Explicit Measures Podcast
Hosted by Mike Carlo and Tommy Puglia, the Explicit Measures Podcast is a Power BI focused show that explores the 'why' behind using specific features, rather than just the 'how'. It aims to help Power BI professionals build their toolset and understand the reasoning behind various techniques and decisions in real-world scenarios.
Episodes
548: Can We Trust AI Pipelines
Mike & Tommy tackle the uncomfortable truth about AI-generated data pipelines — how code that looks clean and runs without errors can still deliver confidently wrong results. Drawing from this article, they explore why silent failures in joins, filters, and business rules are harder to catch than broken code, and what Power BI and Fabric teams must do to validate outputs before bad data reaches th
547: The Hype of RayFin
Mike & Tommy dive into Microsoft's RayFin, weighing in on whether this new code-first app experience inside Fabric is a genuine shift in how teams deliver data insights — or just another layer of hype. They explore the tension between RayFin and Power BI reports, tackle who actually owns these apps in the enterprise, and break down what BI professionals should do right now before the next wave hit
546: Teaching Orgs to Question Themselves
Mike & Tommy dive into why data literacy might be missing its most important lesson — not how to read a chart, but how to question the story it's telling. Drawing from a Nightingale article on graph literacy and self-skepticism, they explore whether polished dashboards are quietly building cultures of data compliance over data curiosity.They break down how motivated skepticism, biased interpretati
545: Agents Helping with Data Governance
Mike & Tommy tackle whether AI agents can solve what the Power BI admin portal can't—giving you a true tenant-level, workspace-free view of who can access what in Fabric. They break down Taylor B.'s real-world agent that stitches together audit logs, model APIs, grants, direct links, and app audiences into a central governance store, and weigh in on whether Microsoft's native governance story is r
544: Using Harnesses for Fabric Projects
Mike & Tommy tackle the often-overlooked "outer context" problem in agentic Fabric development — exploring why request tracking systems like Notion, GitHub Issues, or even ADO matter more than most teams realize, and how building a proper project harness could be the difference between an agent that delivers and one that drifts.They break down how to map these workflows across corporate tool stack
543: Tracking App Usage in Fabric
Mike & Tommy tackle the surprisingly tricky problem of tracking Power BI app usage at scale, exploring why app-level telemetry is harder to surface than report-level metrics and how teams can map usage back to districts using Entra ID, Admin APIs, and audit logs.They break down which telemetry sources are actually viable, how to avoid common pitfalls like audience filters hiding true reach and sha
542: Orgs Slow on AI Adoption
Mike & Tommy tackle why organizations are still dragging their feet on AI adoption even with Microsoft Fabric sitting right in front of them — weighing in on whether the real blockers are skills, data quality, governance, or just unclear ROI.They break down what "AI-ready" actually looks like in a Fabric and Power BI environment, how to tell AI strategy from AI theater, and what a realistic 30/60/
541: Helping Leaders Speak Data
Mike & Tommy tackle the question of whether it's time to hold CEOs and CFOs accountable for data literacy, not just the analysts building the reports. Inspired by a mailbag from jedc at bi.fo, they explore why leaders so often ask for A when the business actually needs B, and what it really takes to build a shared data language across the org.They also cover the latest on AI-powered Power BI repor
540: Self Service with AI Part 2 - Governance, Skills, & Validation
Mike & Tommy dive into the second half of the AI self-service analytics story, tackling governance, skills, and validation — and why giving everyone the ability to ask questions of data raises the stakes, not just the speed.They break down what a "Skill" actually means in Power BI terms, who owns the wrong answer when Claude writes the query, and how BI teams can build validation checkpoints that
539: Self Service Analytics with AI
Mike & Tommy dive into self-service analytics with AI, exploring how tools like Claude are changing the way business users interact with data — and whether speed and access come at the cost of trust and governance.They break down what semantic models need to look like when chat is the primary interface, who owns accountability when AI gives a wrong answer, and what practical guardrails BI teams sh
538: Team vs Individual Microsoft Fabric Agent skills
Mike & Tommy tackle the growing tension between individual and team-owned Microsoft Fabric Agent Skills, exploring how BI teams should organize, govern, and promote skills without killing innovation or creating shadow BI.They break down the full skill lifecycle — from personal experiments to certified team assets — and land on practical governance guardrails that are lightweight enough to actually
537: Are We Now Professional QA?
