We Do Data : DA-100, Data Analyst

Even though the DA-100 sits within the Power Platform track, it’s the only one that focuses solely on your Power BI skills. As such, it’s the only exam you need to pass to get certified as a Data Analyst Associate.

Who should be taking this exam?

Most people working with the Power Platform don’t use Power BI on a daily basis. This exam is designed for people to prove that they know one end of a visualisation from the other. Although studying Power BI in depth will absolutely be useful to functional consultants (always great to know what can be done), I’d say gaining this badge would be a nice-to-have.

If you’re a full-time data analyst or a technical consultant though- this is a must-do. If you’re not up to your neck in Power BI requirements yet, you soon will be. Especially important to note that this exam contains a module on paginated reports- which are the successor to good ol’ SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) reports.

Learning

I’m happy to say that the learning paths fit with the examination topics for DA-100 perfectly- they’ll guide you through importing your data, shaping your model, choosing your visualisations and performing your admin in Power BI service. However (as is becoming a theme in these articles), the learning paths are a GUIDE, not a textbook. You will 100% not be able to pass this exam unless you’ve done your time messing about in both Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service.

The labs for the modules on the learning path allow you access to Power BI Desktop even if you don’t have a license- but if you do, I recommend following them on your machine so you can really get the feel of it. Grab some test data off the internet and have a play- make sure you know where you’d best apply a waterfall vs. a gauge vs. an area chart. Get in there and add some conditional formatting, change the colours and themes around, import some fancy visualisations from AppSource.

Especially make sure you know the big 3 AI visualisations below, these are SO useful and will often be the highlight of your report. It is scary what they come up with…

• Q&A
• Key Influencers
• Decomposition tree

Make sure you know your DAX

Data analysis expressions (DAX) are used to build columns, tables and measures in Power BI. Although you’ll need to know your way around SQL and Power Query to use Power BI- DAX is the only language you’ll be examined on for the DA-100 and you’ll need to know it pretty thoroughly. There is code in this exam!

I’d recommend supplementing your learning with the function reference documentation:

You’ll need to be sure you have your basics down (so CALCULATE, DIVIDE, SUM, FILTER)- and I’m talking about know which parameters they take as well as where they’re used and what they’re for, but also make sure you can at least read and understand very complex expressions- including the use of variables.

Getting data

There’s no 100% right or wrong way to add your data into Power BI, but you’ll need to be able to assess the options against your requirements. Each type has it’s own pros and cons- e.g. not being able to use Q&A visuals with data coming in via DirectQuery.

Also remember what you’re doing in Power BI Desktop (importing, DirectQuery and connecting up to things like SharePoint lists and Azure Cubes) vs. Power BI Service (so setting up scheduled refreshes, streaming and gateways for on-premise sources).

Security

Lastly- Three topics to get your head round here:

1. User Permissions
2. Data sensitivity
3. Row level security

User permissions are your standard security roles set-up via Power BI Service- your Admin (manages other users), Contributors (publishes content), Members (creates reports) and Viewers (looks only).

Data sensitivity applies to the actual datasets (e.g. if we’re reporting on customer personal data)- we can mark it to inform users even when they export information into other apps like Excel and PowerPoint.

Row-level security is more like a security role in Power Apps- that’s how we determine which information a user can see within the visualisations making up your reports and dashboards. We specify these using DAX within Power BI desktop- but assign people to the roles we’ve created in Power BI service. Remember you can ‘test as role’ in BOTH without having to switch your own role.