Challenging the Norm: An Agile Approach to Data Visualization

Traditionally, Power BI Reports are developed in a waterfall approach - requirements, data shaping, front end visuals. The data modeling phase often happens entirely out of view of stakeholders and report users, with few to no feedback loops. Given that most organizations have significant gaps in standardizing which metrics to use and often even have different interpretations of their meaning, developing reports without early stakeholder input to validate assumptions can lead to significant rework, including model redesign.

In this talk, we'll explore the essentials of adopting an agile approach to data visualization development. Agile approaches promote iterative cycles and continuous feedback, helping teams align visualizations with organizational goals and stakeholders’ mental models. We'll walk through real-world examples to demonstrate how this iterative approach not only saves time and resources but also results in more effective and performant interactive reports and dashboards. Attendees will leave with an immediately usable, practical approach to reducing rework by implementing low-friction feedback loops on both code and visuals early and often.

Why and how to create a functional iterative development process in Power BI