Power Bi Feature

[butterscotch]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering is it possible to create an automation flow (power automate) that retrieve data from excel file and load it into existing power bi dashboard? 

Thank you in advance !

[lbendlin]

Why would you need Power Automate for that?

[butterscotch]

because i would have to update my dashboard that is located in power bi weekly and the data source is located in my excel , its a repetitive work and i was wondering is there any way to reduce the work done in terms of time

[lbendlin]

You can schedule weekly refreshes in Power BI directly. If you place your Excel file on a SharePoint/Onedrive then you don't need a gateway.

[butterscotch]

I'm facing challenges in efficiently cleaning and organizing data from multiple sources in Excel. The data comes in multiple formats, and as the volume of data increases, the time required for cleanup also increases. This impacts my work efficiency. How can I streamline this data cleanup process and improve efficiency?

[lbendlin]

That's not really related to your original question.

You will find that data cleanup will take 80% and more of a analyst's time. While there are tools that can help you with highlighting data quality issues it is still humans you have to talk to and persuade to clean up their upstream data sources.

Look into process tools like RapidMiner, KNIME or Alteryx that can help you to identify and quantify data quality issues.  You can also use the built in column quality tools in Power Query but they are limited and rather slow.

[butterscotch]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your insights on data cleanup challenges. It's reassuring to hear that data cleanup is a common issue faced by analysts. 

I'll definitely explore the process tools you mentioned, such as RapidMiner, KNIME, and Alteryx, to help identify and quantify data quality issues. Additionally, your point about the importance of human involvement in persuading data providers to clean up their upstream data sources resonates with our experience.

I agree that data cleanup is a universal concern in our industry, and I believe that finding efficient solutions will not only benefit our team but also contribute to improved data quality across the board. I'll work on implementing some of these suggestions and will keep the community updated on our progress.

If anyone else in the community has further insights or experiences related to data cleanup in the construction industry, I'd greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thank you again for your valuable input.