Mike & Tommy tackle whether Power BI developers are quietly becoming professional QA testers in the age of Microsoft MCP, weighing in on what separates a true senior developer from a junior when AI writes the first draft.They explore how the developer role is shifting, who owns accountability when AI-generated measures ship broken, and what skills still matter when the tool can do the typing.More
536: All About RayFin
Mike & Tommy dive into RayFin, Microsoft's new AI-first product for building, deploying, and governing agents inside Microsoft Fabric, exploring whether this is a true shift in how BI teams work or just another layer of hype on day one.They break down what RayFin actually changes for semantic models, reports, and pipelines, tackle the real governance risks when AI can build and deploy at platform
535: Microsoft Build 2026 Recap
Mike & Tommy dive into Microsoft Build 2026, breaking down what the "agentic apps" announcement actually means for Power BI and Fabric teams—and whether this is a real architecture shift or just rebranded copilots.They weigh in on how Fabric Data Factory orchestration, Microsoft Databases, and Agent Skills change the day-to-day for BI developers and data engineers, and what governance guardrails t
534: CI/CD Automation with Agents in Fabric
Mike & Tommy dive into CI/CD automation with agents in Microsoft Fabric, exploring how agentic workflows are reshaping deployment pipelines, whether AI-driven deployments introduce more speed or more risk, and what guardrails teams need before letting agents touch production workspaces.https://github.com/microsoft/fabric-task-flowshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/cicd/deployment-pipelines/
533: Claude Design & Power BI Embedded
Mike & Tommy dive into Claude Design meets Power BI Embedded, exploring whether AI-generated UX is a shortcut or a quality risk, how semantic models stay the source of truth when LLMs scaffold embedded apps, and what guardrails belong on every AI-assisted analytics project.https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerBI/comments/1sy5kue/claude_design_meets_power_bi_embedded/Get in touch:Send in your questions or
531: You are Wasting your Time!
Mike & Tommy tackle Microsoft Fabric hints to work faster, exploring whether teams are wasting time due to self-inflicted bad workflows, poor reuse, and confusing busy work with shipping value. They break down which repeatable tasks should be standardized first, when "just build it" becomes technical debt, and what practical Fabric habits listeners can adopt this week to stop the waste and start d
530: Agentic Skill & Report Design
Mike & Tommy explore agentic skill and report design, diving into the "Five Minutes to Wow" framework and whether AI agents accelerate great design or amplify bad habits. They confront questions about who owns design decisions when the AI makes the call, how to balance speed with craftsmanship, and what guardrails prevent self-service clutter—ultimately wrapping up with practical takeaways for any
529: Does AI Drive Your CoE?
Mike & Tommy dive into whether agentic tooling should be driving your Knowledge Center, exploring if docs, support, and governance content can—or should—be fully automated by AI, and what that means for the future relevance of your CoE.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast
528: The Importance of Skills for the Fabric Developer
Mike & Tommy explore the importance of agentic skills for the Fabric developer, weighing whether Skills are a productivity breakthrough or another governance risk, and discussing how to build, version, and share Skills without sacrificing engineering discipline.https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/blob/main/skills/productivity/grill-me/SKILL.mdhttps://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Power-BI-Upd
527: Semantics Layer Genie & Data Agents
Mike & Tommy dive into Databricks Genie and the growing hype around data agents, exploring whether the real challenge is natural language chat or the semantic layer underneath—and what Power BI teams must fix before any AI agent can deliver trusted, governed answers at scale.https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/blog/genie-is-a-semantic-layer-problem-not-a-chat-problem-1https://community.fabric.mic
526: Stop Using Bookmarks
Mike & Tommy weigh in on whether bookmarks in Power BI are still worth the maintenance burden, exploring how field parameters, slicers, and modern features have changed the game, and when you should still reach for bookmarks versus simplifying your data model instead.https://tabulareditor.com/blog/ai-readiness-and-best-practices-for-semantic-models-a-comprehensive-guidehttps://community.fabric.mic
525: Less Guessing? More Building!
