What are Analytics Reports (PowerBI)

This article is a guide to Analytics Reports on FastDraft.

This guide contains the following:

• Components of a report
• Components of a report in the Power BI Service [Draft]
• Advantages of reports
• Dashboards versus reports for report designers [Draft]

Our analytic reports are a multi-perspective view of a dataset comprised of visuals representing different findings and insights from across all of your projects and contracts. A report may contain a single visual or multiple pages of visuals and visuals are typically grouped around categories or workflows and shown trended over the previous 12 calendar months.  

Components of a report

A. This report has series pages (or tabs) and you're currently viewing the Change report.

B. On this page are eight different visuals and a page title.

C. The Filters pane shows us one filter applied to all report pages. To collapse the Filters pane, select the back button.

D. Back button allows us to navigate back from a report or page instead of using the main navigation.

E. The action bar contains actions you can take on this report or visualisation. For example, you can

export data from the report. Select More options (...) to reveal a list of additional report functionality.

F. The banner provide links to support articles and additional learning resources and an info icon against visual provide a tooltip of what the visual is showing.

Components of a report in the Power BI Service [Draft]

A. This report has four pages (or tabs) and you're currently viewing the Sentiment page.

B. On this page are five different visuals and a page title.
C. The Filters pane shows us one filter applied to all report pages. To collapse the Filters pane, select the arrow (>).
D. The Power BI banner displays the name of the report and the last updated date. Select the arrow to open a menu that also shows the name of the report owner.
E. The action bar contains actions you can take on this report. For example, you can add a comment, view a bookmark, or export data from the report. Select More options (...) to reveal a list of additional report functionality.

If you're new to Power BI, you can get a good foundation by reading Basic concepts for the Power BI service business users. Reports are available for viewing, sharing, and annotating on mobile devices. For more info, see Explore reports in the Power BI mobile apps.

Advantages of reports

An analytic report is based on a single dataset. Like a dashboard, but more so, a report is highly interactive and highly customisable. Report designers create the visuals in a report to represent nuggets of information. The visuals are not fixed. They update as the underlying data changes. You can interact with the visualisations and filters as you drill down into the data for insights and answers. What you can do with a report depends on your assigned role and permissions from the report designer. 

Dashboards versus reports for report designers [Draft]

Dashboards are often confused with reports since they are also canvases filled with visuals. But there are some significant differences.