50 Most Important Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

Power BI has gained immense popularity as a business intelligence tool, empowering organisations to convert raw data into valuable insights. As the demand for Power BI professionals rises, the competition in Power BI developer interviews intensifies. You can learn to handle data analysis effectively with Power BI certification courses and excel in Power BI interviews. This article aims to ease your preparation by providing a comprehensive list of Power BI questions and answers, carefully categorised to cover various aspects of the tool for both freshers as well as experienced professionals. Let us dive into the Power BI interview questions and answers and ace your interviews effectively.

This Story also Contains

1. Power BI Basic Interview Questions
2. Interview Questions on Power BI Data Transformation and Modeling
3. Interview Questions on Power BI Visualisation
4. Interview Questions on Power BI Sharing and Collaboration
5. Power BI Certification Courses By Top Providers
6. Power BI Interview Questions for Freshers

Power BI Basic Interview Questions

Q1. What is Power BI?

It is one the most important Power BI interview questions for freshers. Power BI is a data visualisation and business intelligence tool developed by Microsoft. It allows users to connect to various data sources, create interactive reports and dashboards, and gain valuable insights from their data.

Q2. What are the components of Power BI?

Power BI consists of three main components: Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Mobile. Power BI Desktop is used to create reports, while Power BI Service enables sharing and collaboration. Power BI Mobile allows users to access reports on mobile devices. These Power BI basic interview questions are considered very essential for better preparation.

Q3. Explain the difference between Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service.

This is another one of the best Power BI interview questions and answers to prepare for. Power BI Desktop is a Windows application used to create reports and data models. Power BI Service, on the other hand, is a cloud-based service where users can publish, share, and collaborate on reports created in Power BI Desktop.

Q4. What are Power Query and Power Pivot?

Power Query is a data transformation tool that helps import and shape data. Power Pivot is an in-memory data modeling tool that allows you to create relationships and calculations. These types of Power BI questions and answers are a must for interview preparation.

Q5. What is Power BI Report Server?

Power BI Report Server is an on-premises solution for publishing, managing, and delivering Power BI reports. It allows organisations to keep their reports within their own network. This is one of the must-know interview questions for Power BI.

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Q6. How does Power BI integrate with Azure services?

Power BI integrates with Azure services like Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Azure Stream Analytics to enable seamless data connections and analysis. This is one of the basic Power BI interview questions for freshers for better performance.

Q7. Explain the concept of "Dataflows" in Power BI.

This is amongst the best Power BI interview questions and answers to consider. Dataflows in Power BI allow users to create, manage, and reuse ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes on data before it is loaded into datasets, enhancing data preparation capabilities.

Q8. What is the Power BI Gateway?

This is one of the very essential interview questions for Power BI. The Power BI Gateway is a tool that facilitates secure data transfer between on-premises data sources and Power BI Services in the cloud.

Q9. How can you connect Power BI to various data sources?

This is one of the top Power BI interview questions and answers. Power BI supports multiple data connectors, including Excel files, SQL Server databases, SharePoint lists, Salesforce, Azure services, and many others. To connect to a data source, you can use the "Get Data" option in Power BI Desktop.

Q10. What is DirectQuery in Power BI?

DirectQuery is a connectivity mode in Power BI that allows users to connect directly to the data source without importing the data into Power BI. It enables real-time data analysis but requires a live connection to the data source. These are considered as the most important Power BI developer interview questions.
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Q11. Explain the difference between import mode and DirectQuery mode.

In import mode, data is loaded into Power BI and stored in its internal data model, allowing for faster visualizations. In DirectQuery mode, data remains in the source, and Power BI queries it in real time, allowing for up-to-date analysis.

Q12. What is the purpose of the Power BI Personal Gateway?

The Power BI Personal Gateway allows individuals to refresh data for reports and dashboards published to Power BI Service from on-premises data sources, even when they are not using the Power BI Gateway.

Q13. Can you explain the limitations of Direct Query in Power BI?

This is another one of the best Power BI interview questions and answers to prepare for. DirectQuery has limitations such as not supporting all data transformations, complex calculations, and some visualizations. Additionally, it may require efficient query design to maintain good performance.

Q14. How do you handle data privacy and security when connecting to data sources?

This amongst the Power BI interview questions and answers is very important. Power BI provides data privacy settings to ensure sensitive information is masked or transformed during data import. This helps comply with privacy regulations and protect data.

Interview Questions on Power BI Data Transformation and Modeling

Q15. How do you transform data in Power BI?