Mike & Tommy dive into Building Agentic Tools for Microsoft Fabric With Alex Powers, exploring Microsoft's Alex Powers' new tool 'Taskflow Assistant' for Microsoft Fabric and how AI is transforming the way professionals work with Fabric workflows, discussing whether we're helping users master the platform or avoid learning it altogether.https://github.com/microsoft/fabric-task-flowshttps://communi
524: Our Most Underrated Fabric Features
Mike and Tommy review the most underrated Fabric features based on buzz and client usageGet in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtub
520: Overfed and Sick Golden Datasets
Mike & Tommy tackle the overfed golden dataset problem—when a single "source of truth" becomes a 100-table, 400-measure monster that takes four minutes to open. They explore why teams fall into the trap of cramming everything into one model, how fear of discrepant numbers drives over-centralization, and what it takes to split a bloated semantic model without breaking executive trust or reverting t
519: Tools & Strategies for Marketing Insights Integration
This week on Explicit Measures, we tackle a critical "last mile" problem in Business Intelligence: how do you add narrative context to Power BI reports when the storytellers aren't Power BI users? Our listener has built monthly snapshot reports delivered to multiple business units, but marketing leads need to annotate these reports with context before they reach their final audience. We explore th
523: Databricks, Fabric, Devleopment and Vibe
Mike & Tommy weigh in on whether Databricks and Microsoft Fabric are converging into direct competitors, exploring how Databricks' push into BI with Genie and AI capabilities is closing the gap on Power BI's presentation layer. They question whether "end-to-end" platforms are the future or just feature bloat, discuss where semantic models should live in a modern data stack, and help teams decide w
522: Improving Your AI Skills Your Fabric
Mike & Tommy dive into improving AI skills for Fabric developers, exploring whether to start with prompt engineering or semantic modeling fundamentals, how to build real agents without organizational buy-in, and when AI tools actually add value beyond well-built reports. They tackle the tension between learning cutting-edge capabilities and mastering core BI craft, offering a practical 90-day road
521: Looking at AI Assisted Development
Mike & Tommy dive into Joachim's repo-based golden semantic model architecture, exploring whether AI-assisted development is making the classic thin-report pattern obsolete and how upcoming MCP servers for report modeling might reshape architectural decisions. They weigh the trade-offs between file-based AI edits and application-layer safety, discuss when splitting reports makes sense, and tackle
518: FabCon 2026 Recap Part 2
Mike & Tommy recap their experiences at FabCon 2026, sharing key takeaways from sessions, conversations with the community, and highlights from the second day of the conference. They discuss standout moments, emerging trends in the Fabric ecosystem, and what these developments mean for practitioners working with Power BI and the broader Microsoft data platform.Get in touch:Send in your questions o
517: FabCon 2026 Recap Part 1
We are covering ALL of Fabric Con 2026 and highlighting the updates.Context:FabCon and SQLCon 2026 AnnouncementMajor Fabric Updates - ALLOneLake UpdatesPower BI March 2026 Feature SummaryGet in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Wat
516: Subscriptions as a Silent Hero
Mike & Tommy dive into Power BI subscriptions as proactive workflow tools, exploring whether automated data nudges can outperform interactive dashboards for busy professionals. Using a real-world data quality monitoring example, they question when the best BI solution is the one users never open, examining the balance between "push" alerts and "pull" exploration, and how subscription-driven report
515: DAX Complexity & Power Query ETL Tips
