15 Top Power BI Interview Questions and Answers You Should Definitely Read
Data is key in every decision-making. The more accurate the data analysis is, the better you can make decisions for your business’s success.
Without the proper skills and the proper tools, the analysis of data is time-consuming and inefficient. One of the tools used to transform bulky data into valuable insights and information is Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence).
Gartner named Microsoft Power BI a Leader in the March 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms. Due to its cutting-edge features, its demand is continuously rising. As a result, the need for a Power BI Developer is increasing globally.
If you are considering becoming a Power BI Developer or preparing for Power BI interview questions, you have reached the right page. We have compiled a list of the top 15 Power BI interview questions with answers so you can be ready for your next interview.
15 Top Power BI Interview Questions and Answers for 2022
1. What Is Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool developed by Microsoft to help businesses transform multiple data sources into informative and valuable insights that help in decision making. It is also used for sharing these insights quickly.
2. What Is the Difference Between Power Pivot and Power Query?
| Power Query | Power Pivot |
| It is primarily used for locating and importing data. | It is used for modeling the imported data. |
Power query and power pivot are used in a complementary fashion where power pivot is the tool that is used after power query in order to power complex and powerful transformative tasks.
3. What Is the Difference Between Power BI and Tableau?
Both Power BI and Tableau are the leading data analytics and visualization tools. But they have some differences, which are as follows:
| Power BI | Tableau |
| It is used to handle a limited amount of data very quickly. | Tableau shows superior performance with large bulks of data. |
| Power BI is easier to learn because of the similar UI that it shares with Microsoft Office. | Comparatively, Tableau required more learning time. |
| Power BI is the cheaper option between the two platforms. | Tableau is the more premium product. |
4. What Are the Important Components of the Power BI Toolkit?
- Power Map
- Power Q&A
- Power View
- Power Pivot
- Power Query
- Power Website
- Power Desktop
- Power BI Mobile App
5. What Is GetData in Power BI?
GetData is used for connecting with a data source and importing data from it. A dataset is created automatically when GetData is used.
6. What is Power BI Map?
Power BI Map is used for geo-coding your data visualizations. It derives map coordinates with Bind in order to create a tool that helps visualize data in the context of geographic locations.
With the use of Power BI, one could find important contextual information regarding their data, such as:
- Geo-political influence in sales,
- Geographic influence on the supply chain of the business, etc.
7. What Is Power BI Q&A?
The Q&A Feature can be used to access and explore data using natural language. For example, you could simply use the Q&A Feature to ask, “What were the gross profits in 2018?”, and Power BI would attempt to organize the data accordingly.
8. What are the Connectivity Modes in Power BI?
Power BI has three modes for connecting in Power BI are SQL Server Import, Direct Query, and Live Connections.
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Import Connections
Import Mode is a default mode in Power BI that usually delivers fast performance. Get Data is used for connection with a data source, for example, an SQL server. It allows one to use the Power BI Desktop to its full extent.
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Direct Query Connections
Another connectivity mode allows importing data with a query to retrieve from a pre-existing data source. It is only allowed in certain cases and only stores the metadata instead of the actual data.
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Composite Connections
This connectivity mode combines more than one Direct Query source. Only limited types of sources can support this type of connection, such as SQL Server Analysis Services.
9. Discuss Building Blocks in Power BI
Here are the building blocks of Power BI:
- Visualization: This refers to the visual portrayal of the data. For example, a graph that depicts Sales vs. Time.
- Reports: A report is a collection of visual perceptions that go together within a single page.
Examples: City Report. Sales by Country, State, Profit by Products report, Logistic performance report, etc.
- Datasets: It is a collection of data that enables the creation of data visualization.
Examples: Oracle or SQL server tables, Excel Sheets.
- Tiles: A single visualization on a dashboard or in a report.
Example: Pie Chart in Report or Dashboard.
- Dashboards: It can be explained as a single-page presentation of multiple visualizations.
Examples: Geographical maps, sales dashboards, and bar charts.
10. What is Power BI Desktop?
Power BI Desktop is a free application that can be downloaded and installed on one’s local PC. It can be used completely offline in order to access powerful data analysis and visualization tools. Quite similar to other Power BI products, Power BI Desktop too can connect with multiple data sources to derive insights.
11. What Are the Various Types of Users Who Can Use Power BI?
Power BI is a very useful tool that anyone can use, but it is more popular among some particular groups:
- Self-Service Data Analyst: These professionals are highly experienced data users who deeply understand the data. They can use Power BI to convert their insights into visually engaging and simple yet effective graphs, charts, etc.
- Advanced Data Analysts: These professionals have excellent knowledge of Power BI and know how to write SQL Queries. They also have a good understanding of Advanced Power BI with data modeling and DAX training and use their expertise and skill to perform complex analyses using Power BI.
- Business Owners: Power BI is a tool that was created in order to aid informed business decision-making. Business intelligence that is based on quality data interpretation and visualization is effective and holistic. Tools such as Power BI are incredibly important to business owners. Small and medium-scale business owners especially benefit from Power BI since it is a more economical option compared with some of the other data visualization tools in the market.
12. What Are the Limitations of Power BI?
- Power BI can’t handle a large volume of data and puts a limit of 1 GB on datasets stored in Shared capacities. It is also inefficient when handling a large amount of data.
- The user interface of Power UI can be interpreted as too bulky and cluttered when compared with its competitors.
- The mastery of Power BI is very complex and time-consuming.
13. What is DAX?
DAX is the short form of Data Analysis Expressions. It is a programming language that is used in Power BI in order to carry out specific tasks, such as creating custom tables.
DAX comprises pre-made functions, operators, and constants. Using proper syntax, we can use these elements to create a formula that can carry out a specific task, for example, calculate and return the sales figures for a certain region over a certain period of time.
14. What Are the Three Fundamentals of DAX?
Here are the three fundamentals of DAX:
- Syntax: Syntax refers to how a formula is written in terms of the various elements that comprise it. Power BI would not be able to recognize the formula correctly if the way it is written, i.e., the syntax, is incorrect.
- Functions: These are predefined formulas that carry out a specific order. Some of the functions in DAX include:
- Date and Time
- Information
- Logical
- Statistical
- Context: Context is divided into two types: Filter Context or Row Context.
- Row Context refers to operations within the current row. It is used when a formula has a Function that enables a filter to identify a row in a table.
- The Filter Context is used when one or more filters are utilized to get a value.
15. What Data Sources Can Power BI Connect With?
Power BI can connect to a varied number of data sources:
- Online services, such as Salesforce
- Databases, such as SQL and Amazon Redshift
- Simple files, such as Excel and JSON
- Other data sources, such as websites and Microsoft Exchange
Learn Power BI Efficiently!
Power BI is a very robust data analytics and visualization tool that enables businesses to convert raw data into critical insights that can drive better business success decisions. The current industry has a lot of demand for people skilled in business analysis tools such as Power BI.
Our team of experts helps you get hands-on experience with Power BI in a meaningful and industry-relevant way. The top minds from the industry would walk you through Power BI.
Our Power BI learning path includes three courses: MS Excel, Power BI for beginners, and Power BI Desktop. Our experts will provide you with end-to-end assistance, from teaching and familiarizing you with this tool to preparing for an interview with a top company.