Organisations collect more data than ever, from accounting systems, surveys, field apps and websites, but the value arrives only when decision makers can see and trust it. Static monthly reports built by hand are slow and prone to error. Self-service business intelligence tools let analysts build interactive dashboards once and refresh them with new data automatically.

The Fundamentals of Dashboards & BI (Power BI, Tableau) Training Course introduces the full workflow in both tools. Participants learn how to define the questions a dashboard must answer, prepare and combine data, model it correctly, and visualise it so the message is obvious at a glance. Parallel demonstrations in the two products show where they overlap and where they differ, so participants can move between them with confidence.

Every session is a hands-on lab using sample sales, finance and programme datasets. By the end of the week, each participant has built a multi-page dashboard, documented its definitions and tested it with a peer, leaving them ready to start a reporting project at work. Take-home files allow continued practice once the sessions end.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define business questions, metrics and audiences before building a dashboard.
• Import and combine data from spreadsheets, files and databases.
• Clean and transform data using Power Query and Tableau Prep concepts.
• Build relational data models and calculated measures using DAX and Tableau calculations.
• Choose and format visuals that communicate trends, comparisons and composition accurately.
• Add interactivity through slicers, filters, parameters and drill-through.
• Publish, refresh and secure reports for wider organisational use.

No programming background is needed. The course suits people who report on or use data in their roles, including:

• Business and data analysts moving beyond Excel
• Monitoring, evaluation and research officers
• Finance, budgeting and management accountants
• Sales, marketing and operations managers
• Programme and project managers who report to donors
• Public sector planners and statisticians
• Human resource analysts
• IT staff supporting reporting teams

Participants leave the course with:

• A finished multi-page dashboard built from a realistic dataset.
• A reusable data preparation routine for monthly refresh.
• A starter library of DAX measures and Tableau calculations.
• A design checklist for readable, honest visuals.
• A published report with security and refresh settings understood.
• A short plan for introducing dashboards in their own team.

This is a lab-based course in which most time is spent at the keyboard:

• Instructor demonstrations followed immediately by guided practice
• Datasets from sales, finance and development programmes
• Side-by-side builds so each exercise is completed in both tools
• Design critiques where participants review each other's dashboards
• Take-home files and templates for continued practice

Participants who attend all sessions and complete the dashboard project are awarded a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.