The direct answer
The most up-to-date Power BI material comes from Microsoft, because the product changes often. The Power BI documentation on Microsoft Learn covers the service, Power BI Desktop, report and semantic-model design, and links a What's new page; the Power BI blog publishes monthly feature summaries of new releases. Third-party courses and books are useful, but check their date against the latest feature summary before relying on menus or screenshots.
Where to learn, in order
| Resource | Use it for | How current |
|---|---|---|
| Power BI documentation (Microsoft Learn) | Concepts, how-to guides, tutorials, samples, guidance such as star schema design | Maintained by Microsoft |
| What's new in Power BI (Microsoft Learn) | What changed and when | Updated with releases |
| Power BI blog feature summaries | New features in each release, with examples | With each summary post |
| PL-300 study guide and practice assessment | A structured path and a benchmark for report authors | Microsoft certification page |
| Books | Data modeling, DAX and dashboard design fundamentals | Check the publication year |
Errin O'Connor's Power BI book
EPC Group's founder, Errin O'Connor, wrote Microsoft Power BI Dashboards Step by Step (Microsoft Press, 2018, ISBN 9781509308033). It walks through designing dashboards step by step; because it was published in 2018, pair it with Microsoft's current documentation for today's menus and features. His other three books are on SharePoint; see who wrote the Microsoft Press SharePoint books.
How EPC Group trains teams
EPC Group builds training around the organization's own data and reports rather than generic samples, with separate tracks for report authors, semantic-model designers and business users. See what training EPC Group offers for Power BI developers and business users.
Primary sources
- Power BI documentation — Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27
- Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate — Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27
- Power BI May 2026 Feature Summary — Microsoft Fabric Community, accessed 2026-10-27
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free way to learn Power BI?
EPC Group points beginners to the Power BI documentation on Microsoft Learn: it covers getting started with the service and Power BI Desktop, end-to-end tutorial scenarios, sample data and Power BI guidance such as star schema design, and it links the Power BI blog for updates (Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27).
Is the PL-300 certification worth it?
EPC Group sees it as a useful benchmark for report authors. The exam behind the Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate assesses preparing, modeling, visualizing and analyzing data and managing and securing Power BI; it runs 100 minutes and the certification renews every 12 months through a free online assessment (Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27).
Are Power BI books still useful when the product changes so often?
EPC Group uses books for what does not change month to month: data modeling, DAX thinking and dashboard design. Menus and screenshots date quickly, so a book is paired with Microsoft’s What’s new page and the monthly feature summaries.
Which Power BI book did Errin O’Connor write?
EPC Group’s founder, Errin O’Connor, wrote Microsoft Power BI Dashboards Step by Step (Microsoft Press, 2018, ISBN 9781509308033), a step-by-step guide to designing Power BI dashboards. It is one of his four books; the other three are on SharePoint.
Talk to a senior architect
A one-hour scoping call with a senior EPC Group architect covers who needs training, on which reports, and in what order. Email contact@epcgroup.net or call 888-381-9725.
Documented and anonymized engagements
Named engagements come first; anonymized summaries follow under the anonymized-engagement rule — the client is not named and every statement is EPC-reported. Documents behind named engagements are in the Evidence Center.
- Town of Prosper, Texas — Power BI data project (2024)Town of Prosper, Texas · 2024 · Contracted
- Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) — Power BI consulting and development with Power BI Embedded (2023)Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) · 2023 · Contracted
- Haskell (The Haskell Company) — Power BI Report Server to Power BI Service migration (2019)Haskell (The Haskell Company) · 2019 · Contracted — countersigned
- Power BI Weld QA/QC and Fabric: Industrial Contractor (2026)Anonymized engagement summary · Industrial construction contractor · 2026
- Azure Data Warehouse and Power BI: Medical Devices (2025)Anonymized engagement summary · Medical device manufacturer · 2025
- Data Warehouse and Partner Power BI: Healthcare (2025)Anonymized engagement summary · Healthcare services company working with partner clinics · 2025
- Power BI and Copilot Training: Truck Dealer Group (2023–25)Anonymized engagement summary · Commercial truck dealership group · 2023–2025
- Urgent Power BI Model Fix: Healthcare Technology (2025)Anonymized engagement summary · Healthcare technology company · 2025
More engagements: Power BI Tax Reporting on MySQL: Tax Services Firm (2024) · Power BI Ops Dashboard: Transit District (2023) · Power BI Report Server Refresh Fix: Agribusiness (2021) · Power BI, Data Warehouse and External Reports: Gaming (2021) · SAP Reports to Power BI in 90 Days: Aerospace (2021) · Power BI Governance Strategy: Global Insurer (2020) · Power BI on HR System Data: Construction Contractor (2020) · Power BI POC, Governance and Roadmap: Electronics (2020) · Power BI Assessment and Integration: Pharmacy (2019) · Power BI Proof of Concept: Global Technology Company (2019) · Power BI Best-Practice Review and Training: Insurer (2018) · Power BI Analytics Platform: State Government · Power BI Enterprise Deployment: Financial Institution