Keith’s Training Hub

LESSON 2 OF 2 · Data & reporting

Build the report and verify the refresh

Produce a checked report for two months, with a reusable refresh checklist.

1. Before you start: Use the corrected fictional data supplied here. Lesson 1 explains its correction trail.

Allow about 20 minutes for reading and practice.

2. Why it matters

A successful refresh does not prove that every expected month reached the report.

3. Worked example

September has 5 detail records and 500 minutes. Grouping by month and team produces two report rows.

October adds 4 records and 320 minutes. Both months together contain 9 records and 820 minutes.

The combined report has four month and team rows. Its row count is different from the detail count.

ID 0001 appears in both months. Month plus ID is the record key for this exercise.

4. Guided practice

  1. Inspect the corrected September summary.
  2. Select September and October, then Build report.
  3. Compare all four team totals with the control table.
  4. Try September only to see how a missing month changes the result.
  5. Return to both months and build the report again.

Opening your practice…

5. Try it yourself

Prepare the two month report independently. Decide whether it is ready for review and explain your evidence.

Use the fictional scenario only. State what your evidence proves and what still needs a check.

Review these success criteria

These are your review notes. They are not a scored test.

SOMETHING TO KEEP

6. Your useful output

Keep the report CSV, review record and Power Query recipe. The recipe uses inline fictional data and makes no connection.

Preview the written output
Build the report and verify the refresh
Fictional learning exercise. No real action or service connection.
Practice completion: not marked complete

Built: no; draft only. Built scope: September only.
Selected scope: September only. Rebuild if it differs.
Learner decision: unreviewed. This is not independent validation.
Controls: September Cedar 3/300, Birch 2/200; October Cedar 2/150, Birch 2/170; combined 9/820.
Before using: open the downloaded CSV, verify both months and compare every control.

Your explanation and next action:
Not recorded yet.

Success criteria reviewed:
[ ] September: Cedar 3 / 300; Birch 2 / 200.
[ ] October: Cedar 2 / 150; Birch 2 / 170.
[ ] The report represents 9 records and 820 minutes in four rows.
[ ] The report file contains both months, not just a recent build time.

Next step: Use Power Query in Practice for the fuller file and refresh workflow. Use the recipe with synthetic data only.

The text file contains an M recipe with inline synthetic records. To use it later, create a blank query in a compatible Power Query host. Open Advanced Editor and replace its contents with the recipe. Compare the result with the controls. This browser does not execute M. The recipe was checked against Microsoft documentation, not run in Excel or Power BI.

7. Common mistakes and recovery

Counting report rows as original records gives the wrong answer.

Sum the RecordCount column. Grouping changes the level of detail.

A September filter can hide the new month.

Check the scope and each month against its controls. Build again.

A downloaded file can differ from an earlier preview.

Open the actual CSV. Check its headings, month values and totals.

8. Optional self-check

Skip this if you prefer. It never affects your practical completion.

The report shows 500 minutes after October was added. What next?

9. Your next step

Use Power Query in Practice for the fuller file and refresh workflow. Use the recipe with synthetic data only.

Mark completion when your practical work is ready. You do not need to take the check.

Official technical guidance

Checked 25 October 2026. Host menus and available commands vary. The built in practice needs no Microsoft account.

Pilot progress and drafts save in this browser. Optional check answers are stored separately.

Saving and privacy

Use fictional details only. Nothing from these pilots is sent to a service.

This browser storage is separate from existing course recovery codes. Clearing site data, private browsing or changing device can lose it. Preview and public site storage are separate.

Download useful outputs before leaving. Use one tab per lesson. A progress copy is a readable record; this preview does not import it.