Incremental Refresh Power BI

In this session, I’ll take a practical look at refreshing and updating Power BI data models when data volumes start to grow and full refreshes are no longer an option.

Incremental refresh is a key technique for keeping large models manageable, but in practice it often raises questions around setup, maintenance, and reliability. We’ll walk through how incremental refresh works in Power BI, how to configure it correctly, and what happens behind the scenes during a refresh. Where useful, I’ll show how tools like Tabular Editor can help with managing and validating the configuration—but the starting point is always Power BI itself.

Beyond the technical setup, we’ll focus on the practical dos and don’ts: common mistakes, design choices that impact performance, and scenarios where incremental refresh adds complexity without real benefits.

Testing is a recurring challenge when working with large datasets and non-trivial refresh logic. I’ll cover practical approaches to testing refresh behavior, validating data completeness, and detecting issues early—before they surface in production.

This session is aimed at Power BI users who work with larger data models (or expect to soon) and want a refresh strategy that is predictable, maintainable, and performant.

Understand how incremental refresh works in Power BI and when it is the right choice. Configure and maintain incremental refresh for large data models without introducing unnecessary complexity. Apply practical testing techniques to ensure reliable and predictable refresh behavior.