Commencing a multi site audit- can i use power bi?

[AEC1981]

HI there, I've recently taken up a work position to complete an audit across 42 sites. I would really like to develop an online audit tool that could be then imported to Power BI for presentation of the results (and I would write the narrative). 

My employer has asked me to complete the work on SPSS; however, the level of data being gathered is insufficient to warrant the complexity of SPSS. It's more narrative descriptive analysis that I would be undertaking. 

I would sincerely appreciate people's help on this one, as I have to be able to demonstrate to my line manager the capabilities. Many thanks, Amy 

[Poojara_D12 · Accepted solution]

Hi @AEC1981 

You're in a position where you've been asked to complete an audit across 42 sites, and while your employer has suggested using SPSS, your analysis is more narrative and descriptive in nature, which makes SPSS overly complex and not well-suited for your needs. Instead, you're envisioning a more interactive, accessible, and visually engaging solution—specifically, an online audit tool where data can be collected and later imported into Power BI for presentation, including the ability to add your own narrative interpretation alongside the data visuals.

A practical and user-friendly approach would be to build the audit tool using Microsoft Forms or Power Apps for data collection. These platforms allow you to create structured forms or low-code applications with dropdowns, ratings, comments, and free-text fields for narrative input. All data collected can automatically flow into an Excel or SharePoint list, which Power BI can connect to for real-time or scheduled updates.

This setup would give you a clean and centralized way to manage input from all 42 sites and allow you to create interactive dashboards in Power BI that combine quantitative results (like compliance scores or checklists) with narrative fields. This can help highlight themes, surface insights, and provide a compelling visual story to your line manager. Additionally, it will help you demonstrate how this modern, lightweight approach is more scalable and transparent than using SPSS—especially for data that's primarily qualitative.

In summary, by proposing an audit solution using Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, SharePoint, and Power BI, you can create a streamlined and professional workflow that captures both structured and narrative data, simplifies analysis, and offers visually rich presentations—all without the overhead and complexity of SPSS.