Top 50 Power-BI interview
questions and answers
Q 1. What is Power BI?
ANS :- Power BI is a business analytics tool by Microsoft
that provides interactive visualizations and business
intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough
for end users to create their own reports and dashboards.
Q 2. What are the key components of Power BI?
ANS :- The key components are Power BI Desktop, Power
BI Service, and Power BI Mobile.
Q 3. What is Power BI Desktop?
ANS :- Power BI Desktop is a desktop application used for
creating and publishing reports.
Q 4. What is the Power BI Service?
ANS :- Power BI Service is an online service for sharing
and collaborating on Power BI reports.
Q 5. What are Power BI dashboards?
ANS :- Dashboards are single-page, often called
canvases, that use visualizations to tell a story.
Q 6. What is a Power BI report?
ANS :- A report is a multi-perspective view into a dataset,
with visualizations representing different insights from the
dataset.
Q 7. What is DAX?
ANS :- DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula
language used in Power BI, Power Pivot, and SSAS for
creating custom calculations.
Q 8. What are some common data sources for
Power BI?
ANS :- Common data sources include Excel, SQL Server,
Azure, SharePoint, and web data.
Q 9. How do you refresh data in Power BI?
ANS :- Data can be refreshed manually in Power BI
Desktop or automatically scheduled in the Power BI
Service.
Q 10. What are Power BI visualizations?
ANS :- Visualizations are graphical representations of
data, such as charts, graphs, maps, etc.
Q 11. What is Power Query?
ANS :- Power Query is a data connection technology that
enables you to discover, connect, combine, and refine data
across a wide variety of sources.
Q 12. What is the use of the Power BI gateway?
ANS :- The gateway is used to securely connect on-
premises data sources to Power BI.
Q 13. What are calculated columns in Power BI?
ANS :- Calculated columns are new data columns
created using DAX formulas based on other columns in the
dataset.
Q 14. What are measures in Power BI?
ANS :- Measures are calculations used in data analysis,
such as sums, averages, or more complex aggregations,
created using DAX.
Q 15. What is a data model in Power BI?
ANS :- A data model is a collection of tables,
relationships, and calculations that underpin a Power BI
report.
Q 16. How do you create a relationship
between tables in Power BI?
ANS :- Relationships can be created by dragging and
dropping fields between tables in the relationship view.
Q 17. What is a slicer in Power BI?
ANS :- A slicer is a visual filter that allows users to
segment data in a report.
Q 18. What is a Power BI template?
ANS :- A template is a file that includes a Power BI report
definition and layout but not the data itself, allowing users
to create new reports based on a pre-defined structure.
Q 19. What is the use of the 'Get Data' feature
in Power BI?
ANS :- The 'Get Data' feature is used to connect to and
import data from various sources into Power BI.
Q 20. What is drill through in Power BI?
ANS :- Drill through allows users to navigate to a different
report page that is filtered to display specific details.
Q 21. How can you share Power BI reports?
ANS :- Reports can be shared via the Power BI Service by
publishing them and sharing links or workspaces with
others.
Q 22. What is a custom visual in Power BI?
ANS :- Custom visuals are additional visual types that can
be imported into Power BI to extend its visualization
capabilities.
Q 23. What are Power BI apps?
ANS :- Power BI apps are collections of dashboards and
reports that are bundled together and can be shared with
other users.
Q 24. What is a KPI in Power BI?
ANS :- A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a visual cue
that communicates the amount of progress made toward
a measurable goal.
Q 25. How do you handle large datasets in
Power BI?
ANS :- Large datasets can be managed using data
reduction techniques, such as aggregations, filters, or
incremental data refresh.
Q 26. What is row-level security (RLS) in Power
BI?
ANS :- RLS allows you to restrict data access for certain
users based on roles defined within Power BI
Q 27. What is a calculated table in Power BI?
ANS :- A calculated table is a new table created in Power
BI using DAX expressions.
Q 28. How do you optimize Power BI reports for
performance?
