From One Big Table to Star Schema in Power BI

Overview:

Are your Power BI reports slowing down as your data grows? Are measures becoming harder to maintain, numbers harder to reconcile, and refresh times harder to explain? If you’re still relying on a single, wide “one big table” model, you may be carrying hidden technical debt that impacts performance, scalability, and trust in your analytics.

In this session, we’ll break down why the one-big-table approach feels simple at first-but quickly becomes fragile and inefficient. You’ll learn how dimensional modeling principles translate into practical data modeling techniques inside Microsoft Power BI, and why a star schema is the foundation for fast, flexible, and reliable reporting.

Through clear examples and step-by-step refactoring, we’ll transform a flat model into a well-structured star schema. Along the way, we’ll explore relationships, fact vs. dimension design, and how proper modeling dramatically improves DAX simplicity and report performance.

Whether you're a report developer, data analyst, or BI professional, this session will give you the clarity and confidence to move from bloated tables to clean, scalable models that your future self-and your stakeholders-will thank you for.

Why you should Attend:

Still building reports on one massive, messy table in Power BI? In a world where data complexity keeps growing, clinging to a single flat model does work well in Excel but is a recipe for slow performance, confusing metrics, and costly mistakes in Power BI. Join “From One Big Table to Star Schema in Power BI” to eliminate the fear, uncertainty, and doubt around data modeling-learn how a proper star schema in Microsoft Power BI can transform bloated datasets into fast, scalable, and trustworthy analytics.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• The “One Big Table” mindset: why it feels easy - and where it breaks
• Core concepts of dimensional modeling (facts vs. dimensions)
• What a star schema really is - and why it works
• Understanding relationships and filter direction in Microsoft Power BI
• Step-by-step refactoring: transforming a flat table into a star schema
• Performance & size impact: before-and-after comparison
• Q&A and practical takeaways you can apply immediately

Who Will Benefit:

• People who (start to) work with Power BI