March 17, 2023

Tips n’ tricks for using Power BI Natural Language Processing (NLP)

So you want to leverage the value of your data? It can be as easy as searching a question in plain language, thanks to Power BI Q&A, or exploring new insights with smart narrative reports made from your visual data. It’s all part of one powerful feature, Natural Language Processing. While it’s available to all users, there are some tips for getting the most out of it.

By

Theta

February 15, 2023

3 signs it's time for a modern data platform

A modern data platform (MDP) is a framework for efficiently collecting, managing and analysing data. For some organisations, it's obvious when it’s time to consider one, but for others, the signs creep up slowly. If you’re experiencing some of these common challenges, it’s often a sign that your organisation is ready for one.

By

Theta

July 5, 2021

Small Multiples in Power BI: making business reports easier to understand

Small multiples, a new feature in Power BI, was released for public preview in December 2020. It tackles the cluttered chart problem by allowing you to split a visual into multiple versions of itself. You can then present these visuals side-by-side and instantly make them easier to interpret.

By

Theta

March 30, 2021

Is biased data leading you down the wrong path?

Data bias is a big problem. With the sheer quantity of data now available and an increasing reliance on data and insights led decision-making, mistaking 'truth' with 'the truth you want to see' is a significant risk.

By

Theta

November 17, 2020

Bulk renaming columns in a table using a Power Query Custom Function

If you've ever exported data from your ERP system and imported into Power BI, you'll be familiar with the rigmarole of renaming hundreds of columns to a more descriptive name. It's both time-consuming and prone to human error.

By

Theta

June 15, 2020

UX Analytics: tools, testing and pro tips

“Normal work” has been changing a lot for people working in customer experience! Many UX designers are working from home and might do so for a while. This means you’re probably adjusting the way you collaborate and undertake research - including using Miro boards, real-time ‘co-editing' within your Adobe XD document and Teams/Zoom user interviews.

By

Theta

March 31, 2020

The data debt that comes back to bite us when we least need it

Everyone knows that information is power, and that accurate, timely and actionable insights are even more powerful. When the economic situation we live in is healthy, and there is certainty, a lot of companies and organisations take this for granted or even ignore it.

By

Gary Blumgart, Head of Data & Insights

Theta

March 9, 2020

Top 3 best practices for dashboard design

An increasing number of organisations are adopting self-service BI, leading to the production of more reports and dashboards. Unfortunately, this often equates to a lack of governance and data literacy. Many people creating these reports and dashboards often have little formal training in the analytics space, leading to an abundance of visualisation artefacts that don’t adhere to some of the fundamental dashboard design best practices.

By

Theta

August 28, 2019

Self-Service Analytics: is it about to self-destruct?

Self-service analytics is a growing trend. It’s easy to see why companies are jumping on board with this, but there is an inherent risk to be aware of before going full steam ahead.

By

Theta

May 19, 2017

Realising the benefits of data lakes

A data lake is a repository for storing vast amounts of raw, streaming or unstructured data. With a data lake, organizations can store data from multiple sources, without having to model it first. The promise is great - data lakes, when executed well, can provide input into and receive real-time updates from operational applications, as well as providing true, consistent, actionable insights to business users.

By

Theta