Visualizing SQLSaturday Data–Session Details

Recently I downloaded the session submissions report from the SQLSaturday Admin site, it was time to work on the schedule. But first I must upload it into my SQLSat480 database. I like having a database year over year and I just love to play with data. So I ran some queries to give me information about my submissions. While relaying these details to my husband I declared “I need to put this into PowerBI”. When he got home from work he was able to see what it was I had created and said “so what did that take you like half an hour”, “Pffft!” I said, “like 10 minutes”. On . . . → Read More: Visualizing SQLSaturday Data–Session Details

Power BI–Visualizing SQLSaturday Data

Inside SQLSaturday

This morning I was having a discussion with my husband about our SQLSaturday location. He is extremely concerned that moving the event further away from downtown Nashville would hurt attendance. I tried discussing it with him but he finally said “I’d like to see the data so we could know where everyone is coming from.” I said well I have all the data give me a minute. 10 minutes later I am Skyping him asking how to share with him the 2 Power BI maps I have made.

How did we get here? I ran the last 2 Nashville SQLSaturday events. Because I took a big leap in . . . → Read More: Power BI–Visualizing SQLSaturday Data

Starting over with Power BI

I had decided it was time to write a new presentation and happily chose Power BI, being that it’s the new hotness and looks to be the future of Business Intelligence. My timing couldn’t have been better with the general release going live recently it seems like now is the time to get going. I have titled this starting over because I had been using Power BI to create maps and other fun things inside Excel; it seems fitting since the changes to Power BI are coming in fast and furious. So I am here to tell you what it took to get back on track with this new release.

. . . → Read More: Starting over with Power BI

5 Simple things I always forget about SSRS – Custom Color Palette

There are spells where I am inside SSRS daily and then there are some stretches of time where I wrapped up doing other things and don’t see SSRS for months on end. I always seem “surprised” when I forget some of SSRS’s behaviors. I am sure sometimes I am just pushing the bad out of my head and other times it might be that I just don’t use it often enough to keep that info close to the top of my stack. So I decided that I should start a small blog series as a gentle reminder to myself and maybe along the way it will help someone else.

Custom . . . → Read More: 5 Simple things I always forget about SSRS – Custom Color Palette

Last minute thoughts for Summit 2014

I have written before about Summit and the kind of things to take/pack/do. But I feel that some things have changed and that I am smarter now so I want to revisit this list.

 

Packing

Before a trip we use the dining room table as a place to hold things we want to take and don’t currently need to use. We fondly refer to this as the staging table. I started staging things about a week or so ago. Also make a list of things you don’t want to be without during your trip so you can check it off as it goes in the bag.

If you plan . . . → Read More: Last minute thoughts for Summit 2014

SQLSaturday Schedule printing, now made easier.

I have been playing with Power BI items lately and have found some really good uses and some really big shortcomings. But today while I was playing with something an idea popped into my head. As a SQLSaturday organizer I found creating the schedule for print was a PITA. I have seen people just print the screen, which makes blowing it up to poster size a bit of a mess. I had to cut and paste, fix, format and it ends up a hot mess like below so I think I ended up just typing it.

So let me give you a better option. This is so easy I . . . → Read More: SQLSaturday Schedule printing, now made easier.