Power BI Semantic Model Assessment

trending_up Business Value

Benefits of having an Optimised Model

Optimising the semantic model translates directly into business value: faster queries and simpler analysis, lower capacity consumption and costs, and higher trust and adoption.

savings Cost Savings
Less time on fixes, lower capacity & compute costs, reduced licensing expenses.

speed Faster Decisions
Faster loading and response times shorten the path from question to insight.

shield Lower Risk
Consistent semantic layer eliminates metric drift and reduces errors.

workspace_premium Higher ROI on BI Tools
Simpler models and faster reports increase user adoption without additional costs.

scale Scalable Growth
Ready for higher data volumes, more users, and new use cases without rework.

emoji_events Competitive Advantage
Faster insight discovery and market response improve strategy execution.

report_problem Client Pain Points

Challenges Addressed

Main pain points of a non‑optimised semantic model that slow down your BI operations.

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Performance & Speed

Slow queries, long refresh times, and frequent timeouts degrade user experience and productivity.

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Time to Insight

Delays from data preparation, unclear metrics, and troubleshooting prolong decision cycles.

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Cost & Capacity Efficiency

Rework and excessive compute/capacity consumption increase maintenance effort and licensing costs.

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Data Consistency & Trust

Multiple versions of the same metric cause conflicting reports and erode confidence.

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User Adoption

Complex models and inconsistent KPI definitions create a steep learning curve and lower adoption.

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Scalability

Performance degrades as data volume and the number of users or use cases grow.

storage*Real-World Example of Model Size Impact ($ 147k yearly savings) expand_more

A company operates a Power BI Fabric F128 capacity ($12,224/month) hosting 15 semantic models.

One critical semantic model has grown to 28 GB in size, consuming significant capacity resources and causing refresh failures.

Through optimization techniques—such as removing unused columns, optimizing data types, implementing aggregations, and improving data encoding—the model size is reduced to 8 GB (71% reduction).

Direct Benefits:

Capacity Headroom: Freed capacity allows hosting 8-10 additional models without upgrade
Faster Refresh: Refresh time drops from 4.5 hours to 1.5 hours, enabling more frequent updates
Improved Reliability: Eliminates timeout errors and failed refreshes
Lower Memory Pressure: Reduces capacity throttling and improves overall performance

Financial Impact:

By avoiding a capacity upgrade to F256 ($24,448/month), the company saves $12,224/month ($146,688/year).

Additionally, the ability to host more models on the same capacity defers infrastructure expansion costs and reduces the need for multiple Fabric capacities.

This example demonstrates how model size optimization delivers both immediate cost savings and long-term scalability, maximizing ROI on your Power BI investment.

lightbulbReal-World Example of Slow Report Impact ($ 164k yearly savings) expand_more

Approximately 1,000 users access the Power BI report each day. Each user analyses four report pages per day.

The average render time per page is 20 seconds.

This amounts to roughly 61 man-days of waiting time every month.

Reducing the render time to 6 seconds lowers the monthly waiting time to 18 man‑days— saving 43 man‑days (513 man days yearly).

Assuming an average hourly rate of $40 per user, this improvement will save $ 13,7k per month ($ 164k per year).

Beyond time and money savings, model optimisation also reduces compute and capacity consumption, enabling you to:

Host additional models and reports on the same capacity
Scale the semantic model further
Potentially scale down Power BI capacity to reduce costs

Additionally, an optional UX/UI assessment may reveal that excessive report complexity undermines user trust, leading to manual reporting, increased infrastructure load and higher operational costs.

calculate Calculate Your Savings

Core Service Elements

Semantic Model Assessment Services

Structured engagement focused on assessment and optimisation. Implementation/optimisation is out of scope and available as follow-up engagement.

groupIntroductory Workshop

Duration: 1-2 hours

Goal: Align key stakeholders on pain points, goals, and approach.

Includes:

Definition of the problem
Discussion of success criteria and engagement scope
Problem showcase
Other related topics

exploreSemantic Model Exploratory Workshop

Duration: 2 hours with possible additional meetings

Goal: Understand analysed Semantic model.

Includes:

Overview of the semantic model
Review of documentation
Overview of data sources
Review of semantic model objects
Other related topics

assessmentSemantic Model Assessment

Duration: 1-2 weeks (depending on size and complexity)

Goal: Analyse the semantic model to describe the current situation and identify bottlenecks and possible causes of poor performance or size issues.

