Introduction

The 70-779 exam is designed for both Business Intelligence developers and Business power users that have used Excel for many years to help support Analytics in an organization. The book is an even split between the skills needed to Consume and Transform Data, Model Data, and then Visualize Data.

In the Consume and Transform Data chapter the focus is on the sources that Excel can connect with for data, and then how to transform data using the Power Query Editor. It is important to understand the M language that underlies the Power Query Editor and is generated when performing transform tasks using the GUI.

The chapter on Modeling Data turns the focus to the Excel Data Model to build the necessary relationships that glue the data model together, and the how to optimize it for reporting. Next, we look at how to extend the model and make it easy to consume for users by utilizing DAX, KPIs, and Hierarchies.

When Visualizing data, we spend time considering PivotTables and PivotCharts as the two primary methods in Excel for presenting data. Lastly, you will spend time investigating how to interact with Power BI as an additional means for distributing content to users.

This book covers every major topic area found on the exam, but it does not cover every exam question. Only the Microsoft exam team has access to the exam questions, and Microsoft regularly adds new questions to the exam, making it impossible to cover specific questions. You should consider this book a supplement to your relevant real-world experience and other study materials. If you encounter a topic in this book that you do not feel completely comfortable with, use the “Need more review?” links you’ll find in the text to find more information and take the time to research and study the topic. Great information is available on MSDN, TechNet, and in blogs and forums.

Organization of this book

This book is organized by the “Skills measured” list published for the exam. The “Skills measured” list is available for each exam on the Microsoft Learning website: http://aka.ms/examlist. Each chapter in this book corresponds to a major topic area in the list, and the technical tasks in each topic area determine a chapter’s organization. If an exam covers six major topic areas, for example, the book will contain six chapters.

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Quick access to online references

Throughout this book are addresses to webpages that the author has recommended you visit for more information. Some of these addresses (also known as URLs) can be painstaking to type into a web browser, so we’ve compiled all of them into a single list that readers of the print edition can refer to while they read.

Download the list at https://aka.ms/examref779/downloads

The URLs are organized by chapter and heading. Every time you come across a URL in the book, find the hyperlink in the list to go directly to the webpage.

Errata, updates, & book support

We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its companion content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a list of submitted errata and their related corrections—at:

https://aka.ms/examref779/errata

If you discover an error that is not already listed, please submit it to us at the same page.

If you need additional support, email Microsoft Press Book Support at [email protected].

Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is not offered through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft software or hardware, go to http://support.microsoft.com.

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