Overview of Power BI
The Power BI software as a tool that links directly to online datasets, and creates dynamic interactive visual representations of that data. Following an initial setup, Power BI becomes a powerful mechanism for quickly understanding the daily changes in your dataset.
Example 1: Oregon Legislative Assembly over time with a focus on 2017When to use Power BI
Primarily, Power BI should be used if the goal is to create Interactive Visuals. Once the decision is made to create interactive visuals, consideration for audience will dictate how the data can be shared. If the purpose is internal use, creation of Power BI dashboards would be ideal. If the wide distribution of the visual is the goal, Power BI can create embed codes that can be inserted into any webpage.
Dynamic vs Passive data, Interactive vs Static visuals
Dynamic Data are those datasets that are continually updated. This type of data could come from a web API and/or direct connections to SQL servers.
Passive Data are closed systems and are not being updated. This data would often be fed into Power BI through an Excel spreadsheet.
Interactive Visuals are those types of visuals that require an electronic medium, but allow users to explore data. Interactive Visuals have become commonplace in web-based material. When creating Interactive Visuals, aim to set the initial view of the data exactly how you would set it if it were a Static Visual in print.
Static Visuals do not require an electronic medium, and can be printed and handed out. Static Visuals are the only visuals available in print-based materials. If static visuals are desired, I recommend forgoing the use of Power BI. In these cases, I would advise the use of Excel to create the initial graphic and to use Adobe Illustrator to finalize the visual.
Sharing Content
Power BI can easily be embedded into existing webpages to ensure datasets can easily be shared. In this case, the report that is shared should only have those pieces that you wish to share. In example 1, you can see a total of eight pages of a report. When creating the report, be sure to only create data visualizations and interactions that you wish to viewed. Unfortunately, Power BI does not yet support responsive web-design. As such, embedded Power BI pieces will display differently on differently sized screens.