What's changed: Deepened PL-900 Chapter 2 to the AZ-900 baseline (Power BI workflow/Desktop·service·Mobile/report vs dashboard + table; Power Apps canvas vs model-driven = UI-first vs data-first + table; scenarios, FAQ, traps). Localized 2 figures
2.1Power BI Capabilities
Understand the Power BI workflow (get data → transform/model → visualize → share), Power BI Desktop vs. the Power BI service, and reports vs. dashboards.
Power BI analyzes and visualizes data to gain business insights. You get data, shape it, visualize it, and share it.
2.1.1The Power BI workflow
- Power BI Desktop: a free desktop app to get/transform/model data and author reports.
- Power BI service: a cloud service to share, publish, and collaborate on reports/dashboards.
- Power BI Mobile: an app to view on phones/tablets.
- Report = multi-page interactive analysis on one dataset; dashboard = a single-screen view collecting key metrics from multiple reports.
In Power Platform, Power BI plays "analyze," handling data via get → transform/model → visualize → share. Roles are clear: author in Power BI Desktop (ingest, shape, design reports), share via the Power BI service (publish/distribute in the cloud), view in Power BI Mobile. The report-vs-dashboard distinction (multi-page deep analysis vs single-screen summary) is shared with MS-900/DP-900 and tested repeatedly. It can analyze data from Dataverse and connectors, combining with Power Apps (act) and Power Automate (automate).
| Element/stage | Role |
|---|---|
| Power BI Desktop | Author (get/transform/visualize) |
| Power BI service | Share/publish/collaborate |
| Power BI Mobile | View |
| Report | Multi-page interactive analysis |
| Dashboard | Key metrics on one screen |
Scenario: sales analysis. An analyst ingests and shapes sales data in Power BI Desktop and authors a report → publishes to the Power BI service for company-wide sharing → executives grasp key KPIs at a glance on a dashboard and drill down via the report for detail → check on the go with Power BI Mobile. Clear roles for author/share/view.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) author = Desktop / share = service / view = Mobile. (2) Report (multi-page deep analysis) vs dashboard (single-screen summary)—different (shared with MS-900/DP-900). (3) Power BI is the "analyze" role—distinct from app-building (Power Apps) and automation (Power Automate).
Q. Report vs dashboard? A report is multi-page interactive analysis on one dataset; a dashboard collects key metrics from multiple reports on one screen. Q. Desktop vs service? Desktop authors; the service shares/publishes in the cloud. Q. Which Power Platform role? "Analyze."
Common: author = Power BI Desktop, share = Power BI service, view = Power BI Mobile, report (multi-page) vs dashboard (single-screen) (shared with MS-900/DP-900). Power BI is the "analyze" role.
2.1.2Section summary
- Workflow: get → transform/model → visualize → share
- Desktop (author) / service (share) / Mobile (view), report (multi-page) / dashboard (single-screen)
- Power BI is the "analyze" role in Power Platform
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Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. Which desktop app is mainly used to author Power BI reports?
Q2. What is Power BI’s main role within Power Platform?
Q3. In Power BI, what is a single-screen view of key metrics called?