Mike & Tommy dive into DAX complexity and Power Query ETL tips, tackling how to structure complex measures that balance readability and performance across nested time intelligence, dynamic filters, and multi-grain data. They explore advanced Power Query techniques for reducing refresh times in Fabric Dataflows Gen2 and SharePoint integrations, with practical advice on optimizing step folding and r
514: Help! How Do We CI/CD with TMDL + PBIR in Azure DevOps
Mike & Tommy tackle the messy reality of CI/CD for Power BI in the age of TMDL and PBIR, weighing whether Fabric Deployment Pipelines or Azure DevOps—or both—offer the right path forward. They explore why selective file commits feel impossible despite text-based artifacts, when each approach makes sense, and whether mixing deployment methods creates more problems than it solves. The conversation c
513: Git Best Practices: Diff Noise & Naming
Mike & Tommy tackle Git best practices for Power BI teams, exploring how to reduce diff noise from slicer selections and matrix expansions, whether renaming visual folders is brilliant or risky, and how small teams can maintain clean, readable source control without losing their minds. They weigh practical tactics like commit checklists, folder naming conventions, and the trade-offs between tr
512: Publish to Web vs. Embedded – Security & Public-Facing Reports
Mike & Tommy tackle the critical security distinctions between Publish to Web and Power BI Embedded when exposing reports publicly, questioning whether Embedded actually provides meaningful protection over Publish to Web when authentication isn't required. They explore how Row-Level Security behaves differently in each approach, whether URL filters can be locked down, and what organization
511: Mailbag! Scaling a Power BI Side Hustle – Marketing & Growth as a Family Man
Description:In this mailbag episode, we tackle a question from Jacob, a BI Manager and father of three who's been building his Power BI consulting side hustle since late 2023. With a full-time role, a stay-at-home spouse, and limited time to market his services, Jacob asks: How do you scale a consulting business while balancing family responsibilities? We discuss marketing strategies for time-stra
510: "What's Next?" – Building a 3-Year Power BI Roadmap After a Successful Rollout
Mike & Tommy dive into what comes after a successful Power BI rollout, exploring whether the next phase is about building more reports or maturing the data platform beneath them. They question if 200 users and 300 KPIs signal maturity or hidden sprawl, discuss the shift from tool deployment to organizational capability, and outline a practical 3-year roadmap focused on governance, scalability, and
509: Fabric Ideas That Stick & Reading What's Next
Mike & Tommy tackle how to submit Fabric ideas that actually get noticed, exploring what separates impactful feedback from noise, why most suggestions get ignored, and how to read Microsoft's roadmap for emerging opportunities. They discuss new data types, future-proofing data engineering beyond AI hype, and practical strategies for becoming a better feedback citizen in the Fabric ecosystem.Get in
508: Kicking Off Fabric the Right Way
Mike & Tommy tackle the challenge of kicking off Fabric with a clean slate, exploring how to prevent model fragmentation and build a culture of shared semantic models from day one. They discuss whether to rebuild from scratch or incrementally consolidate, why teams resist reusability, and how to establish governance that encourages collaboration without becoming a bottleneck. The episode deliv
507: AI-Assisted TMDL Workflow & Hot Reload
Mike & Tommy tackle AI-assisted TMDL workflows and the hot reload problem, exploring whether direct file editing with AI tools like Copilot is the future of Power BI development or a recipe for broken models. They weigh the tension between "move logic upstream" best practices and the brutal close-reopen cycle when TMDL changes introduce errors, debating whether Tabular Editor 3, MCP
504: Living in a Direct Lake Only World
Are we only Direct Lake now? With Microsoft Fabric's ability to use Direct Lake with Semantic Models, where is the need for Import in Power BI, or rather where do we push people?Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Watch th
