Learn Microsoft Power BI: A comprehensive, beginner-friendly guide to real-world business intelligence, Third Edition

Good business intelligence starts before the chart: with a clear question, well-prepared data, and a model people can trust. Learn Microsoft Power BI, Third Edition, follows that work from the first planning decisions through analysis, reporting, sharing, and organizational governance.

Greg Deckler builds the material in a deliberate sequence, so readers encounter the foundations behind Power BI before moving into its desktop tools and online service. The book also brings Microsoft Fabric and Copilot into the wider picture.

Start with the business question

The opening chapters introduce business intelligence concepts, the Power BI ecosystem, licensing, and project planning. A utilization-reporting scenario gives the later technical material a consistent business context, highlighting how requirements and stakeholder needs shape the solution.

Shape data into something useful

From Power BI Desktop, the book moves into connecting to and transforming data with Power Query. Readers then explore semantic models and DAX calculations—the underlying structure that supports meaningful analysis, rather than treating a report as a collection of charts.

Build reports people can work with

Analysis and report design lead into the Power BI service, where the focus shifts to publishing, sharing, dashboards, apps, metrics, security, and permissions. Guidance on gateways and refreshes addresses how published content can stay connected to its data.

Think beyond the individual report

Later chapters consider deployment, administration, governance, and adoption, along with Microsoft Fabric and Copilot. The closing material turns to BI roles and career development, extending the discussion from learning the tools to understanding where BI work can lead.

A practical starting point for Power BI learners

This edition is suited to data analysts, IT managers, and other BI users who are new to Power BI, as well as readers exploring a move from another BI platform. Its progression—from BI fundamentals to reports, service features, and organizational concerns—makes it a useful choice for learning how the parts of a Power BI solution fit together.