The Library · Insights
Deep dives across data, automation & AI
1253 in-depth articles — from Excel foundations to production machine learning. Filter by topic or difficulty to find exactly what you need.
Power BIFoundation
Implementing Power BI Dataflow Linked and Computed Entities to Centralize Reusable Transformation Logic Across Enterprise Workspaces
Stop duplicating transformation logic across fifteen team workspaces. Learn how to build a foundation dataflow layer using linked and computed entities, so your enterprise's Customer, Product, and Sales logic is defined once and reused everywhere — consistently, efficiently, and without touching your source systems more than necessary.
17 min read
Power BIPractitioner
DAX ABC Classification with Dynamic Thresholds: Building Pareto-Based Segmentation Measures Using RANKX and Cumulative Percentage Logic
Learn how to build a fully dynamic ABC classification system in DAX that ranks products or customers by revenue contribution, computes cumulative Pareto percentages, and assigns tier labels that update in real time as filters and thresholds change. This lesson covers the complete pattern from RANKX through cumulative logic to dynamic threshold parameters — including performance trade-offs for large catalogs.
19 min read
Power BIFoundation
Formatting and Customizing Your First Power BI Dashboard: Titles, Colors, and Layout Best Practices
Your visuals are built — now make them actually look professional. This lesson walks you through every formatting decision that separates a rough draft from a polished Power BI dashboard, from writing better titles to building a consistent color palette and mastering layout hierarchy.
19 min read
Power QueryFoundation
Implementing Custom Lookup and Substitution Tables in Power Query M: Building Reusable Value Mapping Pipelines
Learn how to replace brittle hardcoded `if-then-else` chains with proper lookup tables and substitution pipelines in Power Query M. This lesson covers Record-based lookups, Table joins, null handling, and reusable function patterns for professional data standardization.
15 min read
Power QueryFoundation
Removing Duplicates and Keeping Unique Rows in Power Query: Practical Techniques for Data Deduplication
Duplicate records silently corrupt your reports and inflate your metrics. This hands-on lesson teaches you every deduplication technique in Power Query — from one-click removal to precise, sort-controlled survivor selection — so your data is clean and your analysis is trustworthy.
17 min read
Microsoft ExcelFoundation
VBA Dictionary Object: Build High-Speed Lookup and Aggregation Routines for Large Dataset Processing
Learn how to use the VBA Dictionary object to aggregate, deduplicate, and look up data across large Excel datasets at machine speed. This lesson teaches the key-value pair model, compound key patterns, nested Dictionaries, and the array-load optimization that makes the difference between a macro that crawls and one that flies.
17 min read
Microsoft ExcelFoundation
Splitting and Combining Data in Excel: Text to Columns, Flash Fill, and Concatenation for Clean Data Preparation
Raw data almost never arrives in the shape you need it. This lesson teaches you three essential Excel tools — Text to Columns, Flash Fill, and concatenation formulas — so you can split messy data apart or combine fragmented fields together in minutes. Build the data preparation skills every analyst depends on daily.
16 min read
Power AutomateExpert
Automating Recurring Microsoft 365 Reports with Power Automate: Querying SharePoint Lists, Formatting HTML Tables in Outlook Emails, and Scheduling Delivery to Distribution Groups
Learn how to build a production-quality recurring report flow that queries SharePoint lists with OData filters, transforms results into polished HTML tables using Select and join(), and delivers them to distribution groups on a schedule — no manual exporting, no formatting, no missed sends. This lesson covers every design decision from trigger configuration to conditional cell formatting and empty-result handling.
28 min read
Power AutomatePractitioner
Implementing Power Automate Flow Run Concurrency Limits and Queue Depth Controls to Prevent Connector Overload in High-Throughput Enterprise Pipelines
When hundreds of flow runs launch simultaneously, connectors overload and pipelines collapse. This lesson teaches you how to calculate and configure concurrency limits, size your queue depth, and build a layered throttling architecture that protects downstream systems without sacrificing throughput.
25 min read
Microsoft FabricExpert
Implementing Fabric Notebook-Based Unit Tests with pytest and the Fabric REST API: Validating Delta Table Outputs, Row Counts, and Schema Contracts Before Promoting Data Across Medallion Layers
Learn how to build a production-grade test harness that runs pytest inside Microsoft Fabric Spark notebooks, validates Delta table schemas and row counts against versioned contracts, and gates medallion layer promotion via the Fabric REST API. This lesson goes beyond basic assertions to cover referential integrity, Delta version auditing, and pipeline-integrated pass/fail routing — the complete picture for data quality enforcement at scale.
28 min read
Power AppsPractitioner
Configuring Dataverse Relationship Behaviors and Cascade Rules: Controlling Assign, Share, Delete, and Reparent Operations Across Parent-Child Table Hierarchies in Model-Driven Apps
Cascade rules determine what happens to child records when you assign, share, delete, or reparent records in Dataverse — and misconfiguring them is the source of some of the most baffling data quality and security issues in production model-driven apps. This lesson teaches you how each of the five cascade actions works, when to use Parental vs. Referential vs. Custom behavior, and how to configure and troubleshoot cascade rules across multi-level table hierarchies.
25 min read
Power AutomateFoundation
Scheduling and Running Desktop Flows from Cloud Flows on a Timer: Configuring Recurrence Triggers, Passing Runtime Parameters, and Logging Results to SharePoint
Learn how to schedule desktop flows using cloud flow recurrence triggers, pass runtime parameters like dates and codes at execution time, and write structured logs to SharePoint after every run — whether it succeeds or fails. This lesson takes you from manual desktop flow execution to fully automated, auditable RPA in a single build.
17 min read