506: Mailbag! Filter Overload
In this mailbag episode, we tackle a common challenge in Power BI report design: filter overload. When 15-20 slicers consume a third of your report page, are you empowering users or overwhelming them? We discuss practical guidelines for slicer design, the difference between "set once" and "frequently changed" filters, strategies for moving your team toward more mature reporting
505: Excel vs. Field Parameters
In this episode, we tackle a critical gap between Power BI's Field Parameters and Excel's live connection capabilities. Inspired by a mailbag submission from Eivind Haugen, we explore the tension between building semantic models that look great in Power BI reports versus models that serve all consumers—including the often-overlooked Excel power users.We dig into why Field Parameters break the Exce
503: Hiring the Report Developer
In this episode, Mike and Tommy explore whether the traditional "Report Developer" role still exists in the age of AI and Microsoft Fabric. They discuss what skills organizations should actually be hiring for, how the role has evolved from pixel-perfect report building to semantic modeling and data architecture, and whether AI tools like Copilot are changing what we expect from BI professionals. T
502: Trusting In Microsoft Fabric
Mike & Tommy weigh in on whether Microsoft Fabric has earned the same trust as Power BI, exploring if it's truly dependable for small businesses and enterprises alike, and examining what trust even means for an all-in-one platform that's still rapidly evolving.https://x.com/gothburz/status/2019539563027247147?s=46&t=A8umCvjDNrtK_1gwT1T7qQhttps://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies
501: Central BI & Workspace Strategies
Mike & Tommy explore how central BI teams should structure Microsoft Fabric workspaces, weighing medallion architecture patterns against deployment complexity, and debating whether centralized control helps or hinders self-service at scale—while unpacking why AI adoption intensifies workspace governance instead of simplifying it.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to disc
500: We Made It!
We made it 500! Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitipsSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230
499: MAILBAG! Late Adopter Advantage? AI Readiness
Mike & Tommy explore whether being late to the data game is actually an advantage in the AI era, questioning if organizations building fresh Fabric implementations can leapfrog legacy technical debt—or if they're doomed to repeat the same governance mistakes. They tackle Sandra's mailbag question about late adoption, semantic modeling for AI readiness, and when to let ontology "brew" versus act no
498: MAILBAG! Define the Problem Before Tools?
Mike & Tommy tackle the classic BI trap of falling in love with tools before understanding the problem, exploring why organizations rush to adopt Copilot, Fabric, or dashboards without defining what decision they're trying to improve, and how to force problem clarity without becoming the blocker when stakeholders just want to "see the data."Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us
497: MAILBAG! Remote Fabric Jupyter & Local VSCode?
Mike & Tommy tackle a listener's question about connecting local VSCode to remote Fabric Jupyter kernels, exploring whether Fabric's architecture is fundamentally incompatible with traditional data science workflows, and discussing what an effective development cycle actually looks like when you can't just "pip install -e ." your way to productivity.https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79331916/is-
496: MAILBAG! Experience Overuse
Mike & Tommy tackle a listener's challenge with Microsoft's overuse of "experience" in Fabric, questioning whether calling notebooks, pipelines, and copy jobs "experiences" inflates expectations and confuses adoption, and exploring what precise language would better serve data teams building real solutions.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBI
495: Do You Really Need Fabric?