Power BI provides a powerful "Query Editor" where you can perform data transformation tasks. You can filter, merge, append, and pivot data to suit your reporting needs. This is one of the must-know Power BI interview questions and answers to prepare.

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Q16. What is DAX in Power BI?

DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula language used to create custom calculations and expressions in Power BI. With this one of the Power BI interview questions and answers, you can create measures, calculated columns, and calculated tables.

Q17. What is the purpose of the "M" language in Power Query?

The "M" language is used in Power Query for data transformation and shaping. It allows users to define custom steps to clean, filter, and manipulate data before loading it into the model. These types of Power BI technical interview questions can be asked by the interviewers.

Q18. Explain the concept of data modeling in Power BI.

Data modeling involves creating relationships between tables, defining hierarchies, and creating calculated columns and measures to organise and enhance the data for analysis.

Q19. How do you create relationships between tables in Power BI?

To create relationships, you define connections between columns in different tables that have related data. Power BI automatically detects relationships based on column names, or you can manually specify them.

Q20. What is the "Star Schema" in data modeling, and why is it important?

The Star Schema is a data modeling technique where a central "fact" table is connected to multiple "dimension" tables. It simplifies queries and enhances performance by reducing the number of joins required.

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Q21. Explain the purpose of surrogate keys in Power BI data modeling.

Surrogate keys are artificial primary keys used in data modeling to establish relationships between tables. They provide a unique identifier for each record and eliminate the need to use natural keys for joins.

Q22. What are calculated columns, and when would you use them?

Calculated columns are columns that you add to a table, calculated based on a DAX formula. They are useful for calculations that need to be performed at the row level and used in filtering or sorting.

Q23. When would you use calculated measures instead of calculated columns?

Calculated measures are used for aggregations and calculations that consider multiple rows. They are better suited for dynamic calculations in visualisations without increasing data storage. This is one of the top Power BI questions that you must learn to excel.

Q24. What is the "Row Context" in DAX, and how does it work?

Row Context is a key concept in DAX that refers to the context in which a formula is being evaluated. It is important to understand when writing DAX calculations that involve iterating through rows.

Interview Questions on Power BI Visualisation

Q25. How do you create a report in Power BI?

To create a report in Power BI, you start by importing data from a data source into Power BI Desktop. Then, you drag and drop visualisations onto the canvas and configure them using the fields from the data model.

Q26. Explain Drill-through and Drill-down in Power BI.

Drill-through allows users to navigate from a summary report to a detailed report by clicking on a data point. Drill-down, on the other hand, enables users to see more granular data by expanding hierarchical visualisations.

Q27. Explain the concept of "Canvas" in Power BI.

The Canvas in Power BI is the area where you design your report by placing visualisations and arranging them to create a coherent and informative layout for presenting data.

Q28. What are the different types of visualisations available in Power BI?

Power BI offers various visualizations, including bar charts, line charts, pie charts, tables, maps, matrices, cards, and more. Each visualisation type serves a specific purpose in presenting data.

Q29. How do you customise the appearance of visualisations in Power BI?

Power BI provides formatting options that allow you to customize the appearance of visualisations, including colour schemes, font styles, axis labels, titles, and data labels.

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Q30. What is the "Hierarchical Slicer" in Power BI, and how does it work?

The Hierarchical Slicer allows users to filter data by selecting values from a hierarchy, such as a date hierarchy. It lets users drill down through different levels of a hierarchy to refine their analysis.

Q31. How can you add dynamic reference lines to a visualization in Power BI?

You can add dynamic reference lines using DAX calculations in combination with the Analytics pane. This allows you to display lines representing average, median, or custom values in a visualisation. These Power BI technical interview questions are very essential for your preparation.

Interview Questions on Power BI Sharing and Collaboration

Q32. How do you share a Power BI report with others?

You can share a Power BI report by publishing it to Power BI Service. Once published, you can share the report with specific individuals or groups, and they can access it through a web browser or the Power BI mobile app.

Q33. Can you collaborate with others on a Power BI report?

Yes, you can collaborate with others on a Power BI report by giving them appropriate permissions. You can also create workspaces where team members can collaborate on reports and dashboards.

Q34. What is Power BI App Workspace, and how does it enhance collaboration?

A Power BI App Workspace is a shared space where team members can collaborate on datasets, reports, and dashboards. It allows for centralised management and control over content.

Q35. Explain the concept of "Power BI Publish to Web."

