Explicit Measures Podcast

By PowerBI.TipsBusiness

Explicit Measures Podcast episodes

March 03 507: AI-Assisted TMDL Workflow & Hot Reload
Mike & Tommy tackle AI-assisted TMDL workflows and the hot reload problem, exploring whether direct file editing with AI tools like Copilot is the future of Power BI development or a recipe for broken models. They weigh the tension between "move logic upstream" best practices and the brutal close-reopen cycle when TMDL changes introduce errors, debating whether Tabular Editor 3, MCP servers, or a native Microsoft solution offers the best path forward for safe, validated bulk refactoring.Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 9 min
February 27 504: Living in a Direct Lake Only World
Are we only Direct Lake now? With Microsoft Fabric's ability to use Direct Lake with Semantic Models, where is the need for Import in Power BI, or rather where do we push people?
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 7 min
February 26 506: Mailbag! Filter Overload
In this mailbag episode, we tackle a common challenge in Power BI report design: filter overload. When 15-20 slicers consume a third of your report page, are you empowering users or overwhelming them? We discuss practical guidelines for slicer design, the difference between "set once" and "frequently changed" filters, strategies for moving your team toward more mature reporting practices, and whether there's ever a justifiable reason to exceed 2-3 slicers per page.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 14 min
February 24 505: Excel vs. Field Parameters
In this episode, we tackle a critical gap between Power BI's Field Parameters and Excel's live connection capabilities. Inspired by a mailbag submission from Eivind Haugen, we explore the tension between building semantic models that look great in Power BI reports versus models that serve all consumers—including the often-overlooked Excel power users.
We dig into why Field Parameters break the Excel experience, when Calculation Groups might be the better choice, and how to design semantic models that truly serve as a single source of truth across multiple consumption tools. If you're building models that connect to Excel, this conversation will change how you think about feature selection and governance.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 4 min
February 18 503: Hiring the Report Developer
In this episode, Mike and Tommy explore whether the traditional "Report Developer" role still exists in the age of AI and Microsoft Fabric. They discuss what skills organizations should actually be hiring for, how the role has evolved from pixel-perfect report building to semantic modeling and data architecture, and whether AI tools like Copilot are changing what we expect from BI professionals. The conversation challenges conventional hiring practices and offers practical guidance on future-proofing BI teams.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 4 min
February 13 502: Trusting In Microsoft Fabric
Mike & Tommy weigh in on whether Microsoft Fabric has earned the same trust as Power BI, exploring if it's truly dependable for small businesses and enterprises alike, and examining what trust even means for an all-in-one platform that's still rapidly evolving.
https://x.com/gothburz/status/2019539563027247147?s=46&t=A8umCvjDNrtK_1gwT1T7qQ
https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it
https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/supercharge-ai-bi-and-data-engineering-with-semantic-link-generally-available/
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deprecation-of-old-excel-and-csv-import-experience-in-power-bi-service/
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
58 min
February 10 501: Central BI & Workspace Strategies
Mike & Tommy explore how central BI teams should structure Microsoft Fabric workspaces, weighing medallion architecture patterns against deployment complexity, and debating whether centralized control helps or hinders self-service at scale—while unpacking why AI adoption intensifies workspace governance instead of simplifying it.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 2 min
February 05 500: We Made It!
We made it 500!

Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 19 min
February 03 499: MAILBAG! Late Adopter Advantage? AI Readiness
Mike & Tommy explore whether being late to the data game is actually an advantage in the AI era, questioning if organizations building fresh Fabric implementations can leapfrog legacy technical debt—or if they're doomed to repeat the same governance mistakes. They tackle Sandra's mailbag question about late adoption, semantic modeling for AI readiness, and when to let ontology "brew" versus act now.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 3 min
January 29 498: MAILBAG! Define the Problem Before Tools?
Mike & Tommy tackle the classic BI trap of falling in love with tools before understanding the problem, exploring why organizations rush to adopt Copilot, Fabric, or dashboards without defining what decision they're trying to improve, and how to force problem clarity without becoming the blocker when stakeholders just want to "see the data."
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/
1 hr 10 min

About Explicit Measures Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Hosted by Mike Carlo, and Tommy Puglia, the Explicit Measures Podcast is a Power BI focused show that is like being around a Power BI Pro’s Water Cooler. With so many available resources in the community that focuses on the “how” in Power BI (how to do Drill Through, how to use DAX, etc.,), the Explicit Measures Podcast is all around the WHY. Why use a particular feature, does it make sense for my users?