Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

1. What is Power BI and what are its main components?

Power BI is a business analytics tool by Microsoft for visualizing data and sharing insights. Main components

include Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, Power BI Mobile, Power BI Gateway, and Power BI Report

Server.

2. Explain the difference between calculated columns and measures in Power BI.

Calculated columns are computed row by row and stored in the model, increasing file size. Measures are

calculated at query time based on filter context, and do not increase model size.

3. What is the difference between Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service?

Power BI Desktop is a free Windows application used to create reports and data models. Power BI Service is

an online SaaS platform to share, collaborate, and publish reports.

4. How do you handle date tables in Power BI?

Use a dedicated date table with continuous dates and mark it as a 'Date Table' in Power BI to enable time

intelligence functions.

5. Explain what CALCULATE function does in DAX.

CALCULATE modifies the context in which data is evaluated. It's used to apply filters to measures or

expressions.

6. How would you create a Year-over-Year growth measure?

Using DAX: YoY = ( [Total Sales] - CALCULATE([Total Sales], SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR('Date'[Date])) ) /

CALCULATE([Total Sales], SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR('Date'[Date]))

7. What's the difference between FILTER and ALL functions?

FILTER returns a table that represents a subset of another table, applying given conditions. ALL removes

filters from a table or column.

8. Explain the concept of filter context and row context.

Filter context is applied by visuals, slicers, or CALCULATE. Row context comes from iterating functions like

SUMX or adding calculated columns.

9. What are the different types of relationships in Power BI?

One-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many. Most common is one-to-many (e.g., Date to Sales).

10. How do you optimize data model performance?

Reduce cardinality, use star schema, hide unused columns, minimize calculated columns, and use

appropriate data types.

11. What is star schema and when should you use it?

Star schema is a design with a central fact table connected to dimension tables. It simplifies queries and

improves performance.

12. Explain the difference between fact and dimension tables.

Fact tables contain measurable data (e.g., sales), while dimension tables store descriptive attributes (e.g.,

product, region).

13. Explain the difference between merge and append in Power Query.
 Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

Merge combines columns from two tables (like SQL join), while append stacks rows from tables with similar

structures.

14. How do you handle slowly changing dimensions in Power BI?

By using versioned dimension tables or implementing surrogate keys with historical tracking logic.

15. What is query folding and why is it important?

Query folding pushes transformations to the data source for better performance. It reduces data transferred

to Power BI.

16. How do you implement incremental refresh?

Enable it in Power BI Desktop for tables with date fields, and configure parameters like RangeStart and

RangeEnd.

17. How do you implement row-level security (RLS) in Power BI?

Define roles and DAX filters in Power BI Desktop, then assign users to roles in the Power BI Service.

18. Explain how you would handle real-time data in Power BI.

Use streaming datasets or DirectQuery mode with frequent refresh intervals for real-time dashboards.

19. What are aggregations and when should you use them?

Aggregations summarize detailed data for better performance. Use when querying large datasets.

20. How do you implement drill-through functionality?

Create a drill-through page, add a drill-through field, and users can right-click visuals to explore details.

21. What tools would you use to diagnose performance issues?

Performance Analyzer, DAX Studio, Power BI Desktop metrics, and SQL Profiler for DirectQuery.

22. How would you optimize a slow-loading report?

Reduce visuals, use aggregations, avoid complex DAX, minimize filters, and optimize the data model.

23. What factors affect Power BI report performance?

Model size, DAX complexity, number of visuals, data source speed, and use of DirectQuery.

24. How do you handle large datasets in Power BI?

Use aggregations, incremental refresh, optimize relationships, and choose import over DirectQuery when

possible.

25. Describe a challenging Power BI project you worked on.

Handled a sales dashboard with complex security needs, integrated from multiple sources, and optimized

DAX for performance.

26. How do you handle project requirements gathering for Power BI reports?

Conduct stakeholder meetings, define KPIs, understand data sources, and iterate with mock-ups.

27. How do you approach dashboard design?

Focus on clarity, use KPIs, consistent color themes, responsive layouts, and follow user-centric design.
 Power BI Interview Questions and Answers

28. How do you ensure data accuracy in your reports?

Validate data with source systems, use data profiling in Power Query, and include sanity checks.

29. What naming conventions do you follow in Power BI development?

CamelCase or PascalCase, prefix measures (e.g., 'm_TotalSales'), meaningful table and column names.

30. How do you ensure report maintainability?

Document DAX logic, use templates, follow naming conventions, and modular data model design.

31. How do you handle version control for Power BI files?

Use versioning with OneDrive, SharePoint, or integrate with Git using PBIX export/import workflows.

32. What's your approach to testing Power BI reports?

Test with different filters, validate numbers against source, and use test users for RLS.

33. How do you connect Power BI to different data sources?

Use built-in connectors (SQL, Excel, Web, etc.), ODBC, REST APIs, or Power BI Gateway for on-prem data.

34. Explain the different Power BI licensing options.

Free (individual), Pro (collaboration & sharing), Premium (large datasets, advanced AI, paginated reports).

35. How do you schedule report refresh in Power BI service?

In the dataset settings, configure refresh frequency, credentials, and gateway (if required).
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36. How do you handle Power BI deployments across environments?

Use deployment pipelines in Power BI Service for dev, test, and production transitions.

37. What is DirectQuery and when should you use it?

DirectQuery keeps data in the source and queries it live. Use when data must remain in the source or

real-time is needed.

38. How do you implement custom visuals in Power BI?

Import from AppSource or develop using Power BI Visual SDK with TypeScript.

39. Explain parameters in Power BI and their uses.

Parameters are dynamic inputs for filtering, transformations, or data source connections.

40. How do you use bookmarks in Power BI?

Bookmarks capture a reports state (filters, visuals) and are used for navigation or storytelling.