Mike & Tommy dive into Microsoft Fabric licensing strategy, questioning whether organizations actually need Fabric or are falling into the same over-provisioning trap as Power BI Premium. Drawing on Blake Edwards' client savings case studies, they explore F64 thresholds, hidden costs, and practical optimization tactics that separate smart capacity decisions from expensive assumptions.Get in touch:
494: MCP Your Fabric Data
Mike & Tommy explore Microsoft's new MCP servers for Power BI and Fabric, questioning whether teams should immediately enable these AI agent integrations or take a more measured, governed approach. They break down the security risks, governance implications, and practical rollout strategies for letting AI agents interact with semantic models.https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-US/blog/int
493: AI Drives Microsoft Fabric Success
Mike & Tommy dive into whether Microsoft Fabric's success is driven by AI innovation or if it would thrive on its own merits, exploring how AI investments reshape organizational data strategies and examining what "AI-ready Fabric" truly requires in practice.https://www.fintechbrainfood.com/p/ai-is-rewiring-the-economyNews from Today:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josuebogran_i-have-an-nda-with
492: The 2025 Fabric Made Up Awards
492: Fabric Made Up AwardsMike & Tommy hand out the first annual Fabric Made Up Awards, debating hilarious categories from "Most Likely to Be Disabled by IT" to "Best Feature That Requires a Long, Awkward Conversation," revealing which Fabric features deserve recognition for being simultaneously essential yet problematic.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you wan
491: Our Fabric Resolutions
Mike & Tommy start the new year with their own Microsoft Fabric ResolutionsGet in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/pow
490: Revisiting Dataflows Gen 2
Mike & Tommy dive into Revisiting Dataflows Gen 2, exploring the tension between initial skepticism and current capabilities after major updates, and how organizations can strategically position this tool in their data workflows for maximum value.https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en/blog/unlocking-the-next-generation-of-data-transformations-with-dataflow-gen2-fabcon-europe-2025-announcements?ft=Al
489: Why Fabric IQ Will Cause Friction
Mike & Tommy dive into the challenges posed by Microsoft's Fabric IQ, exploring the friction it creates within organizations as they redefine semantics. They discuss how this shift impacts culture, politics, and collaboration, offering practical strategies for successful adoption.https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-fabric-iq-the-semantic-foundation-for-enterprise-ai?ft=AllGet
488: Fabric Gift Exchange
it is that time of year - the fabric gift exchange.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips](https://twitter.com/PowerBITips">@PowerBITips) with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips](https://powerbi.tips/explicit-measures-power-bi-podcast/">PowerBI.tips) Podcast Page.Visit [PowerBI.tips](http://PowerBI.tips):
487: The Intelligence Developer
Mike & Tommy dive into the concept of the "Intelligence Developer," exploring whether this new role is emerging from shifts in Microsoft Fabric IQ and AI's rise in organizations, and how it could redefine business intelligence practices for deeper insights and better governance.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMai
486: Backward Ontology
Mike & Tommy dive into "Backward Ontology," exploring whether Fabric IQ can facilitate a bottom-up approach to defining enterprise semantics. They discuss the implications of shifting ontology creation from a top-down mandate to a team-generated process, and provide insights on how organizations can successfully navigate this evolving landscape.https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/iq/ontology/
485: 1-Click Notebooks For Semantic Models
Mike & Tommy dive into 1-Click Notebooks, exploring how to start using them and the various customizations available. They discuss why these notebooks are essential for enhancing your Power BI experience, aiming to provide practical tips for effective implementation.https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/transform-model/service-notebookshttps://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-u
484: Data Governance in the Age of Fabric IQ
Mike & Tommy dive into "Data Governance in the Age of Fabric IQ," exploring whether Fabric IQ is truly the missing link for effective data governance or just another AI feature. They discuss practical strategies for organizations to enhance their governance frameworks and ensure successful implementation.https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-fabric-iq-the-semantic-foundation-for
483: Let’s Talk Semantic Modeling on the Web
Mike & Tommy dive into semantic modeling on the web, exploring whether this new feature signals the decline of Power BI Desktop and discussing the implications for data culture. Tune in for practical insights on version history and governance strategies for organizations.https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-editing-semantic-models-in-the-power-bi-service-now-generally-available/
482: Microsoft Ignite & Fabric IQ
