Becoming a Master Builder: Creating the Ultimate BI Developer Toolbox

Power BI Desktop is a powerful environment for building reports and semantic models: but real efficiency, governance, and model quality come from pairing it with the right supporting tools and workflows. This full-day workshop provides a practical, end-to-end look at the modern Power BI development stack, demonstrating how external tools, web-based services, and in-product features work together to create scalable, maintainable solutions.

We will explore how to move beyond “just building reports” and operate with the mindset of model lifecycle management, repeatable design patterns, and governed self-service analytics.

External Tools & Developer Workflows
Gain hands-on experience with DAX Studio, Tabular Editor, Power BI MCP Server, VS Code integrations, and Measure Killer. Learn how these tools support performance tuning, model refactoring, batch scripting, dependency management, and semantic model automation.

Web-Based Services for Governance & Intelligence
Use Fabric Semantic Link, DAX Optimizer, PowerBI.Tips Theme Generator, and Power BI Sentinel to audit report health, analyze DAX complexity, apply consistent branding, review workspace security, and monitor semantic model usage across your environment.

Modeling & Reporting Enhancements in Power BI
Build dynamic, flexible experiences using field parameters, calculation groups, DAX UDFs, visual calculations, and report-level metadata patterns. Explore how the TMDL view enables version control and structured collaboration across teams.

Enabling Scalable Self-Service
Bridge the enterprise and business user layers with Analyze in Excel, live-connected exports, semantic model discovery in the data hub, and metrics scorecard integrations. Establish a lightweight but effective self-service enablement model.

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

Develop and maintain semantic models using repeatable lifecycle workflows

Apply external tools and automation to reduce manual rework and improve reliability

Use modern modeling features to simplify logic and enhance user experience

Implement governance and performance checks as part of your standard process

Empower analysts and business users without compromising data quality or control

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or transitioning into model governance and solution ownership, you’ll leave with a cohesive, practical toolkit for building scalable Power BI solutions with confidence.

Understand the Integration and Application of External Tools in Power BI Explore and Leverage Web-Based Power BI Services Develop a Comprehensive Power BI Toolkit for Improved Efficiency and Analytics