About Microsoft DA-100 Exam
The DA-100: Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI exam is designed to assess the expertise and competence of the applicants in completing specific technical tasks. It includes modeling data, preparing data, visualizing data, analyzing data, and maintaining deliverables. The individuals who ace this qualifying test will earn the Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate certification.
The intended audience for the test is the specialists who want to develop as Data Analysts. These professionals allow the organizations to optimize the data assets value through the use of Microsoft Power BI. They have the responsibility for designing and building scalable data models, transforming and cleaning data as well as enabling advanced analytic capabilities, which provide meaningful business value through easy-to-comprehend data visualizations. They also partner with the core stakeholders to deliver the appropriate insights according to the established business requirements. Although the exam doesn’t have any specific official prerequisites, Microsoft recommends that the candidates have a good knowledge of data processing and data repositories both in Cloud and on-premises.
Exam Details
The regular exam fee is $165. The professionals can register for and schedule the test through Pearson VUE. The available languages include English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Depending on the country of residence of the individuals, they can take the exam in person at any of the Pearson VUE testing centers or as a proctored online exam. Microsoft DA-100 has the time frame of 3 hours and comes with 40 to 60 questions. The pass mark is 700 points on a scale of 1000.
Microsoft proposes the official instructor-led course to help the specialists prepare for their certification test. This training focuses on best practices as well as various methods, which are in line with the technical/business needs for visualizing, modeling, and analyzing data using Power BI. It can also help increase the skills of the learners in processing and accessing data from a range of sources. In addition, the students can get experience in managing and deploying reports and dashboards for sharing and content distribution.
Exam Topics
The specialists who want to get acquainted with the domains of the Microsoft DA-100 test in advance can download the exam blueprint and explore it. It is recommended that the professionals go through it as early as possible. The highlights of the subject areas that are included in the test are detailed below:
Preparing Data: The first part checks the skills of the applicants in the following:
- Getting data from various sources: It requires that the test takers demonstrate their proficiency in establishing and connecting to data sources as well as selecting storage mode & shared datasets. It also covers the competence in selecting the relevant query types, establishing issues with query performance, using parameters & Microsoft Dataverse, and using/creating data flow and a PBIDS file.
- Profiling data: It focuses on recognizing data anomalies, interrogating data statistics and column properties as well as examining data structures.
- Cleaning, transforming, and loading data: It covers resolving unexpected/null values, data quality issues, and inconsistency. It also includes combining queries, working with data import errors, setting data loading, measuring & modifying column data types, establishing & creating the relevant keys for joins, and applying data shape transformations for table structures, among others.
Modeling Data: This topic evaluates the experience of the individuals in:
- Designing data models: It focuses on defining the tables and quick measures as well as setting table and column properties. The applicants need to possess proficiency in designing data models to meet the performance requirements.
- Developing data models: It is important to have knowledge of creating calculated tables, calculated columns, hierarchies as well as implementing the role-level roles of security and using security filtering & cross-filter direction.
- Creating measures by utilizing Data Analysis Expressions: It covers the learners’ skills in utilizing CALCULATE for manipulating filters and utilizing Data Analysis Expressions for building intricate measures. In addition, it includes using DAX to implement Time Intelligence and utilizing common statistical purposes to boost data.
- Optimizing model performance: It requires one’s expertise in identifying poor-performing visuals, relationships, and measures as well as removing irrelevant columns & rows, creating & managing aggregation, improving the cardinality levels through changing data types & summarization.
Visualizing Data: The next section assesses the proficiency of the specialists in the following:
- Creating reports: The test takers are required to show their competence in selecting the relevant visualization type, importing customized visuals, adding R or Python visual & visualization items to specified reports, applying filtering, setting report page & automatic page refresh, setting & formatting visualization, creating paginated reports and setting conditional formatting.
- Creating dashboards: The applicants need to have the relevant skills in pinning live report pages to dashboards, setting mobile view, using the Q&A features, setting data alerts, and managing tiles on dashboards.
- Improving reports for usability: It includes applying sorting, setting bookmarks, using selection panes, exporting report data, and setting Sync Slicers, among others.
Analyzing Data: This domain requires that the examinees show their expertise in:
- Enhancing reports to expose insights: It requires your proficiency in applying filters and slicers. In addition, it covers using Q&A visuals, personalizing visuals, carrying out top N analysis, and adding Quick Insights results for reports.
- Carrying out advanced analysis: It focuses on applying AI Insights, identifying outliers, utilizing binnings & groupings.
Deploying and Maintaining Deliverables: The last subject area is all about:
- Managing datasets: The students should possess the competence in setting a dataset scheduled refresh and row-level security group membership. It also focuses on providing access to datasets, setting incremental refresh settings, and promoting and certifying Power BI datasets.
- Creating and managing workspaces: It covers the skills in assigning workspace roles, setting subscriptions; utilizing deployment pipelines, creating & setting workspaces, and certifying or promoting Power BI content.
Career Benefits
The Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate certification allows the professionals to explore career paths in the data-related fields. With this certificate, they can consider the job roles of a Data Analyst, an Analytics Manager, a Business Analytics, and a Data Scientist. The average remuneration for the certified specialists is $62,000 per year.
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