ANS :- Optimize reports by reducing the data model size,
using efficient DAX calculations, minimizing visuals, and
optimizing queries.
Q 29. What are Power BI workspaces?
ANS :- Workspaces are collaborative environments where
users can create, share, and manage reports and
dashboards.
Q 30. What is Power BI Embedded?
ANS :- Power BI Embedded is a service that allows you to
embed Power BI reports and dashboards into your custom
applications.
Q 31. What is the purpose of the Power BI REST
API?
ANS :- The REST API allows developers to programmatically
interact with Power BI service, automating tasks like
embedding reports, creating datasets, and refreshing data.
Q 32. How do you create a custom date table in
Power BI?
ANS :- A custom date table can be created using DAX or
imported from a source, providing a dedicated table for
date-related calculations.
Q 33. Explain the use of the CALCULATE
function in DAX.
ANS :- CALCULATE changes the context in which data is
evaluated, allowing for advanced filtering and
manipulation of measures and calculated columns.
Q 34. What are hierarchies in Power BI?
ANS :- Hierarchies allow you to organize data into levels,
such as year, quarter, month, enabling drill-down
capabilities in visualizations.
Q 35. What is a dataflow in Power BI?
ANS :- A dataflow is a collection of tables created and
managed in the Power BI Service, used to streamline data
preparation and ETL processes.
Q 36. Explain the use of the FILTER function in
DAX?
ANS :- FILTER returns a table that includes only rows that
meet the specified criteria, often used in combination with
CALCULATE.
Q 37. What are the benefits of using Power BI
Premium?
ANS :- Power BI Premium offers dedicated capacity, larger
dataset sizes, more frequent data refreshes, and
advanced AI capabilities.
Q 38. Explain the use of the CALCULATE
function in DAX ?
ANS :- CALCULATE changes the context in which data is
evaluated, allowing for advanced filtering and
manipulation of measures and calculated columns.
Q 39. What is incremental refresh in Power BI?
ANS :- Incremental refresh allows you to update only the
data that has changed, rather than refreshing the entire
dataset, improving performance and efficiency.
Q 40. How do you create a measure to calculate
year-over-year growth in Power BI?
ANS :- Use DAX functions like CALCULATE,
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, and DIVIDE to create measures
that compare current and previous year values and
calculate growth.
Q 41. What is Power BI Report Server?
ANS :- Power BI Report Server is an on-premises report
server that allows you to create, publish, and manage
Power BI reports and paginated reports.
Q 42. Explain the use of the RELATED function
in DAX.
ANS :- RELATED returns a value from a related table,
allowing you to use columns from related tables in your
calculations.
Q 43. How do you implement dynamic titles in
Power BI visuals?
ANS :- Use measures and conditional formatting to create
titles that change based on slicer selections or other user
inputs.
Q 44. What is the purpose of the VALUES
function in DAX?
ANS :- VALUES returns a one-column table of unique
values from a specified column, often used to create
dynamic calculations.
Q 45. What are parameters in Power BI?
ANS :- Parameters are used to create dynamic reports by
allowing users to input values that filter or change data in
the report.
Q 46. How do you use the SWITCH function in
DAX?
ANS :- SWITCH evaluates an expression against a list of
values and returns the corresponding result, similar to a
case statement in programming.
Q 47. Explain the concept of context transition
in DAX.
ANS :- Context transition occurs when row context is
converted to filter context, typically when using
CALCULATE or certain iterators in DAX.
Q 48. What is the purpose of the ALLEXCEPT
function in DAX?
ANS :- ALLEXCEPT removes all filters from a table except
for the specified columns, useful for calculating values in a
specific context.
Q 49. How do you handle circular
dependencies in DAX?
ANS :- Avoid circular dependencies by restructuring
calculations, ensuring no measure or calculated column
depends on itself directly or indirectly.
Q 50. Explain the difference between
DirectQuery and Import mode in Power BI.
ANS :- Import mode imports data into Power BI, providing
fast performance and full functionality. DirectQuery
queries data directly from the source, allowing for real-
time data access but with some limitations on features
and performance.
