E-commerce - Monitoring changes in customer buying behavior and identifying best-selling products.
🏦 Finance and Banking - Time-based measurement of revenues and profits as well as the expenditure.
In sales and marketing, it is used to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and conversion ratios.
📦 Supply Chain and Logistics - Track inventory levels and the timeframes for delivery.
The Power BI dashboards ease the complexity of all industries at spearheading decision making.
