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Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use

Build, model and publish Power BI reports the way analysts do at work: Power Query, a clean data model, DAX measures, visuals that answer questions, and sharing done right.

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About this course

Power BI is the tool most Nigerian banks, telecoms, oil and gas firms and consultancies now ask for in analyst job adverts, and the difference between someone who has made a chart in it and someone who can build a report a management team opens every Monday is large. This course closes that gap. Starting from the free Power BI Desktop and the same Mama Ngozi Foods practice files used across Skillnaija's data courses, you learn to bring data in and clean it with Power Query so the cleaning repeats itself on every refresh, design a proper star-schema data model with a date table, write DAX measures from SUM to CALCULATE and time intelligence, choose and design visuals that answer a question rather than decorate a page, add slicers, drill-through, bookmarks and tooltips that make a report feel alive, optimise for speed on an ordinary laptop, and publish and share through the Power BI service with row-level security and scheduled refresh. Every lesson ends with something built. The project is a complete management report for the business, from raw files to a published, refreshable dashboard.

Every Monday Mrs Ngozi Okonkwo, general manager of Mama Ngozi Foods, receives three spreadsheets on WhatsApp: one each from Agege, Ikeja and Surulere. The totals never quite agree with the bank statement, Surulere's columns are in a different order, and by the time her nephew Tobe has pasted them together the week is half gone. Last month her bank's relationship manager showed her a dashboard on his laptop that changed when he tapped a branch name. 'Who built that?' she asked. 'Our analysts, in Power BI.' So she hired one: Damilola Ajayi, two years out of Unilag, whose first assignment is a report the management team will actually open. This course is Dami's first six weeks.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 12 lessons

  1. Power BI in the Nigerian workplace15 min
  2. Power Query: cleaning that repeats itself16 min
  3. The data model: stars, not spaghetti16 min
  4. DAX measures: from SUM to CALCULATE16 min
  5. Time intelligence and context16 min
  6. Visuals that answer questions15 min
  7. Interactivity: slicers, drill, bookmarks and tooltips16 min
  8. Designing a report people open on Monday16 min
  9. Performance and reliability: fast, correct, and safe to change16 min
  10. Publishing and sharing: from a .pbix on your laptop to a report on Monday15 min
  11. Security and governance: who sees which rows, and what never goes in16 min
  12. The analyst's workflow, the interview, and your project17 min

Your project

Your Management Report for Mama Ngozi Foods

The .pbix file (uploaded or via a view-access cloud link) plus one document with screenshots, the DAX measures, and the notes for each part.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use free?

Yes. Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use take to complete?

7 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 12 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use?

Intermediate. Some prior grounding in the subject will help you move faster.

What will I learn in Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use?

You will build practical skills in Power BI Desktop, service and licensing, Power Query for repeatable cleaning, Star-schema data modelling and relationships, Date tables and time intelligence, DAX measures: SUM to CALCULATE and filter context, Choosing and designing visuals, Slicers, drill-through, bookmarks and tooltips, Report layout and design for decision-makers, Performance and refresh, Publishing, workspaces and sharing, Row-level security, Documenting a report for hand-over. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Power BI: Dashboards Managers Actually Use?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Management Report for Mama Ngozi Foods and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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