Cloudfide’s Business Intelligence newsletter / Week 48–49, 2025

1️⃣ The 10 Star Schema Mistakes Everyone Makes 

• Why is it interesting? Star schema design is fundamental yet frequently misapplied. This article catalogs the ten most common mistakes in dimensional modeling and provides corrections that directly improve query performance and maintainability. 

• Audience: Basic → Intermediate 

• Area: Data Modeling / Architecture 

  
  

2️⃣ Smart Filtering Guide: Top N / Middle / Bottom N

• Why is it interesting? This approach solves the common reporting challenge of handling "Others" by dynamically segmenting data into clear Top, Bottom, and Middle groups. It leverages disconnected tables to keep visualizations clean while still highlighting critical outliers. 

• Audience: Intermediate → Advanced 

• Area: DAX / Visualization / Reporting Patterns 

  
  

3️⃣ Cross Filter Direction in Power BI: What Actually Happens When You Change It 

• Why is it interesting? Cross-filter direction changes are common, but their actual effects on query execution and performance are rarely explained. This deep-dive clarifies the mechanics and helps you make informed design decisions. 

• Audience: Intermediate → Advanced 

• Area: Data Modeling / Filter Direction / Query Semantics 

  
  

4️⃣ How to Build a Beautiful Power BI Filter Pane 

• Why is it interesting?  Filter panes are often overlooked in design discussions, yet they significantly impact user experience. This video reveals ten professional UI techniques that transform filter interactions from functional to delightful. 

• Audience: Intermediate 

• Area: UI/UX Design / Filter Controls / User Experience 

  
  

5️⃣ TMDL View: Tasks You Can Finally Do Without External Tools 

• Why is it interesting? Tabular Model Definition Language (TMDL) in Power BI enables direct model editing in VS Code. Discover which tasks are now possible without external tools and how this accelerates development workflows. 

• Audience: Intermediate → Advanced 

• Area: TMDL / Development Tools / Semantic Models 

  
  

6️⃣ RANK vs. RANKX: Learn when to use the new function 

• Why is it interesting? RANK is the new ranking function in DAX that handles floating-point values more elegantly than RANKX. This deep-dive covers performance characteristics, edge cases, and a clear decision framework for choosing the right function. 

• Audience: Advanced 

• Area: DAX / Query Optimization / Ranking Patterns 

  
  

7️⃣ Source Control in BI: Necessary, Painful, or Both? 

• Why is it interesting? Git workflows for Power BI move from theoretical best practice to practical reality. This episode tackles real DevOps challenges, branching strategies, and PBIR format benefits that make source control worth the effort. 

• Audience: Intermediate → Advanced 

• Area: DevOps / Source Control / CI/CD Integration 

  
  

8️⃣ Find the most Expensive Column in Power BI using DAX 

• Why is it interesting? Model optimization starts with understanding which columns consume the most resources. This practical video demonstrates how to identify expensive columns using DAX and why this analysis matters for capacity planning. 

• Audience: Intermediate → Advanced 

• Area: DAX / Performance Analysis / Capacity Optimization 

  
  

️9️⃣ Bulk Write-Back w. Translytical Task Flows in Microsoft Fabric & Power BI 

• Why is it interesting? Write-back capabilities in Fabric enable real-time data modification at scale. Learn how to write a single value back to multiple records simultaneously using translytical task flows. 

• Audience: Advanced 

• Area: Microsoft Fabric / Write-Back / Operational BI