Power BI
Power BI is a business intelligence tool by Microsoft. A smart visual version of excel to track, explore, and share data insights in a clear and concise way. It can be used to connect to data like app data analytics, or database reports which can be used turn it in dashboards and reports that update in real-time.
It is generally used by PMs to understand whats working and whats not based on the real user behavior without a data analyst.
Use Cases
User retention - To see how many users came back in Week 1, 2 or compare retention before and after a product change or identify drop-off points, eg - most users churn after Day 3 - whats happening there? This way you can notice that users who completed onboarding have 2x higher retention. Now you know where to focus: improve the onboarding completion rate.
Feature Adoption - To know how many users tried the feature in the first 2 weeks, are users using it on mobile vs desktop or how many users discover it - interact with it - keep using it. This way you can discover 70% uses the feature but only 10% return making you focus on user feedback and UX.
Extra PM Superpowers with Power BI:
Set up alerts (e.g., “If feature usage drops below X, notify me”)
Combine data sources - product data + support tickets = better context
Create exec-level dashboards to tell a data story without needing to prep slides every time
Top Power BI Visuals for Product Managers (with Use Cases)
Visual
What It Does
PM Scenario / Use Case
1. Line Chart
Shows trends over time
Churn Analysis – Track daily/weekly/monthly user retention trends
2. Bar/Column Chart
Compares categories side by side
Feature Adoption – Compare how different features are being used
3. Pie/Donut Chart
Shows distribution of a whole
User Segment Breakdown – What % of users are on Free vs. Pro plans
4. Funnel Chart
Visualizes step-by-step drop-off
Onboarding Funnel – Sign up → Onboarding Start → Completion
5. Table
Lists raw data or KPIs in rows and columns
Bug or Feature Backlog – View open tickets by priority, team, or status
6. Card
Shows a single big KPI or metric
North Star Metrics – Highlight DAU, MAU, NPS, activation rate
7. Slicer (Filter)
Lets you filter visuals by time, segment, etc.
Time-Based Analysis – Filter reports by month, cohort, platform
8. Matrix
Like a pivot table – great for cross-tab analysis
Feature Usage by Segment – See which features are most used by user tier
9. Map
Geographic visualization
User Growth by Region – Understand product traction by country or city
10. Scatter Plot
Correlates two variables
Usage vs. Retention – Are more engaged users staying longer?
Bonus: Visual Combo Example
Dashboard for "Feature Launch Review":
Line chart: Feature usage over time
Bar chart: Breakdown by device type
Funnel: Discovery → Trial → Repeat Use
Card: Key metrics (adoption %, daily usage)
Table: Top user feedback comments
In Power BI, the Legend tab under the Visualizations pane is used to manage the appearance and behavior of the legend in your visual (e.g., bar chart, pie
The legend helps identify which colors or markers correspond to which categories or series in the chart.
🔧 Legend Tab Options (in Format pane):
Legend (On/Off) – Toggle to show or hide the legend.
Position – Choose where to place the legend: Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Top center, etc.
Title – Turn on/off and customize the title for the legend.
Text size – Adjust the font size of the legend items.
Font family & color – Change the font style and color.
Background color – Set a background color for the legend box.
Border – Add a border around the legend.
Example Use:
If you have a bar chart showing sales by product category, the legend might show different colors for each category. Using the Legend tab, you could move it to the top, increase text size, or rename it for clarity.
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