Power BI Workflow Overview

Reading Time: 8 Mins | Level: Beginner to Advanced

1. The Standard 5-Stage BI Workflow

Every production Power BI project follows a rigorous 5-step lifecycle:

1. 1
   Get Data (Ingestion): Connect to spreadsheets, SQL warehouses, web APIs, or ERP databases.
2. 2
   Transform Data (Power Query): Clean dirty columns, remove nulls, unpivot wide tables, and enforce correct datatypes.
3. 3
   Model Data (Relational Design): Establish 1-to-many relationships, configure Star Schema, and hide foreign keys.
4. 4
   Author Calculations (DAX): Write business metrics (Total Revenue, YoY Growth %, YTD Sales) using DAX.
5. 5
   Design & Publish (Visuals & Cloud): Assemble interactive cards, slicers, and charts, then publish to Power BI Service.