Prepare to change your company’s reporting game forever! In the Self Service BI Academy, Ken Puls will teach you how to use Excel, Power Query, and Power BI together to build robust Self Service BI solutions. This hands-on guided training includes access to nearly 24 hours of recorded video and twice-monthly ‘Ask Ken Anything’ support sessions.
We know that data is not usually stored in nicely curated databases and often – even when it is – the data analyst doesn’t have access to it. Instead, we must piece together data provided in text files, Excel files, web pages, and even the body of emails to build the business intelligence solutions we need. Until now this has been a painful process with a great deal of cut and paste effort, and updates have been tedious and error prone. That stops with this workshop!
The Self Service BI Academy begins with a deep exploration of Power Query. Built-in to both Excel and Power BI, Power Query can clean, reshape, and combine your data with ease – no matter where it comes from. Converting ASCII files into tables, combining multiple text files in one shot, and even un-pivoting data is not only simple, but an investment in the future. With Power Query’s robust feature set at our fingertips, and our data clean and ready to be used, we’re now ready to explore creating dynamic business intelligence models that are refreshable with a single click.
Next, we introduce the benefits, concepts and key terminology of Dimensional Modeling. Based on the Power Pivot Data model, it’s this portion that lays the cornerstone of your reporting solution. You’ll learn the difference between Facts, Dimensions and Relationships, where they live, and how to design and link their parent tables correctly. You’ll also learn some key Power Query recipe patterns for solving two of the most frequent challenges when trying to relate tables together.
While learning to create the proper dimensional model is critical to every solution, the visible magic happens when we talk about DAX in the next section of the workshop. This powerful formula language allows us to report on much more than just the ‘Sum of Sales’. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create a variety of DAX measures, understand how DAX measures are calculated, and how to control their Filter Context. These are all critical skills for building your own advanced measures for your work.
No course on self-service BI would be complete without discussing calendar intelligence, which is exactly why we cover it. From building calendar tables on the fly to exploring the “Golden Date” pattern, we’ll work through the steps required for extending our model to report based on our own year-end.
Finally, we’ll dive into specific features of Excel and Power BI that every analyst should know. How easy is it to create a Power BI report and use a variety of different visuals for displaying data? How can you publish a Power BI report and share it with other users? How do you manage those permissions? All these questions will be answered!
Throughout this workshop, you’ll be working with both Excel and Power BI. Why? Because the tools and concepts you’ll be learning work in both places. So how do you know which one is right for the job? We’ll talk not only about that, but also how they can be used together in one solution. Come and join us to revolutionize your reporting process!
You can view a full listing of the topics covered in this course in the Course Content section further down this page.
Experience creating and modifying Excel PivotTables is highly encouraged.
If you are comfortable creating PivotTables from a data source, you’ll will be able to get a lot out of this course. But if you have ever run into one (or both) of the following two issues, you’ll know you are absolutely ready:
Ultimately, experience with Power Pivot and Power BI are optional as we will teach you what you need to know in both these areas.
Having said this, if you are already using Power Pivot, here are some key factors that also indicate you are ready for this course. You may have:
If any of these sound familiar (or not), we’ll show you how to solve them.
For Power BI users, we recommend that you have experience getting data from a raw data source and building reports. As long as you’re able to do this with some success you’re good to go.
Keep in mind that our journey will start in Excel, but we will teach you the ‘how’ and ‘why’ so that you can apply the techniques in the correct tool for the correct job.
Visit our Learning Journey page to compare courses by skill level and area of specialization.
This course is a hybrid format of pre-recorded video training interspersed with live online Q&A and coaching with Ken Puls, for direct help with your questions. The Self Service BI Academy is broken down into two main sections:
The main course curriculum includes nearly 24 hours of pre-recorded video training, of which approximately 2.5-3.5 hours will be assigned per week. While attendees are able to consume as much as they want at any time, our recommendation is to dedicate one afternoon per week. Doing so allows completion of the entire course over a period of approximately 14 weeks (including a ‘reading week’ every 4th week.)
In addition to the main course curriculum, this course also includes access to twice-monthly “Ask Ken Anything” (AKA) sessions for as long as your subscription is active. Each of these sessions is up to 2 hours in length, conducted live and recorded for later review. This is a great way to receive continued coaching on a longer-term basis, as you apply your skills in the real world and run into real world problems.
Questions for the sessions may be submitted in advance, and all of the live AKA sessions will be recorded and shared with participants. Thus, you will still be able to learn from the discussions even if you are not able to join Ken live (due to time zone conflicts, other commitments, etc.) or get called away for part of the session. This also allows you to watch the recordings on your own schedule, and to pause, rewind, and practice more with example files.
If you are not able to join us live for the AKA calls, you can still submit your questions to Ken beforehand and he will answer them in the session. You will then be able to watch the answer later on in the session recording.
As with all of our training courses, we also provide access to our curated Skillwave Support Forum as well, allowing you to get answers on a quicker basis should you need more immediate help.
The core of this course contains approximately 47 hours of training, based on:
If registrants attend (or watch the recordings of) all 46 hours of the AKA sessions, this course includes more than 80 hours of training in total.
