My Journey with CI/CD in Power BI: A Personal Tale of Transformation Part 2

Implementing This Miracle: If I were to start all over again, I'd tell you this:
A) Get cozy with Git, simulate real-world scenarios as a team during a demo session, and document/record everything.
To better prepare for collaborative development, we crafted a scenario in which multiple developers would work simultaneously on the same file, aiming to rehearse a range of actions we had previously encountered. This included creating different measures at the same time and then merging these into a single file, adding, removing, or modifying visuals and integrating those changes, reverting to a previous version to serve as the basis for new features, and managing version transitions between DEV, TEST, and PROD branches. Through this exercise, we sought to simulate and navigate the complexities of real-world collaboration, enhancing our team's ability to handle various project management tasks efficiently.
- Commit early and often, and
- Treat your commit notes like a diary of your project's life. Writing comprehensive commit descriptions will enhance clarity and facilitates easier navigation through the project's history for both you and your teammates.
- Branch Carefully! Always verify you're working on the correct branch to avoid unintended changes in the wrong areas of your project.
- And never forget the power of communication. Despite the technical tools at your disposal, effective teamwork hinges on constant communication to ensure alignment and collaboration.
These practices didn't just make our projects better; they made us better developers and teammates.
B) Bumps Along the Way: Sure, we faced our fair share of surprises.
Challenges Encountered Since Adoption:
Despite the myriad benefits, several challenges have emerged since adopting source control in Power BI, particularly given the preview status of this feature. I'm going to highlight the few most common ones.
- Custom Visuals Compatibility: Custom visuals used in reports need to be installed separately by each collaborator. Don't forget to let your colleagues know which custom visual you added to your dashboard as its name won't show up only the following error message which is a bit hard to dechypre.

2. Merge Conflicts and Code Loss: Situations have arisen where accepting both changes during a merge resulted in lost code, highlighting the need for careful conflict resolution (screenshot from another blogpost describing the issue).

3. File Opening Issues After Merge: Conflicts within the data model, such as incorrect relationship settings, can prevent files from opening, necessitating reversion to previous versions.

4. Infinite Semantic Model Refresh Loops in PBI Desktop: Unexplained delays in model refreshes post-merge, extending for hours, indicate potential issues with large semantic models.
+1) Data is not stored in repos: It’s good to keep in mind that data is not stored in the Repo, only semantic model and report related code is stored, you still need to refresh your data on Power BI Service.
Conclusion: This journey of integrating CI/CD and source control into our Power BI workflows has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. It wasn’t just about making our projects more efficient; it was about transforming our team into a more cohesive, capable, and confident unit. As we look to the future, I’m excited about the possibilities that lie ahead, ready to tackle whatever comes our way with a smile and a git commit.
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