it's the 1st PBIMCR of 2026 to start our 10th anniversary celebrations...

When: Thursday 29th of January 2026 Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt Location: TBC - set as Robert Walters Manchester office but may change in early January. Session will not be streamed over MS Teams but uploaded to our YouTube channel in early Feb Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts & sponsors Robert Walters

January's PBIMCR will feature ..... Speaker Details -

Talk 1: Shubhangi Goyal Title: Customer-First Analytics: Power BI Dashboard for Impact

Description

Building a dashboard is easy. Building one that truly serves your customer — that's where the real work (and value) begins.

In this session, we’ll walk through how to build a Power BI dashboard from scratch with a customer-first mindset. From defining the right problem to designing with empathy, this session will cover:

-Understanding your audience’s pain points and priorities -Translating business questions into measurable KPIs -Structuring your data model for flexibility and performance -Designing intuitive visuals and layout for usability -Gathering feedback and driving dashboard adoption

If you are looking to level up your Power BI game, you’ll leave with practical tools, techniques, and frameworks to turn your dashboards into decision-driving assets.

Talk 2: Mihaly Kavasi Talk Title: Master the Human & AI-Friendly Semantic Layer

Transform your organization's data strategy by mastering the essential bridge between IT and Business. This session reveals how to build semantic layers that empower both human users and AI assistants (including Copilot) to extract maximum value from your data assets. What you'll master: • Implement optimal responsibility division between IT/BI teams and business users for scalable self-service • Design semantic layer structures that balance usability, performance, and AI compatibility • Optimize naming conventions and metadata specifically for Copilot and AI assistant readability • Leverage advanced model features (field parameters, perspectives, calculation groups) that accelerate report creation • Apply performance optimization techniques that deliver instant insights even with billions of rows • Master code-first semantic layer design using TMDL and modern development workflows • Train AI Coding Agents to efficiently implement these improvements You'll build semantic layers that slash report development time by 60%, eliminate IT bottlenecks, and position your organization for success in the AI-augmented analytics era.

Takeaways: Semantic layer design checklist, naming convention guide, Copilot optimization templates Topics Covered: Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Analysis Services, AI Coding Agents

This is a place for an in-person meeting in Chilworth.

!!!!! ATTENTION Since September, we've been having meetups at Spectrum IT's office - Gamma House, Enterprise Rd, Chilworth, Southampton SO16 7NS https://maps.app.goo.gl/66tL8HfgFnoiQEh66

Agenda

18:00 Welcome and Intros

18:10 🎦Job market insights and forecasts for 2026 🗣️Spectrum IT (Sam)

🍕pizza/networking

🎦 Agentic Development for Analytics: Subagents & Skills in Analytics Engineering 🗣️Mihaly Kavasi

Manual DAX optimization, brittle ETL pipelines, and repetitive data quality checks consume 80% of analytics development time. The future is agentic AI—where specialized subagents autonomously handle data pipeline automation, semantic model development, and quality monitoring while portable skills provide reusable analytics expertise. Discover how this orchestrator-worker pattern can transform data engineering and BI development. What you'll master: - **Architect multi-agent analytics workflows** using specialized subagents for data pipeline automation\, DAX generation\, and semantic model optimization - **Leverage Power BI MCP servers** that convert natural language into DAX queries and automate Tabular Object Model (TOM) development tasks - **Build intelligent data pipelines** where AI agents detect schema changes\, adapt transformations automatically\, and reduce data quality incidents by 70% - **Create portable analytics skills** packaging DAX patterns\, SQL optimization techniques\, and data modeling best practices into reusable agent expertise - **Design specialized subagents** for code review (finding 31+ issues in Power BI models)\, testing\, documentation\, and end-to-end report generation - **Automate enterprise analytics tasks** including metadata generation\, data quality monitoring\, exploratory data analysis\, and semantic layer maintenance Experience live demonstrations of AI agents building Power BI reports end-to-end, generating optimized DAX measures, and autonomously maintaining data pipelines that adapt to changes without breaking.

*** A massive thanks to our sponsor, Spectrum IT. Without them, we could not host this event for free. Spectrum IT kindly provided funding for the room and pizza for in-person attendees. ***

Journey to Agentic Report Development

Embark on the evolution from traditional report building to autonomous development! Join Mihaly Kavasi, Group Manager Delivery Lead and Trainer at Avanade, as he guides you through the transformative landscape of AI-powered Power BI development. In this forward-looking session, you'll discover:

How the new PBIR format unlocks unprecedented possibilities for AI-assisted development Progressive techniques from AI code completion to fully agentic development workflows Live demonstrations of Claude Code's agentic capabilities in report creation Real-world implementation strategies and current challenges in autonomous development

Experience live demos showcasing the spectrum of AI assistance—from intelligent code suggestions to autonomous agentic tools that can independently architect and build complex reports. As Power BI embraces code-first methodologies, position yourself at the forefront of this revolution. Learn how agentic development tools are reshaping the entire development lifecycle, dramatically reducing time-to-delivery while elevating report sophistication and maintainability. This isn't just about faster coding—it's about reimagining what's possible when AI becomes your development partner.

