Day 27 – "Catch Some Z’s, Find Some Clarity 😴⚡" Quick reminder: I’m building BenMakesDataEasy – a fully automated app that gives you Google Search-style power across your entire Power BI workspace. You’ll be able to search, organize, and understand all your datasets, reports, and assets instantly. Self-service BI is powerful – this app is here to support the other half of that story: visibility, management, and clarity in the chaos. 🔍📊 Last night wasn't a huge dev night. I caught up on sleep – and honestly, I needed it. Sometimes, stepping away for a moment helps remind you why you’re building in the first place. What hit me hard is this: Microsoft and Power BI have done an amazing job enabling self-service reporting. The business can now get closer to its data, which is such a win. But there’s another side of the coin – once that content is created, how do we organize, manage, and make sense of it all at scale? That’s the gap BenMakesDataEasy is here to fill. I’m talking about being able to: ✅ Search all assets across your workspace ✅ Identify broken measures instantly ✅ Know when something last refreshed – or didn’t ✅ Understand who has access and what’s being used It’s like having a search engine assistant admin console all rolled into one — for Power BI. Tonight, I’m jumping back into the dev zone – testing my chunking logic and making sure batch sizes are flexible and reliable. I'm also itching to start playing with Microsoft Playwright to see how much more I can automate and extract from a workspace. Man… I just love solving problems with technology. 🙏 It is so rewarding to make something that doesn’t exist yet – and know it’s going to help real people. I'm deeply grateful for: The Power BI community 🙌 The chance to build and ship tools The privilege of doing work that scratches a creative and logical itch at the same time Here’s a little reflection I want to share too: I’m a creator. I’m wired to make things that solve undefined problems. But I know I’ll need a partner down the road – someone who refines, polishes, and makes the vision production-ready. That’s the first hire I plan to make once this app is off the ground. 🎯 Also thinking: I’d love to make comparison videos of BenMakesDataEasy vs. other third-party Power BI tools like Bravo, etc. Not in a “better than” way – but to raise awareness of the many amazing tools that are out there to empower developers and analysts. The more we shine light on these tools, the better for everyone. We need to break down the barriers — both at the organizational and individual level — that stop people from using tools that could save hours of time and mountains of stress. If you use any third-party Power BI tools, I’d love to hear about them! Or if you’ve got a challenge in your reporting workflow that feels like a dead end — DM me or drop a comment. Maybe this app can help. Maybe we build something new. Let’s keep making data easier. Together. 💪 You're not just a report builder. You're a solution maker. A builder. A leader. Whatever you're working on today — keep going. You might be one tool away from making your life (and your team's) dramatically better. #PowerBI #buildinpublic #benmakesdataeasy #day27 #datarocks

The people crave datarocks

👩‍💻 R users, assemble on Feb 27th, 2024 at 2:00 PM ET! Let's transform your workflow with OML4R with @MarkHornick and Sherry LaMonica from @Oracle. Our webinar is your key to a pro-level data science journey. 🔗r-consortium.org/escape-the-… #RHeroes #DataRocks

Wow! That's some correlation! #stats #demography #dataROCKS

It has been an incredible 5 years and we couldn't be happier working with such a dedicated and passionate group of people - both @CommFdnsCanada and in all the member #communityfoundations across Canada! #DataRocks

the EU called, they're fining you for your datarocks not being USB-C

Conference with puppy breaks. @ATSIP_TRF > every other conference #atsiptrf2023 #alwayslearning #VisionZero #DataRocks #AdoptDontShop

First come first served … got my front row centre seat for #SASInnovate … .#YouSnoozeYouLose #HereToHear #DataRocks

it's not often you get a room full of people all *vrry* excited about #data but hats off to @createglos @BarnwoodTrust @valuingculture et al for the first #glosdataday - absolute triumph and fab food from @PocoCulina #datarocks #dataisasubstrate

Learning #datascience opens up a world of opportunities! From analyzing trends to making data-driven decisions, the skills you gain can help you excel in any industry. Plus, it’s super fun to play with data! #neverstoplearning #datarocks #datascience #data

The talented folks at @OMDTZ who are killing it in the data viz & analysis game - in a room that looks like a scene from a thriller movie😂. Their hard work and dedication are inspiring and driving our growth #dataanalytics #datarocks #datapower

Welcome back Terps! Happy first day of classes this Spring semester! #welovedata #datarocks #data #datascience #collegepark #datacollection #nationalsecurity #government #virtual #statistical_analysis #statistics #gradschool #undergrad #UMD #universityofmd

Math Tip Monday! It is middle of year assessment time. Are you making time to analyze data? What trends are evident - positive and areas of improvement? How can you prioritize high leverage math concepts to fill in gaps? How are sped teachers part of the conversation? #datarocks

“I was looking at labor data last night” is the most Jess Gartner statement that Jess Gartner could make, to date! @jsonbecker #therealdeal #datarocks

Dems crushed the early voting across the country. #DataRocks

@woolnough_mussel_lab undergraduate researchers at @cmichbiology Symposium today! Posters were amazing! Lots learned about #mussels #ChippewaRiver and #CedarLake Lots of cool data from so many active labs! #datarocks #musselsnotrocks

I just registered for my virtual #MSIgnite experience this year.. It's free and I am sure there will be tons of announcements... ignite.microsoft.com/ #Microsoft #Conference #AzureData #Azure #DataRocks #AzureDataCommunity

Highlight: Cash back to renters! @Stake #pitchbattle #proptech #ioisummit #ioi2022 bonus: direct attribution #datarocks

Great info session on @schoolytics by @alicekeeler. Great to meet a fellow math teacher who understands my love of data!! #ISTELive #ISTELive22 #datarocks #mathteachersrock

Yep, love me some solid number crunching. Slice & dice until it shows you something interesting. #datarocks