"Power BI Publish to Web" is a feature that allows you to create a public link to a Power BI report, enabling anyone with the link to access and view the report, even without a Power BI account. You must consider these kinds of Power BI questions the most important one for preparation.

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Q36. What are the security considerations when using Power BI Publish to Web?

Power BI Publish to Web is suitable for sharing non-sensitive data publicly. It is essential to avoid sharing confidential or proprietary information using this feature, as the data becomes accessible to anyone with the link.

Power BI Certification Courses By Top Providers

Power BI Interview Questions for Freshers

Q37. What does it really mean by Power BI?

Power BI is a powerful business analytics tool by Microsoft that enables users to connect, transform, and visualise data from various sources into interactive reports and dashboards.

Q38. How does Power BI differ from Excel?

Unlike Excel, Power BI focuses on creating dynamic visualisations, interactive reports, and dashboards that enable data exploration and collaboration across teams. These Power BI developer interview questions are a must for you to add in your preparation list.

Q39. Why Power BI service?

Using the Power BI service enables you to collaborate, share, and access reports and dashboards from any location with the help of a web browser or mobile app. It also allows data refresh and scheduled report distribution.

Q40. How do you import data into Power BI?

In Power BI Desktop, go to the 'Home' tab, click on 'Get Data,' choose the data source (such as Excel, SQL Server), and then follow the prompts to import the data. These Power BI technical interview questions are often asked by the interviewer.

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Q41. What are slicers in Power BI, and how do they enhance interactivity?

Slicers are visual filters that allow users to filter data in a report by selecting values from a list. They enhance interactivity by enabling users to focus on specific data subsets.

Q42. Explain the concept of a "Card" visualisation in Power BI.

A Card visualisation in Power BI displays a single value from a dataset. It is commonly used to highlight a key metric or a specific data point, such as a total sales value.

Q43. How can you format and customise a table visualisation in Power BI?

You can format a table visualisation in Power BI by adjusting font styles, colours, row/column headers, and other formatting options to make the table more visually appealing and informative.

Power BI Interview Questions for Experienced Professionals

Q44. What are the different types of filters in Power BI?

Power BI offers three main types of filters: Visual-level filters, Page-level filters, and Report-level filters. Visual-level filters apply only to a specific visual, while Page-level filters affect all visuals on a single page. Report-level filters apply to the entire report. These are a must-know type of Power BI interview questions for experienced professionals.

Q45. How do you optimise Power BI performance for large datasets?

To optimise performance, use DirectQuery mode for large datasets instead of importing data. Create proper relationships between tables, use summarised tables, and enable data compression for faster query execution.

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Q46. What is Power Query in Power BI, and how is it different from Power BI Desktop?

Power Query is a data transformation and data mash-up tool available both in Power BI and Power BI Desktop. It allows users to connect, shape, and transform data before loading it into the data model.

Q47. Explain the concept of "Row-Level Security" (RLS) in Power BI.

Row-Level Security (RLS) in Power BI restricts data access at the row level based on user roles and permissions, ensuring that users only see the data they are authorised to view. You should prepare these Power BI interview questions for experienced professionals thoroughly to perform well in your interview.

Q48. How can you handle errors and exceptions in Power BI reports?

Power BI provides error-handling capabilities through custom measures using DAX functions like IFERROR and ISERROR. Additionally, using the 'TRY' and 'OTHERWISE' functions can manage exceptions during data loading. These practical Power BI interview questions and answers for experienced ones are very important for interview discussions.

Q49. What is the difference between calculated columns and measures in Power BI?

Calculated columns are computed during data import and create a new static column in the table. Measures, on the other hand, are computed at runtime and provide dynamic aggregations based on user interactions.

Q50. How can you create custom visuals in Power BI?

This is one of the important Power BI interview questions and answers for experienced professionals. Custom visuals can be created using the 'Power BI Developer Tools' and incorporating technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This allows for extending Power BI's visualisation capabilities to suit specific needs.

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Conclusion

These are a few of the must-know Power BI interview questions and answers for experienced professionals as well as freshers, and Power BI developer interview questions. For both freshers and experienced candidates, understanding the basics of Power BI, data connectivity, data transformation, visualisation, and sharing/collaboration are crucial aspects to focus on during interview preparation. As you familiarise yourself with these Power BI interview questions and answers, you will be better equipped to ace your Power BI interview and showcase your expertise in this powerful business intelligence tool.