Late last month Microsoft released the certification exam for Power BI, 70-778: Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power BI. The exam is currently in beta and will likely remain that way for the next eight to twelve weeks. If you were lucky enough to snag one of the 300 uses of the voucher code, you’re already registered for the exam. If not, you’ll be waiting until the certification exam’s beta period is wrapped. And then everyone will be able to complete the exam. Thankfully I was able to take the exam a couple of weeks ago but am still waiting on the results for the next few weeks.

If you’re fairly new to Power BI or don’t have much experience with the Power BI ecosystem, I’d recommend starting with these helpful self paced learning options. This will give you a pretty decent introduction to Power BI and are self-paced or free training resources.

1. Guided Learning section on Power BI.com: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/
2. EdX.org Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI: https://www.edx.org/course/analyzing-visualizing-data-power-bi-microsoft-dat207x-6
3. Lynda.com Learning Microsoft Power BI Desktop: https://www.lynda.com/Power-BI-tutorials/Up-Running-Microsoft-Power-BI-Desktop/445425-2.html
4. Pragmatic Works also has a lot of free webinars regarding Power BI on their website. Just do a search for Power BI on this page: http://pragmaticworks.com/Training/Courses#type=Free

The Skills Measured (which can be found at the bottom of this page) in the Power BI certification are broken down into three topics with each topic including three to size subtopics. Each subtopic has a description, which I’ll include here for reference, but under each subtopic I’m including links to the pages on powerbi.com/documentation and a few other places that I think might help you prepare. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but to serve as a ramping up point for you to begin your studies and also to serve as a reference.

Although the exam is still in beta, there’s no hurt in studying and preparing now. Unfortunately there are no available study materials for the certification exam. But the good news is that I’ve compiled the skills measured and linked to pages within the Power BI documentation to allow us to prepare. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I’ve done my best to put together a good starting point for your to begin your studying. Good luck!

Consume and Transform Data By Using Power BI Desktop

20-25% of the exam questions are on these topics.

Connect to data sources: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-data-sources/Connect to databases, files, folders; import from Excel; connect to SQL Azure, Big Data, SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), and Power Query

Getting Data w/ Power BI Desktop (video): https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-1-1-overview-of-power-bi-desktop/

• • Connecting to databases

• • • SQL Server

• • • • Use DirectQuery in Power BI Desktop: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-use-directquery/

• • • • Assume referential integrity settings in Power BI Desktop (I think I remember there being a question on this one…): https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-assume-referential-integrity/

• • • Oracle: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-connect-oracle-database/

• • Connecting to files: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-get-data-from-files/Excel files: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-connect-excel/

• • • CSV files: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-comma-separated-value-files/

• • • Power BI Desktop files: (Data sources for the Power BI service) https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-get-data/

• • Connecting to folders: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-1-4-advanced-data-sources-and-transformation/

• • Importing from Excel: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-import-excel-workbooks/https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-5-3-import-powerpivot-powerview/

• • Connecting Azure SQL

• • • Azure SQL Database: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-azure-sql-database-with-direct-connect/

• • • Azure SQL Data Warehouse: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-azure-sql-data-warehouse-with-direct-connect/

• • Connecting to big data sources: (Visualize big data with Power BI and Spark on Azure HDInsight) https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/visualize-big-data-with-power-bi-and-spark-for-azure-hdinsight/

• • SQL Server Analysis Services

• • • Tabular: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-analysis-services-tabular-data/

• • • Multidimensional: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-ssas-multidimensional/  Perform transformations

• Design and implement basic and advanced transformations, apply business rules, change data format to support visualization: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-1-3-clean-and-transform-data-with-query-editor/This section on advanced data sources and transformations could also be useful: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-1-4-advanced-data-sources-and-transformation/
  • Shape and combine data with Power BI Desktop: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-shape-and-combine-data/

• Cleanse data
  • Manage incomplete data, meet data quality requirements
  • • Cleaning irregularly formatted data (video): https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-1-5-cleaning-irregular-data/Make sure you’re at least somewhat familiar with these: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt296604.aspx

Model and Visualize Data

45-50% of the exam questions come from these topics.

