Top Power BI Interview Questions with Answers
1️⃣ What is a dashboard vs a report?
- Report: A multi-page, detailed view of your data with multiple visuals per page. Built in Power BI Desktop.
- Dashboard: A single-page summary of visuals pinned from reports. Created in Power BI Service.
2️⃣ How do you publish a report to the Power BI Service?
- Click Publish in Power BI Desktop → Sign in → Select your workspace.
- The report uploads to Power BI Service for sharing, scheduling, and dashboard creation.
3️⃣ What is Power BI Gateway?
- A bridge between on-premises data and the Power BI Service.
- Two types:
– Personal Gateway (for individual use)
– Standard Gateway (for team/shared use)
4️⃣ Explain row-level security in Power BI
- Limits data visibility for users based on roles.
- You define roles with DAX filters (e.g., Region = “West”) in Desktop, then assign users to roles in Service.
4️⃣ What is a bookmark?
- Saves the current state of a report page (filters, visuals, selections).
- Useful for navigation, storytelling, or toggling views.
6️⃣ How do you schedule data refresh in Power BI?
- In Power BI Service:
– Go to the dataset → Schedule refresh - Set frequency, time, and configure credentials if needed (Gateway required for on-prem data).
7️⃣ What are visuals in Power BI?
- Graphical representations of data (bar charts, line graphs, maps, cards, etc.).
- Custom visuals can also be imported for advanced scenarios.
8️⃣ How can you import data into Power BI?
- Use Get Data → choose sources: Excel, SQL Server, Web, APIs, etc.
- Data is then transformed via Power Query and loaded into the model.
9️⃣ What is the difference between DirectQuery and Import mode?
- Import: Data is cached into Power BI → Faster but requires refreshes.
- DirectQuery: Queries data live from the source → Slower, but always current.
🔟 What is drillthrough and drilldown?
- Drillthrough: Navigate to a new page filtered by selected value (e.g., click a region → open region detail page).
- Drilldown: Explore data hierarchy within the same visual (e.g., year → quarter → month).
