Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

Technology dominates over the 21st century. We get to see different aspects of technology nowadays. In this context, the phrase “Power Bi” has cropped up several times. Power Bi service is a secure cloud service hosted by Microsoft. It permits the users to view reports, the Power BI dashboards, and Power BI apps. They need to view this information through mobile apps or a web browser for Android or Windows.

 

what is Microsoft power bi, what is power bi, how to use power bi, how to create a dashboard in power bi? yes, I know lots of questions popping into the mind. You will get all the answers to your questions which you are looking for. Read this article till the end to know how to learn power bi?

 

Power BI training is most important to crack the interview. But power bi interview questions are important in this context because they help people get good jobs. So, let us study a few common questions that are asked during power bi interviews. 

 

Microsoft Power bi Interview Questions

 

1.What is Power BI?

 

Power BI is a business intelligence tool. It helps you convert data from different sources into interactive dashboards and BI reports. Power BI provides a variety of services and software connectors. 

 

2.Why do professionals use Power BI?

 

Professionals use Power BI for a few reasons. They are as follows-

• The Power BI dashboard gets updated regularly
• Power BI offers pre-built dashboards and reports for SAAS solutions
• Power BI uses natural language query to help with data exploration

 

3.Name a few Power BI tools?

 

A few important Power BI tools are as follows-

• Power BIDesktop- This BI tool is used for desktop computers
• MobilePower BIapps- These BI tool apps are used for Android and iOS devices
• Power BI service- This online software is used as a service tool. 

 

4.What do you mean by Power View?

 

Power View is a data visualization technology. It allows you to create interactive graphs, charts, and other visuals that bring your data to life. Power View is available in Power BI, and SQL server.

 

5.What are Tiles in Power BI?

 

Tile is an important feature of Power BI. It may be described as a picture of the data that may be pinned to the power bi dashboard.

 

6.What is Power BI Q&A? 

 

Power BI Q&A is a natural Power BI tool that helps in querying the data. It also extracts the results you need from it. For that, you need to type into a dialogue box on the Power BI dashboard. The engine generates an answer similar to Power View on the Power BI dashboard instantly.

This BI reporting tool was developed by the Server and Tools department of Microsoft Research and Bing. The purpose of this tool is to provide a complete feeling that your data is being explored completely. 

Q&A interprets the questions and reflects a restated query of what it is looking for in your data. 

 

7.What data sources can Power BI connect to?

 

Power BI can connect to an extensive list of data sources. The data sources may be grouped into the following categories-

Files- The data can be imported from Power Bi Excel and Power BI Desktop files. 

Content Packs- Content packs are a collection of related files or documents which are stored as a group. Power BI has two types of content packs-

• Those from service providers like Google Analytics, Salesforce or Marketo
• Those shared and created by other users in the organization

 

8.What are the different types of filters in Power BI reports?

The Power BI reports are common in the 21st century. Two different types of filters in POWER BI reports are as follows-

• Visual-level filters
• Page-level filters
• Report-level Filters

• Visual-level Filters- It works only on individual Power-BI visualization. The purpose of visual-level filters is to reduce the amount of data visualization can reduce. Also, visual-filter level filters may filter both calculation and data.

• Page-level Filters- Page-level filters work at the report-page level. Even in the same report, different pages can have different page-level filters.

• Report-level Filters- Such filters work on the entire report. The purpose of report-level filters is to filter all the visualizations and pages included in the report. 

 

Power Bi Excel Questions

 

9.What are a few features of add-ins to Power BI Excel?

 

A few add-ins to Power BI Excel are as follows-

• Power Query- It helps to find, load and edit external data
• Power View- It designs interactive and Power BI visual reports.
• Power Pivot- It is used for data analysis and data modeling.
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10.Discuss a few ways in which you can leverage Excel experience in Power BI?

 

The Excel experience in Power BI can be leveraged in the following ways-

Power BI Excel can pin the Excel items like charts and pivot tables to Power BI service.

Excel Workbook Power Pivot models may be imported to Power BI desktop models. 

Power BI publisher for Excel may also be used for connecting to datasets and reports to POwer Bi service.

 

11.Discuss a few major differences in data modelling between Power BI desktop and Power Pivot for Excel?

 

A few major difference in data modelling between Power BI desktop and Power Pivot for Excel are as follows-

• Power Pivot for Excel only supports import mode. There is no predefined security role in Power Pivot for Excel.
• Power BI desktop provides more security.
• Power Bi desktop supports bi-directional cross-filtering relationships. On the other hand, Power Pivot for Excel has a single direction.

Power BI desktop has calculated tables. Power Pivot for Excel has calculated columns.

 

12.Could you point out a few major differences between the old version and the new version of the Power BI tools?

 

The latest version of the Power BI tool is also known as Power BI desktop. It is a one-stop solution for Power Pivot and Power View. This latest version of Power Bi tool has more advanced features than the earlier version. It also offers several add-ins for Power BI Excel.

 

13.What is DAX?

 

DAX stands for Data Analysis Expression. It is used to do data analysis and calculation.on data in Power Pivot. DAX may also be described as a formula language for computing calculated fields and calculated meetings.

 

Power Bi Power Query Questions

 

14.What is Power Query?

 

Power query is a BI tool used to clean, shape, and transform data. It allows people to use an intuitive surface, without the knowledge of coding.

•  It allows people to shape data according to requirements, by adding and removing data.
• It also imports data from a wide range of sources through files, databases, social media and big data.
• It joins and appends data from different sources of data. 

 

15.Which language is used in Power Query?

 

Power BI python is not a useful language. A new programming language named M-Code is used in Power Query. It happens to be a case-sensitive language.

