We are all waiting that the March update of Power BI Desktop will be released soon here. But today’s blog post will not be about it. I seized the moment to grab your attention to my Power BI update.
Will you attend the Microsoft Power Platform World Tour in Chicago? I am going to speak in two sessions here and here. I hope we can meet in person.

In my first session here, “In-Depth Walkthrough of M from Gil Raviv’s book: ‘Collect, Combine and Transform Data Using Power Query'” we will go over some of the most useful techniques to address data challenges using M in Power Query. You will also get a chance to win free digital copies of the book and 40% discount if you attend in person. Here is the session’s abstract:
Join the author of the book “Collect, Combine and Transform Data Using Power Query in Excel and Power BI” for an in depth walkthrough of M through excerpts from his book. Get a chance to win a free digital copy of the book, or gain a special 40% discount if you attend in-person. This demo-packed session will take you through common data preparation scenarios and how to harness M in Power Query to resolve them.
In my second session here, “Be a Power Platform Jedi – A Walkthrough of Power BI, PowerApps, Microsoft Flow and Cognitive Services Capabilities Through Star Wars Data” we will have lots of fun, start from Power BI and expand into a galaxy far, far away.

I will keep an element of surprise. One thing I can say – It is not going to be a re-run of my session at MBAS 2018, but an exploration into a greater journey. I hope I will be able to wow you. Here is the abstract of the session:
In this demo-packed session we will load, analyze and process Star Wars data into streamlined business processes that combine the Power Platform and AI to generate actionable insights. Join this session to learn the art of the possible and gain the Force of a Power Platform Jedi.
Later in April 17, if you happen to be in New York City, there is a Power Query training you should definitely consider. “Master your Data with Power Query” by the one and only Ken Puls. Register here. Ken is a Microsoft MVP and the co-author (with Miguel Escobar) of one the best Power Query books. I first met Ken in my days as a Microsoft PM in Excel. His knowledge and feedback were always insightful. I can highly recommend this training. Ken, I think you should name it “Power Query Master Class”.

Taking your Power Query skills to the next level is going to be one you best investments. Take a look at my survey here. While basic Power Query users gained 15% of their time back, and saved their organization $35.9K, moderate users gained back 27% of their time and saved their organization $415K. I think that these numbers can help you convince your colleagues to join you in Ken’s master class here.
Finally, if you plan to install my Custom Visuals Exploration Tool template app (here) and experience installation issues, please let me know. I worked with Microsoft to fix some issue today (3/11/2019), and the new link in AppSource should work well.
For those of you whoalready installed the app – Thank you! Hope you find it useful. You can find tools to help you govern your custom visuals here including bulk-download the pbiviz and pbix sample files, and the ability to scan reports and detect outdated or uncertified Custom Visuals.