Mihaly discovered Power BI 8 years ago and has since become an expert on Power Platform.

His deep understanding of business processes and decision drivers makes him a valuable adviser for customers looking to derive the most value from their assets. Mihaly helps customers define optimal governance structure and implement the right mix of governed self-service BI, as well as advises them on security and performance optimization and managing large scale deployments. He nurtures the next generation of analysts with an emphasis on user needs and UX.

Certified Trainer since 2018, Fast Track Recognized Solution Architect for Power BI since 2021.

Evolution from traditional report building to autonomous development using AI-powered Power BI. Join Mihaly Kavasi, Group Manager Delivery Lead and Trainer at Avanade, as he guides you through the transformative landscape of AI-powered Power BI development. The session covers PBIR format, AI-assisted development techniques, live demos of Claude Code's agentic capabilities, and real-world implementation strategies.

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MeetUp Agenda

18:00 - Arrive. Networking 18:30 - Guest Speaker Talk 19:30 - Pizza. Networking 20:30 - Event Close

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Model Performance and Quality Analysis

This session introduces the tools and techniques to analyse Power BI models and identify performance and quality problems.

Tools introduced: Power BI Desktop: Performance Analyzer, Dax Query View Dax Studio: Query Traces, Vertipaq Analyzer Tabular Editor: Best Practice Analyzer, Creating model documentation SQL Server Profiler Azure Log Analytics Power BI Realistic Load Testing Tool

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Venue Website

https://www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk/pubs/vat-and-fiddle

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MeetUp Member Resources In GitHub Here:

https://github.com/EastMidlandsData

Including introduction slides and our Code of Conduct.

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This is a place for online attendees. Check out the other one for an in-person meeting in Chilworth.

Link to the Teams Meetup: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTFmMGE0NGMtNTQ3My00NjQyLWIxMTYtNGQwMTdkOTIxY2Qx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ecbebdab-1287-47b8-8709-694ffe8697d1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22a901008d-8ba1-459d-b8fa-3eccacfccadf%22%7d

Agenda 18:00: Welcome and Intros

Mihaly Kavasi - Model Performance and Quality Analysis

pizza/networking break

Mihaly Kavasi - Increase your audience - Excel Integration in Power BI

finish

About: Mihaly Kavasi Mihaly discovered Power BI 8 years ago and has since become an expert on Power Platform. His deep understanding of business processes and decision drivers makes him a valuable adviser for customers looking to derive the most value from their assets. Mihaly helps customers define optimal governance structure and implement the right mix of governed self-service BI, as well as advises them on security and performance optimization and managing large scale deployments. He nurtures the next generation of analysts with an emphasis on user needs and UX. Certified Trainer since 2018, Fast Track Recognized Solution Architect for Power BI since 2021.

*** A massive thanks to our sponsor Spectrum IT. Without them, we would not be able to host this event for free. Spectrum IT kindly provided funding for the room, pizza and a £20 Amazon Voucher for in-person attendees. ***

This is a place for an in-person meeting in Chilworth. Check out the other one for a virtual meetup on MS Teams.

!!!!! ATTENTION Since September, we've been having meetups at Spectrum IT's office - Gamma House, Enterprise Rd, Chilworth, Southampton SO16 7NS https://maps.app.goo.gl/66tL8HfgFnoiQEh66

Agenda 18:00: Welcome and Intros

Mihaly Kavasi - Model Performance and Quality Analysis

pizza/networking break

Mihaly Kavasi - Increase your audience - Excel Integration in Power BI

Raffle + SQLBits 50 % discount code!!!

About: Mihaly Kavasi Mihaly discovered Power BI 8 years ago and has since become an expert on Power Platform. His deep understanding of business processes and decision drivers makes him a valuable adviser for customers looking to derive the most value from their assets. Mihaly helps customers define optimal governance structure and implement the right mix of governed self-service BI, as well as advises them on security and performance optimization and managing large scale deployments. He nurtures the next generation of analysts with an emphasis on user needs and UX. Certified Trainer since 2018, Fast Track Recognized Solution Architect for Power BI since 2021.

*** A massive thanks to our sponsor Spectrum IT. Without them, we would not be able to host this event for free. Spectrum IT kindly provided funding for the room, pizza and a £20 Amazon Voucher for in-person attendees. ***