Can I use notes in the PL-300 exam?

No. It is proctored and delivered through Pearson VUE. Use this for final revision before exam day only.

PL-300 Cheat Sheet: Power Query, DAX & Modelling

A final-revision summary for PL-300. Study aid only - no notes in the proctored exam.

The four skills measured (official weights)

#	Skill area	Weight
1	Prepare the data	25–30%
2	Model the data	25–30%
3	Visualize and analyze the data	25–30%
4	Manage and secure Power BI	15–20%

The Power BI workflow (left to right)

Connect → Power Query (clean/shape) → Model (star schema + DAX) → Report (visuals) → Publish → Manage & secure.

Prepare the data - Power Query

Term	Idea
Power Query	The data-prep step; transforms replay on each refresh
Applied Steps	Ordered list of transforms recorded as you work
Append vs Merge	Stack rows (append) vs join on a key (merge)
Data profiling	Column quality, distribution and stats to spot issues

Model the data - schema and DAX

Term	Idea
Star schema	Fact tables + dimension tables; the recommended shape
Cardinality	One-to-many, one-to-one, many-to-many relationships
Filter direction	Single or both; controls how filters flow between tables
Measure	DAX calculated at query time (use for aggregations)
Calculated column	DAX computed per row at refresh (use sparingly)
Filter context	The set of filters acting on a measure - the key concept

Visualize and analyze

Term	Idea
Slicer	On-canvas filter for the report user
Drill-through	Jump to a detail page filtered to a selection
Bookmark	Saved view/state of a report page
Tooltip	Hover detail, can be a mini report page

Manage and secure

Term	Idea
Workspace	Collaboration container for reports and datasets
Row-level security (RLS)	DAX roles that limit which rows a user sees
Scheduled refresh	Automatic dataset updates from the source
Gateway	Connects the service to on-premises data sources

Exam facts at a glance

Item	Value
Duration	100 minutes
Questions	Not published by Microsoft
Passing score	700 / 1000
Format	Proctored; may include interactive items; Pearson VUE
Validity	1 year (free online renewal)

Power BI vs Tableau - pick by your employers

PL-300 certifies Power BI; the Tableau Desktop Specialist certifies Tableau. The analytics concepts overlap, but the tools do not - Power Query and DAX are Power BI. Choose the certification that matches the platform on the job postings you are targeting, not the one that looks easier.

Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300) Cheat Sheet