Real Time Data Updates: COVID-19 in New Zealand

COVID-19 has occupied the headlines, our minds, and our daily lives for quite some time now. There are lots of statistics and reports available on the web, many of them created using Power BI.

What I wanted to know, was not how many total cases of COVID-19 each region has, but how many cases as a percent of total population. In my opinion, this is a far more useful measure of comparison between regions.

To start this off, I have used my home country of New Zealand and some simple DAX measures to calculate Cases Per Capita by region, gender and age.

Cases Per Capita =
DIVIDE (
    [Total Cases],
    CALCULATE (
        [Total Population],
        ALL ()
    )
)

You can interact with the embedded report below (see page 2 for the per capita data). Even better yet, have a go at making your own report using data from the web and leave a comment below to let me know how you get on. Subscribe to this blog to get updates - I'm working on a post detailing how to use parameters to combine data from similar sources.

Power BI makes it easy to combine two or more data sources (such as population and COVID-19 statistics) into one cohesive data model that can be automatically refreshed as much as 8 times a day.

Microsoft Teams Best Practice Tips

With the recent shift to remote working, I have seen an increase in demand for Microsoft Teams, training and tips. Maybe you've been using Teams all along are are well placed for the new shift, maybe you started a team and channel months ago and have just started dusting it off, or perhaps Teams is all new to you and you're slowly getting the hang of conference calls and meetings.

Whatever stage you're at, we can all learn something new from each other. Microsoft Teams is an ever evolving tool, designed to promote collaboration and teamwork. It’s great for:  

• Sharing updates and giving feedback in the open 
• Making quick decisions and staying in the loop with team activities  
• Coordinating on projects and tasks, including co-create content and deliverables 

And it's completely customisable. That means you and your team get to decide the best way to set up your Teams workspace. Below are a few tips I compiled for one of our ACE Training reference guides. Have a look through and leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts. I'm particularly interested in any stories of how you successfully shared these tips with your teammates, and what they shared with you in return. Remember, we're all in this together, and each one of us has something new to learn about Teams, don't be afraid to share your ideas, and don't take it personally if someone reaches out to teach you something new. 

Best practice tips if you’re a Team owner 

• Shift work to Microsoft Teams. Maintain momentum by shifting important discussions, updates and content into Microsoft Teams. This will make team members feel confident about making the switch. In the meantime, they will receive timely email notifications for any unread chats or @mentions, and other activities.  
• Use connectors and tabs. Bring live updates and data from 3rd party applications and services such as Trello, GitHub, Asana, directly into Microsoft Teams. This will save your team time from checking multiple tools to get timely information. 
• Brainstorm the right set of initial channels. Create and suggest a light-weight process for creating and naming channels across your team to keep things focused and organized.  
• Encourage team members to ask for help in a “Feedback” channel you can create in Microsoft Teams. Host chat-based trainings and Q&A sessions directly in Microsoft Teams.  

Best practice tips if you’re a Team member 

• Communicate in the team channels, rather than one-on-one chats and groups. This creates a team culture of transparency which deepens the connection between team members and also helps to move the project forward when everyone has access to decisions and shared materials. 
• Reply to existing chat, rather than start a new chat whenever possible.  
• Turn on notifications for channels that are important to you. This is your opportunity to customize the notifications you receive in Teams. Make sure you’re not missing out on any vital information. 
• Link to files, rather than attach copies. Move all files to shared drive or cloud storage to avoid copies and confusion.