Registration is ongoing with new intakes beginning each month. Upon joining the course, attendees will be invited to join a “Kick-off” call where Ken will walk through the details on how the program works. These calls are generally hosted on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM Pacific Time and 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM Pacific Time. Attendees are encouraged to join the call that makes the most sense for their time zone.
With the exception of December, Ken hosts 2 “Ask Ken Anything” sessions per month – generally on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, resulting in approximately 23 AKA calls held each year. Call times alternate between morning and afternoon (Pacific Time), in order to allow students from different time zones the opportunity to join the sessions in person. All AKA calls are recorded, and students are able to submit questions in advance.
Also, you may join any of the AKA sessions for as long as you are subscribed to the course, even those after your initial enrollment semester ends.
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First release of the course.
Release of Master Your Data with Excel and Power BI book (formerly titled M is for (Data) Monkey). Course registrants now receive the new second edition instead of the original first edition.
Updates made to the Power Query Recipes:
Power Query Recipes Updates:
Power Query Recipes Updates:
Updates made to the Power Query Recipes:
Power Query Recipes Updates:
Power Query Recipes Updates:
The original format of weekly 30-minute Q&A calls + monthly ‘Ask Ken Anything’ (AKA) calls replaced with twice-monthly AKA calls that are 2-hours each. This is to better accommodate new semesters kicking off each month instead of each quarter.
7.5 hours of new and updated content added to the course, including:
Power Query Recipe Updates:
Power Query Recipes Update:
Course rebranded as Self Service BI Academy to better reflect the expanded scope since it was first released. (The original course name was Self Service BI Boot Camp.) No updates were made to the course content.
Ten new lessons added:
The videos are streamed on-demand and may be watched as often as you like. However, they are not downloadable. The example files and handouts for each lesson are downloadable.
No, you can begin watching the videos and using the example files as soon as you are registered. You do not have to wait for the kick-off call. Additionally, your subscription will be extended to one year from the semester start date, not the date of purchase.
All the videos for the course are hosted on Vimeo. Please note that some networks block access to Vimeo, in which case the videos will not be watchable. You may want to double-check that your network allows access to Vimeo before registering in the Academy, to ensure that you will be able to see the videos.
After all the modules and lessons have been completed, you will be able to download the Certificate of Completion from the My Courses area of your Account Dashboard.
All users with a current course subscription receive access to our private Discussion Forum, where they can ask questions related to the course materials, as well as how to apply those teachings to their own work. This forum is also intended to act as a place for students to practice their own learnings by helping others with those questions. While the focus of this forum is primarily aimed at allowing students to learn by helping each other, they are monitored by our course authors as well. For technical issues related to the site, course access, or other questions regarding your account, please get in touch through our Contact Us page.
We recommend you may submit your questions (and upload any support files) at least 24 hours before the call via the 'Ask Ken Submissions' lesson. If you are not able to join the AKA session live, you can still submit your question and watch the session recording later.
After the AKA session, the recording will be uploaded to the 'AKA Session Recordings' lesson (usually within 48 hours) so you can watch them whenever you like.
Yes, if you have a group of 15 or more people registered in the course, we are happy to offer one private AKA session in addition to the regular AKA sessions open to all students. This will allow the instructor to help you directly with questions on your organization's data, instead of having to provide a cleansed sample data set that is safe to be viewed by others.
If you subscription is set to auto-renew, our system will automatically renew your subscription for another year on your renewal date using the billing information on file. If you subscription is set to manual renewal, our system will generate a manual invoice and email it to you on the renewal date. About a month (4 weeks) before your next renewal date, you will receive an email from us reminding you that the renewal is coming up and to confirm your billing details so your access is uninterrupted.
You may cancel your subscription at any time, and you will continue to have access to all of your course materials until your expiry date. To cancel your subscription, go to the Billing page from your Account Dashboard and select the subscription to cancel from the My Subscriptions area. Once in the Subscription Details page, you can then choose to cancel your subscription from the Actions field. After your subscription expires, you will not longer have access to the course materials, including the downloadable 'Master Your Data' book and Recipe Cards.
We accept credit card payments through our secure online payment portal, Stripe. If you would like to discuss other payment options, please get in touch through our Contact Us page. All transactions are charged in US Dollars. Please note that because Skillwave is registered in Canada, we are required by Canada Revenue Agency to collect the 5% Goods & Services Tax (GST) on registrations made by Canadians.
We think you will love our training; however, if you are unsatisfied with the training for any reason, we offer a 14-day 100% money-back guarantee, as long as you have completed less than 25% of the course. All we ask in return is that you tell us why you were unsatisfied with the training. We do not offer refunds if you have completed over 25% of the course and/or it is more than 14 days after the purchase date.
Logins, downloads, and other materials are for the exclusive use of the registered user only. Sharing of credentials is in violation of our site policies and may result in termination of product and/or site access without notice.
Simply fill out the form in the Monkey Tools License lesson in the first module of the course. The annual license is free for as long as you are part of the course. Thus, if you choose to renew your subscription to the course, we will also renew your Monkey Tools license for another year at no charge. (If you choose not to continue your course access next year, you may choose to either cancel or renew the Monkey Tools license separately.)
For existing Monkey Tools license holders, we will extend your Monkey Tools pro license renewal date until one month after the course subscription renewal/expiration date. No refunds or other extensions will be provided for overlapping subscription terms.
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