Includes:

Semantic model analysis: data volume, schema structure, relationships, data types, data encoding, RI violations
Performance tests
Quick tests for possible improvements
Metadata collection and analysis

routeQuick Wins & Optimisation Roadmap

Duration: 1 week

Goal: Deliver the plan for immediate performance and usability improvements, while preparing a roadmap for longer-term changes.

Includes:

Documentation summarizing the current situation
Plan for improvements, divided into quick actions and long-term initiatives
Identification of objects causing the biggest bottlenecks or having the greatest impact on size and/or performance

Optional Add-Ons

Optional Modules

Additional services to provide flexibility for various client needs and levels of maturity.

Power BI Report Performance & UX/UI Exploratory Workshop

Duration: 1.5 hours per user group

Identify performance issues and UX/UI improvements through user interviews and process understanding.

Power BI Report Performance & UX/UI Assessment

Duration: 1-2 weeks

Performance analysis of Power BI reports and/or UX and UI review by graphic designer.

Quick Wins & Optimisation Roadmap for performane & UX/UI

Duration: 1-2 weeks

Deliver the plan for UX/UI and performance improvements with high-level exemplary mock-ups.

Full Model & UX/UI Refactoring

Duration: Depending on the case

Deliver a high-performing, scalable semantic model and user-friendly report experience with star schema principles.

Post-Implementation Training (Model + UX)

Duration: 1.5–3 hours per session

Enable internal teams to maintain performance and UX standards with hands-on training.

Ongoing Support & Continuous Improvement

Duration: Monthly or ad-hoc

Ensure continued performance with proactive monitoring, UX assessments, and advisory on data growth strategy.

Power BI Design System & Template Preparation

Duration: 2 weeks

Organizational approach to UX/UI design with themes, showcase templates, and usage manual.

Popular Service Packages

Choose Your Assessment Package

Select the package that best fits your needs and objectives.

assessment

Model Assessment Package

Comprehensive semantic model evaluation focused on performance and optimization opportunities.

✓Introductory Workshop
✓Semantic Model Exploratory Workshop
✓Semantic Model Assessment
✓Quick Wins & Optimization Roadmap

Best for: Size optimisation, slow queries, capacity concerns

palette

UX/UI Assessment Package

User experience and interface evaluation to improve adoption and usability.

✓Introductory Workshop
✓Power BI Report Performance & UX/UI Exploratory Workshop
✓Power BI Report Performance & UX/UI Assessment
✓Quick Wins & Optimisation Roadmap for performance & UX/UI

Best for: Low user adoption, confusing reports, UX concerns

RECOMMENDED

workspace_premium

Full Assessment Package

Complete assessment covering both semantic model performance and user experience.

✓All Model Assessment services
✓All UX/UI Assessment services
✓Integrated optimization roadmap
✓Holistic improvement strategy

Best for: Comprehensive BI optimization, maximum ROI, full transformation

Outcomes

Expected Outcomes of the Assessment

What you get from the assessment.

task_altWhat You Get

Prioritized remediation roadmap with impact/effort, dependencies, and sequencing
Concise findings report with baseline performance, size, and risk metrics
Bottleneck and root-cause clarity (tables, measures, relationships, data types)
Cost and capacity guidance to defer upgrades and consolidate models
Decision support for investment alignment across stakeholders

Tools / Technical Stack

Tools, Platforms & Methodologies

Technologies and approaches applied during service delivery.

constructionModel Optimisation Tools

check_circleTMDL extraction tools
check_circleSemantic Link Labs
check_circleDAX Studio
check_circleVertipaq Analyser
check_circleBest Practice Analyser (BPA)
check_circleTabular Editor
check_circleXMLA endpoint tools
check_circlePower BI Service & Pro licences

paletteUX/UI Tools (Optional)

check_circleFigma
check_circleUX/UI Best Practices Framework
check_circleGestalt approach
check_circlePower BI Theme extraction

schoolMethodologies

check_circleAgile Delivery (iterative sprints)
check_circleDesign Thinking (for UX/UI)
check_circleCollaborative ideation & prototyping

Client-Side Requirements

To ensure smooth delivery, the following access and collaboration points are required.

vpn_keyAccess Requirements

Power BI semantic model
Underlying databases (read access)
Development/staging environment
Power BI service Contributor/Member role
Fabric Capacity metrics App access

groupsStakeholder Involvement

Product Owner for strategic decisions
Technical Contact (BI developer/data engineer)
Business Users for feedback (UX/UI)
Documentation & data dictionaries
Corporate design guidelines (optional)

Ready to Optimise Your Power BI Semantic Model?

Get an actionable assessment with prioritized recommendations and measurable impact. Let's accelerate your BI performance together.

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