• Create and optimize data models
  • Manage data relationships, optimize models for reporting, manually enter data, Use Power Query
  • • How to Manage Your Data Relationships: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-2-manage-data-relationships/
  • • Optimizing data models for better visualizations: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-4-optimize-data-models/
  • • Optimize your data for Power BI Quick Insights: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-auto-insights-optimize/
  • • Enter data directly into Power BI Desktop: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-enter-data-directly-into-desktop/

• Create calculated columns, tables, and measures
  • Create DAX queries for
  • • Calculated columns: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-3-create-calculated-columns/
  • • Tables: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-6-create-calculated-tables/
  • • Measures: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-5-create-calculated-measures/
  • • Power BI Desktop Quick Measures: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-desktop-quick-measures/
• Measure performance using KPIs, Gauges, and Cards
  • Calculate the actual, calculate the target, calculate actual to target
  • • Tutorial on creating KPIs in Power BI Desktop: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-tutorial-kpi/
    • Radial Gauge Charts in Power BI: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/power-bi-visualization-radial-gauge-charts
    • Cards Visualizations (aka big number tiles) in Power BI: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/power-bi-visualization-card 
• Create hierarchies
  • Use date hierarchies, use business hierarchies, resolve hierarchy issues
  • • Visual hierarchies and drill-down behavior: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-3-11g-visual-hierarchies-drilling/
  • • Exploring time based visualizations: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-2-6a-explore-time-based-data/
• Create and format interactive visualizations
  • Select a visualization type, configure page layout and formatting, setup visual relationships, configure duplicate pages, handle categories that have no data, setup default summaries and categories, position, align, and sort visuals, enable and integrate R visuals, format calculated measures
  • • I would go through the entire Visualizations section on the Power BI Guided Learning page: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-3-1-intro-visualizations/
• Manage custom reporting solutions
  • Use Power BI API, use Microsoft Power BI Embedded, enable developers to create and edit dashboards through custom applications, enable developers to embed dashboards in applications, authenticate a Power BI web application, enable developers to create custom visuals
  • • You should at least be familiar with the process of enabling Power BI Embedded, which you can read about here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/embedding
    • Enable developers to create and edit reports in custom applications
      • Embedding content for customers: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/embed-sample-for-customers
      • Embedding content for your organization: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/embed-sample-for-your-organization
    • Use the Power BI API to push data into a Power BI dataset: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/walkthrough-push-data
    • Enable developers to create Power BI custom visuals: https://microsoft.github.io/PowerBI-visuals/docs/step-by-step-lab/developing-a-power-bi-custom-visual/
    • Overview on creating custom visuals (lots of good information here): https://microsoft.github.io/PowerBI-visuals/docs/overview/
    • Using custom visuals in Power BI: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/power-bi-custom-visuals

Configure Dashboards, Reports and Apps in the Power BI Service

25-30% of the questions in the exam are on these topics

• Configure a dashboard
  • Connect to the Power BI service, publish connections to services by using SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), publish visualizations including configure a dashboard, add text and images, filter dashboards, configure dashboard settings, customize the URL and title, enable natural language queries
  • • Dashboards in Power BI service: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-dashboards/
  • • Feature dashboards in Power BI: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-featured-dashboards/
  • • Q&A in Power BI: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-q-and-a/
  • • Enable Q&A for live connections: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-q-and-a-direct-query/
  • • Manage your data source – Analysis Services: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-gateway-enterprise-manage-ssas/

• Publish dashboards
  • Publish to web: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-publish-to-web/
  • Publish to SharePoint Online: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-embed-report-spo
  • Publish to Power BI Report Server:
  • • Get started with Power BI Report Server: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/get-started
  • • Quickstart: Create a Power BI report for Power BI Report Server: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/quickstart-create-powerbi-report
    • Compare Power BI Report Server with the service: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/compare-report-server-service

• Configure security for dashboards
  • Create a security group by using the Admin Portal:  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-edit-or-delete-a-security-group-in-the-Office-365-admin-center-55C96B32-E086-4C9E-948B-A018B44510CB
  • Creating an App Workspace (group) in Power BI: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-6-1-create-groups/
  • Share dashboard with users or security groups: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-4-4-share-dashboards/Share reports with coworkers: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-share-report/
  • Integrate with Microsoft OneDrive for Business: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-6-4a-integrate-onedrive-for-business/Connect OneDrive for Business to Power BI: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/guided-learning/powerbi-learning-5-4-connect-onedrive-for-business/
  • Configure row-level Security: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-admin-rls/
  • Configure gateways
  • • On-premises data gateway (Enterprise mode): https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-gateway-onprem/
  • • On-premises data gateway (personal mode): https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-gateway-personal-mode/
• Configure Apps and App Workspaces
  • • Create and configure an App Workspace: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-create-workspaces 
    • Also understand the new workspace experience which will be the default in the future: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-create-the-new-workspaces 
    • Publish & update an App: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-create-distribute-apps
    • How to automatically install Apps for end users: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-create-distribute-apps#automatically-install-apps-for-end-users

I hope you find this page useful for your preparation useful for passing the exam. One thing I’ll say here about this particular exam is that the Power BI ecosystem changes very, very quickly. For instance, the Power BI Desktop is updated at least once a month and the Power BI service and Data Gateway are also updated multiple times a year. I mention this fact in order to say that the topics covered in the exam will most likely change often. So when preparing for the 70-778 exam, use the materials but don’t forget to review the official list of Skills Measured on the certification exam page so you know what’s covered.