 

16.Why would anyone need a Power Query?

 

Power Query is a self-service tool. It works as a Power BI Excel tool. Power Query allows the users to extract data from different sources. It also allows the users to manipulate the data into a necessary form that suits their needs, while loading, as opposed to Power Query. Then, it loads the data to Excel.

 

17.What is a Power Map?

 

Power Map is a Power BI Excel add-in. It offers a powerful set of tools that help you gain insight into large sets of data. All the data has geo-coded components. That helps produce 3D visualizations. Up to a million data points are plotted in the form of bubble maps, heat, and column, in the form of a Bing map, for the production of 3D visualization.

 

18.What is the Power Pivot data model?

 

Power Pivot data model is a particular model that is made up of data types, table relations, columns and tables. 

 

Power Bi Interview Questions and Answers for Experienced

 

19.What do you mean by Power Bi designer?

 

Power BI Designer is a standalone application that helps us prepare Power Bi reports. This also helps us upload the data to Powerbi.com. This application is a combination of Power Pivot, Power Query, and Power View. It doesn’t require Excel.

 

20.Is it possible to refresh the Power BI reports once they are uploaded to the cloud?

 

It is possible to refresh Power BI reports through the Data Management gateway for Sharepoint. In the case of Powerbi.com, the Power Bi personal gateway helps to refresh the Power Bi reports. 

 

21.Is Power Bi available on-premises?

 

No, Power Bi is not available on-premises. However, Power BI Desktop and Power BI help people to connect to personal on-premises data sources. The On-Premises data gateway helps people to connect live with the on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services and other data sources. A centralized gateway also helps in scheduling a refresh. Even if the gateway is not available, it is possible to refresh the data from on-premises data sources, with the help of Power BI Gateway Personal. 

 

22.How would you explain data management gateway and Power BI personal Gateway?

 

A gateway acts as a bridge between Azure cloud services and on-premises data services.

 

Personal Gateway-

• It has no central monitoring or managing. It only supports PowernBI service and import.
• Only one person may use the personal gateway. That is why it isnknown as personal.

On-Premises Gateway-

• It is guided by central managing or monitoring. 
• It supports Direct Query and import
• This gateway allows multiple users of the gateway for developingncontent.

 

23.What are the differences between a Power BI dataset, a Dashboard and a Report?

 

A Power BI dataset is the source used to create reports, tiles and visuals. The data could have a Direct Query connection to a source. Alternatively, the data could be within a model (imported).

Report- A Report is an individual Power Bi Desktop file that contains one or more report pages.

• Each report is connected to at least one dataset
• Each page of the report contains one or more tiles or visuals.
• A report is built for a deep, interactive analysis experience forna given dataset. 

Dashboard- A BI dashboard is a collection of tiles or visuals from a variety of reports. Its purpose is to aggregate primary metrics and visuals from different datasets.

 

24.What are the three edit interaction options of a visual tile in a Power BI Desktop?

 

Three edit interactions of a visual tile in a Power Bi desktop are as follows-

• Filter
• Highlight
• None

Filter- It fully filters a tile or visual on thenbasis of filter selection of another tile or visual.

Highlight- It only highlights a tile or visual. Then,nit greys out the non-related items

None- It ignores the filter selection fromnanother tile or visual

 

25.How is SSRS integrated with Power Bi?

 

SSRS may be integrated with Power BI in the following ways-

• SSRS creates a subscription to keep the Power BI dashboard tile refreshed.
• A few SSRS report items like charts may be pinned to the Power Bi dashboards
• When you, as the user click on a tile in the Power BI dashboards, you will reach the SSRS reports

 

26.What are the different types of refreshing data for the published reports?

 

Power BI has four different types of refreshing data. They are as follows

• Package Refresh
• Model Refresh
• Tile Refresh
• Visual Content Approach

Package Refresh- The function of Package Refresh is to synchronize the Power Bi desktop and the files between Power Bi Drive and OneDrive. However, it doesn’t extract data from the original source of data. The dataset in Power BI can only be updated with what is in the file within OneDrive or SharePoint Online.

Model Refresh- This way of refreshing data is also known as data refresh. It refers to refreshing the data within the Power Bi service. It uses the data from the original data source for refreshing this data. The refresh may be done immediately or scheduled for a later period. It needs a gateway for on-premises data sources.

Tile Refresh- It updates the cache for visual tiles on the dashboard, after the data changes. It happens approximately after every fifteen minutes. It is also possible to force a tile refresh. For that, you could follow the steps mentioned below-

• Select the ellipsis sign on the upper right hand of the dashboard
• Select the Refresh dashboard tiles option 

Visual Container Refresh- The visual container needs to be refreshed for updating the cached report visuals within a report, after the data changes.

 

27.What do you mean by data alerts?

 

Alerts work on refreshed data. Power BI searches for an alert. The alter will be triggered after it reaches the alert threshold.

 

28.What do you mean by Bookmark?

 

In Power Bi, bookmarks help people capture the configured figure of a report page within a specific time.

 

29.Why do you need to use a selection pane in the Power BI?

 

A selection pane helps you take control over the visuals that you need to display. It also helps you take charge over the visuals that do not need to be displayed. It is used for bookmarking and permits you to combine several visual pages.

 

30.Why should we use a variable in Power BI?

 

A variable is useful in creating more logical queries that should be used for several DAX functions.

 

Conclusion-

Knowledge of Power BI is fundamental for business intelligence. The Power BI docs are accurate and increase the chances of a job & salary increment. Thousands of people are opting in for Power BI certification. These questions regarding Power Bi are no doubt important. However, in-depth knowledge of Power BI is necessary to crack a Power BI interview.