Mike & Tommy dive into the AMAZING new features and incredible impact they will have on businesses and our careers. First half is AI then we dive in to Fabric Ontology and Fabric IQ.https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/advancing-data-integration-innovations-in-data-factory-in-ms-fabric-at-ignite-2025?ft=Allhttps://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-fabric-iq-the-semantic-
481: From Fragmented Models to Unified Semantics
Mike & Tommy explore from fragmented import models to unified Fabric semantics, examining how to lead cultural change when teams resist moving from siloed datasets to shared models, and provide practical steps for building a culture that embraces a single source of truth.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailba
480: Kill Your Data Team - Why Product Teams Should Own Data
Mike & Tommy tackle the controversial idea of killing your data team, questioning whether centralized BI teams have become expensive bottlenecks, and exploring how embedding analysts into product teams could deliver faster, more impactful insights.https://medium.com/dashboards-suck/kill-your-data-team-why-product-teams-should-own-data-bddd991dcff8Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics y
479: Mailbag! Tracking App Usage at Scale
Mike & Tommy dive into tracking app usage at scale, exploring how education consultants can monitor dashboard engagement across 70 school districts and 9,000 users. They break down the limitations of built-in metrics and reveal practical strategies for implementing audience-level usage tracking in Power BI.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBI
478: MAILBAG! Untangling Workspace, Branching, and Artifact Chaos
Mike & Tommy untangle workspace, branching, and artifact chaos, exploring how to organize Fabric environments amid conflicting advice from Microsoft and consultants, and provide a practical framework for managing dev/test/prod workflows without workspace proliferation.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag o
477: Mailbag! Start With Why
Mike and Tommy go through another great mailbag:I just finished listening to Adopting Copilot Standalone for Power BI - Ep.428. You may have addressed this before but I'd enjoy hearing a conversation about addressing what is the problem you are trying to solve for? You can have many tools and be highly skilled with it. But do you understand the issue for which the business needs improvement ag
476: New Feature Announcement - Semantic Bridge
Mike & Tommy explore the new Tabular Editor feature Semantic Bridge, investigating how this technology bridges the gap between different semantic modeling standards across platforms, and examining whether it solves real problems or just adds complexity to the BI ecosystem.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailb
475: Source Control in BI - Necessary, Painful, or Both?
Mike & Tommy tackle source control in BI, exploring whether serialization formats like database.json and TMDL solve more problems than they create, and how teams can implement version control without overwhelming analysts.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit
474: Modeling Without the Keyboard
Mike & Tommy dive into TMDL, Tabular Editor, and AI automation for semantic modeling, questioning why typing less gets so much attention when it's never the real bottleneck, and uncovering which workflow friction points actually deserve your automation effort.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or sub
473: DevEx for Pros - UDFs, TI, and the Tools That Stick
Mike & Tommy unpack developer experience for Power BI pros, exploring how UDFs, enhanced time intelligence, and specialized tools transform data modeling workflows, and revealing why certain development practices stick while others fade away.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tip
472: Getting Started with Real Time Intelligence
Mike & Tommy break down Real Time Intelligence in Fabric, exploring what Power BI pros need to know to get started with this feature, and how to build real-time pipelines that transform traditional refresh-based reporting into powerful streaming insights. Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on t
471: Data Modeling in Event Driven Architectures
Mike & Tommy dive into Data Modeling in Event-Driven Architectures, exploring how Power BI skills apply to Real-Time Analytics in Microsoft Fabric, and provide practical approaches for transitioning from traditional modeling to handling streaming data effectively.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or sub
470: Measure Total Shenanigans
Mike & Tommy finally weigh in on the measure total debate that's been heating up online, exploring why totals don't add up as expected, whether it's a DAX problem or a misunderstanding of filter context, and how developers can build measures that business users actually trust without breaking their mental models.https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/more-measure-totals-shenanigans-daniel-
469: PBIX or PBIP?
Mike & Tommy debate the new Power BI Project (PBIP) format, questioning whether source control and Git integration are worth the added complexity, and discussing who should migrate from the traditional PBIX binary format.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit
468: Action Systems & AI Applications
Mike & Tommy are joined by Microsoft's Chris Schimdt on utilizing real time with actual applications in and outside Microsoft Fabric.Get in touch:Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursda
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