Practical Self-Service BI with PowerPivot for Excel

SQL Server MVP and Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson leads this full-day, hands-on introduction to using PowerPivot for Excel to deliver self-service business intelligence.  The focus of the course is to help those new to PowerPivot to become familiar with the assembly of data from diverse sources into models that deliver business intelligence upon demand.  Participants will gain exposure to accessing and relating data, and to employing the Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) language, to construct and share PowerPivot applications that support analysis and reporting throughout the enterprise.

Bill Pearson, MVP (SQL Server BI), SSAS Maestro, CPA, CITP, CGMA, CMA, CIA, is a consultant, mentor and business intelligence architect who has been working with business intelligence for over 18 years, and with the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence solution since its inception. Bill has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional multiple times for his technical experience implementing Microsoft BI, as well as his contributions to the community as an author and speaker. Bill writes two popular columns - Stairway to MDX and Stairway to PowerPivot and DAX - at SQLServerCentral.com. He is also a regular presenter at SQL Saturday events, as well as a number of other national and international events.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, attendees will be able to:

• Assemble and relate data from diverse sources into a PowerPivot model to support self-service business intelligence
• Employ DAX functions to create basic calculations within the PowerPivot data model
• Construct PowerPivot applications that support enterprise analysis and reporting
• Understand deployment options for PowerPivot via SharePoint

Prerequisites

Attendees with the following will benefit the most from this course:

• Basic familiarity with the Microsoft Windows operating system
• Exposure to Excel PivotTables and PivotCharts
• Exposure to standard Excel functions
• Exposure to basic relational database concepts

Course Hardware and Software Requirements

Course material will be provided on thumb drives. A laptop is not necessary but will help you take advantage of the course better.  If you wish to bring a laptop, requirements are as below.  

• Windows 7, Windows XP (SP3), or Windows Vista (SP1)
• 1GB RAM minimum (with 2GB RAM recommended)
• Microsoft Excel 2010 (32-bit or 64-bit) installed
• PowerPivot for Excel (32-bit or 64-bit, as appropriate to attendee machine) installed
• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (or 2008) installed, or available for connection
• Connectivity available to AdventureWorksDW2012 database
• Connectivity available to Adventure Works Analysis Services database