BI governance checklist

Before you scale self-service dashboards, finance, IT, and operations should agree on how numbers are defined, refreshed, secured, and owned. Use this checklist in discovery—or as a sanity check on an existing Power BI estate.

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Measures & definitions

• Each KPI has a named business owner and a written definition finance can defend
• Revenue, margin, backlog, and pipeline measures are documented—not tribal knowledge
• Time intelligence (YTD, prior period, rolling windows) is standardized in the semantic model
• Drill paths match how leadership actually asks questions in reviews

Data refresh & lineage

• Refresh schedule is documented and monitored; failures alert a named owner
• Source systems (ERP, CRM, warehouse) and extract logic are traceable
• Test vs. production workspaces are separated where appropriate
• Data quality checks exist for critical facts (duplicates, null keys, stale dates)

Security & access

• Row-level security aligns to territories, plants, cost centers, or brands—not ad hoc filters
• Workspace and app permissions follow least-privilege; guest access is reviewed
• Sensitive fields are classified; PII is minimized in models used for broad distribution

Ownership & change control

• Someone owns the semantic model; changes go through review—not silent DAX edits
• Breaking measure changes are communicated before publish
• Training and handoff exist so internal analysts can extend—not bypass—the model

AI & natural language readiness (optional)

• Synonyms and display folders support Q&A and Copilot-style features
• Curated datasets in Fabric OneLake match Power BI definitions when lakehouse is in play

Related

Fabric readiness · Semantic model consulting · Services · Demo dashboard