Dashboard tiles and pinning in Power BI - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a dashboard with key sales metrics pinned as tiles for quick monitoring.

📊 Data: You have monthly sales data by product category and region, including sales amount and units sold.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a Power BI report with visuals showing total sales, total units sold, and sales by region. Pin these visuals as tiles to a new dashboard.

Sample Data

Month	Region	Category	Sales Amount	Units Sold
Jan	North	Electronics	12000	100
Jan	South	Furniture	8000	50
Feb	North	Electronics	15000	120
Feb	East	Furniture	7000	40
Mar	South	Electronics	13000	110
Mar	East	Furniture	9000	60
Apr	North	Furniture	11000	70
Apr	South	Electronics	14000	115

1

Step 1: Load the sales data into Power BI Desktop by importing the table.

Use 'Get Data' > 'Excel' or 'CSV' depending on your file format, then load the table.

Expected Result

Sales data is visible in Power BI Fields pane.

2

Step 2: Create a card visual to show Total Sales Amount.

Create a measure: Total Sales = SUM('Table'[Sales Amount]). Add a Card visual and set its value to Total Sales.

Expected Result

Card visual displays the sum of all sales amounts, which is 89000.

3

Step 3: Create a card visual to show Total Units Sold.

Create a measure: Total Units = SUM('Table'[Units Sold]). Add a Card visual and set its value to Total Units.

Expected Result

Card visual displays the sum of all units sold, which is 665.

4

Step 4: Create a bar chart visual showing Sales Amount by Region.

Add a clustered bar chart. Axis = Region, Values = Total Sales measure.

Expected Result

Bar chart shows sales amounts: North=38000, South=35000, East=16000.

5

Step 5: Pin the Total Sales card visual to a new dashboard.

Click the pin icon on the Total Sales card, select 'New dashboard', name it 'Sales Overview', and confirm.

Expected Result

Total Sales tile appears on the 'Sales Overview' dashboard.

6

Step 6: Pin the Total Units Sold card visual to the 'Sales Overview' dashboard.

Click the pin icon on the Total Units Sold card, select 'Existing dashboard', choose 'Sales Overview', and confirm.

Expected Result

Total Units Sold tile appears on the 'Sales Overview' dashboard.

7

Step 7: Pin the Sales by Region bar chart to the 'Sales Overview' dashboard.

Click the pin icon on the bar chart, select 'Existing dashboard', choose 'Sales Overview', and confirm.

Expected Result

Sales by Region tile appears on the 'Sales Overview' dashboard.

8

Step 8: Open the 'Sales Overview' dashboard and arrange the pinned tiles for clear visibility.

Drag and resize tiles as needed to create a clean layout.

Expected Result

Dashboard shows three tiles: Total Sales, Total Units Sold, and Sales by Region, arranged neatly.

Final Result

-----------------------------
| Total Sales   |  $89,000   |
-----------------------------
| Total Units   |    665     |
-----------------------------
| Sales by Region           |
| North   | ████████ 38k   |
| South   | ███████  35k   |
| East    | ████     16k   |
-----------------------------

✓Total sales amount for the period is $89,000.

✓Total units sold are 665.

✓North region leads in sales, followed closely by South.

✓East region has the lowest sales among the three.

Bonus Challenge

Add a tile to the dashboard that shows the average sales per unit across all data.

Show Hint

Create a measure: Average Sales per Unit = DIVIDE([Total Sales], [Total Units]). Use a Card visual and pin it.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of a dashboard tile in Power BI?

easy

A. To display a visual or report element on a dashboard for quick insights

B. To create new data tables in Power BI

C. To write DAX formulas for calculations

D. To export data to Excel

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what dashboard tiles do

   Dashboard tiles are snapshots of visuals pinned to a dashboard for quick viewing.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct purpose

   Tiles show visuals or report elements, not data creation or exporting.

3. Final Answer:

   To display a visual or report element on a dashboard for quick insights -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Dashboard tile = visual snapshot [OK]

Hint: Tiles show visuals on dashboards, not data or formulas [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing tiles with data tables
• Thinking tiles create calculations
• Assuming tiles export data

2. Which of the following is the correct way to pin a visual to a dashboard in Power BI?

easy

A. Drag the visual directly onto the dashboard canvas

B. Right-click the visual and select 'Pin to dashboard'

C. Click the pin icon on the visual and choose the dashboard

D. Export the visual and upload it to the dashboard

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the pinning method

   Power BI shows a pin icon on visuals to pin them to dashboards.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct action

   Clicking the pin icon and selecting the dashboard is the standard method.

3. Final Answer:

   Click the pin icon on the visual and choose the dashboard -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Pin icon click = pin visual [OK]

Hint: Look for the pin icon on visuals to pin them [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to drag visuals onto dashboards
• Right-click menu does not have pin option
• Exporting visuals is unrelated to pinning

3. Consider a dashboard tile pinned from a report visual. If the underlying data changes, what happens to the tile?

medium

A. The tile remains static and does not update

B. The tile updates automatically to reflect the new data

C. The tile deletes itself and must be pinned again

D. The tile shows an error until refreshed manually

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand tile behavior with data changes

   Tiles pinned from report visuals update automatically when data refreshes.

2. Step 2: Confirm automatic update

   This ensures dashboards show current insights without manual action.

3. Final Answer:

   The tile updates automatically to reflect the new data -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Tiles auto-update with data changes [OK]

Hint: Tiles refresh automatically with data updates [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking tiles stay static after pinning
• Assuming manual refresh is needed
• Believing tiles delete on data change

4. You pinned a report page to a dashboard, but the tile shows a blank or error message. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The report page was deleted or renamed after pinning

B. The dashboard has too many tiles already

C. You did not refresh the browser after pinning

D. The tile size is too small to display content

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify reasons for blank/error tiles

   If the source report page is deleted or renamed, the tile loses its reference.

2. Step 2: Rule out other causes

   Tile count, browser refresh, or size usually do not cause blank tiles.

3. Final Answer:

   The report page was deleted or renamed after pinning -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Missing source page = blank tile [OK]

Hint: Check if the pinned report page still exists [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Blaming dashboard tile limits
• Forgetting to check report page status
• Assuming browser refresh fixes errors

5. You want to create a dashboard tile that always shows the total sales for the current month, updating automatically. Which approach should you use?

hard

A. Create a text box tile and manually update sales each month

B. Pin a static image of the sales number from last month

C. Export sales data to Excel and upload it as a tile

D. Pin a report visual with a measure filtering sales by current month

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify dynamic tile requirements

   The tile must update automatically with current month sales data.

2. Step 2: Choose the correct pinning method

   Pinning a report visual with a measure filtered by current month ensures automatic updates.

3. Step 3: Exclude static or manual options

   Static images, manual text boxes, or Excel uploads do not update automatically.

4. Final Answer:

   Pin a report visual with a measure filtering sales by current month -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Dynamic measure + pin visual = auto-updating tile [OK]

Hint: Use a measure filtered by current month and pin its visual [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using static images or manual text boxes
• Uploading Excel files instead of visuals
• Not applying date filters in measures