Knowledge, Information and Data (KIND) learning site

Main session topics

Session 1

• we start with a few relevant examples of Power BI dashboards for health and care (e.g. NHS Digital Adult Social Care dashboard)
• we give a quick introduction to the way that Power BI works, and those features that make it potentially attractive for health and care use
• we then do some practical work to get more comfortable with Power BI's interface and terminology
  • loading data from Excel
  • inspecting data in Power BI
  • building a first visualisation, calculated column, and summary measure
  • showing how updates occur in Power BI

Session 2

• this session exposes trainees to a wide range of visualisation tools in Power BI
  • maps
  • column charts
  • line graphs
• it also reviews some key tools for working with summaries of data
  • cards
  • filtering and slicing tools
• using pre-tidied data, trainees build a simple dashboard showing service use, and visualising GP list sizes across Scotland

Session 3

• this session is an introduction to data tidying (and ETL work more generally) in Power BI
• it provides an introduction to Power Query and the Power Query M language
• using open data, this session re-creates the data tidying work needed to produce the tidy data used in session 2. Techniques include:
  • removing, joining, and re-shaping data
  • filtering and replacing missing data
  • tips and tricks for smooth data handling

Session 4

• this session mainly concentrates on using DAX to manipulate data
  • DAX vs Excel formula language
  • calculations with data using measures
  • reviewing core DAX functions
• finishing touches and storytelling
• troubleshooting

For more information, or if you have any suggestions about this training, please contact Brendan Clarke (brendan.clarke2@nhs.scot).

Course materials are available on TURAS. Please make sure you download and review these before the first session.

This course is designed for Power BI desktop. You can book yourself onto the current set of sessions by following these links:

 

If you don't have Power BI desktop available, you can attend a slightly modified version of the course that uses Power BI on the web. Note that the web version of Power BI is less capable than the app version, so we'd advise attending the desktop version if at all possible.