iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 8h

I was sure our jobs as Power BI designers are safe only until AI learns how to export to Excel. I was wrong, users are exporting to Claude now. This was actual request I got. Our job is safe forever.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Most data visualisation and dashboard design best practices already provide good foundations for accessible Power BI reports. If you're doing good on visualisation, probably you're doing not bad on accessibility.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

There is a shared sentiment, that “serious” Power BI developers simply do not have time for “unnecessary” work on accessibility – it’s just a nice to have thing. If you create a report and after that go through all of it to make it accessible, why not doing it accessible right away?

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The problem with accessibility in Power BI dashboards: Everyone says it's important, no one wants to do it, but what to actually do is vague at most. There are little tool-specific technical explanations. So here I am trying to fill this gap: chartplanet.net/accessibilit...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Despite all the shortcomings AI can do a lot for Power BI and for shorts bursts truly increase your output tenfold. Please do try – expect to fail. AI will deliver 80% of the result, you still have to do the rest 20%.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Message for AI sceptics: If you get bad results on your first try, don't think that AI is worthless. You need to learn how to use it. Message for AI enthusiasts: don't expect to try AI for the first time and get the same result as someone who was has experience using it.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Vibe-debugging in Power BI simply does not work. If AI cannot understand the error in one attempt, it is better to revert changes and start over with a better defined prompt. Vibe-debugging is a very very very time-consuming detour in Power BI.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Using AI with Power BI is surprisingly slow. Do not expect it to do a fast task faster. Expecting AI to be fast is like expecting a trip with a plane to be fast and forgetting about all the boarding hassle and travelling to the airport. It only starts to pay off at a certain distance.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

What AI can do in Power BI for real day-to-day job? My experience summarized in the article: chartplanet.net/experience-o... Long story short: AI is a tool and you still need to learn how to use it.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

6. The goal of Data Displays is to display actual, mostly real-time information quickly and accurately for monitoring a process or checking a status. Unlike in BI Dashboards, there is often a focus on a single metric at a time.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

5. Data art is anything that uses data for creating a purely aesthetical piece. It might be artistic data visualisation, generative art, or data inspired piece of art. The goal of data art is like the goal of art. It is rather philosophical question!

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

4. Data Presentations usually get to be presented just once. They might or might not have charts. The goal of Data Presentations is to inform people about a certain situation or help them to decide, where persuasion might also be a form of help.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

3. Business Intelligence and Analytics (BI) is one of the most, if not the most popular flavour! You just rarely see dashboards in public. The goal is to provide access to data for business end-users with a data model, an AI Agent, or a dashboard.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

2. Scientific Visualisations are created for publications, analysis, research, argumentation, and explanation. The goal of Scientific Visualisations is to explain a phenomenon, or make it intuitively visible, as accurately as possible.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

1. Infographics and Data Storytelling is mostly used in news outlets, digital and printed, to explain various topics or tell stories about things or events, together with or instead of text articles. The goal is usually to inform and educate people, just as usual journalists would do.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I believe there are six flavours of data visualisation, and they are not "dashboard" or "infographic". Same form can have different flavour. My fun rather than informative article here: chartplanet.net/which-data-v...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Do not assume how difficult a Power BI task is if you're not familiar with modelling and DAX.

SPRINT PLANNING FOR POWER BI:

– How long this complex task will take?
– Maybe two hours.
– How long this easy fix will take?
– Three weeks.
– ...? And if you use AI?
– Then four weeks.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I expected that AI will democratize IT. Now choosing a model for the task requires good knowledge of models, integrating agents require knowledge of architecture, you have to be smart about token usage, and vibe-debugging is hell. AI is still geek's paradise.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

One of the original ideas of minimalism is that form follows function. The modern approach to minimalism is just another form which might be blindly followed and slammed on top of a data visualization or a dashboard without considering its function, and eventually breaking it.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

There is this idea that people aren't concerned about human things at work. It comes from tech gurus trying to solve a non-tech problem using a tech approach. They are giving advice on tech, but forgetting that they give advice for humans. I do drink water from Power BI cup when I'm at the office.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Accessibility is about inclusion – the more people find the data accessible, the better it is. The modern approach to minimalism is a lot about exclusion – the more you exclude, the more you focus, the better it is.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Fewer clues do not mean more clarity. Fewer clues mean less clarity. Less is just less when we care about looks and not functionality.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Saying more with less requires in-depth understanding of what you want to say. Modern approach to minimalism looks like a shortcut – apply it without thinking too much and boom – this is the greatest design!

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

While poor design decisions can reduce the quality of user experience, great design decisions can enhance user experience. The modern approach to minimalism is somewhere between the poor and the great. Also known as mediocre. The rest of the rant here: chartplanet.net/less-is-less...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Charts – they make patterns obvious to anyone. But if the charts show confusing or misleading patterns – the whole point of having them is lost.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Sometimes charts make things obvious, while plain tables hide them. If the goal of the dashboard to point attention to the issue quickly – use charts. But if the charts or other graphical elements distract attention – the whole point of having them is lost.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

I invented a chart. Pros: • Not a pie-chart • Takes up a square, which sometimes is exactly what we need Cons: • Difficult to make • Impossible to read, but who cares as long as it is not a pie-chart

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

In my previous article I explored how UX is more important than Storytelling for dashboard creator, at the end I listed a few notable voices advocating for UX in data. www.moonstory.design www.datavizclarity.com www.valeriejunk.nl www.linkedin.com/in/julien-cd

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

For dashboards UX is more relevant than Storytelling.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Dashboard creator is like cartographer. They put roadsigns, mark objects, and then users guided by this data-map navigate the data, discover insights, create stories on their own. P.S. Did you know that you can play HoMM3 on Linux, iOS and Android? Now you know. Check VCMI.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Metrics scattered around – those are random facts. Metrics arranged into a sequence and revealed gradually – this might be storytelling. Metrics organized on a single page for self-discovery – this is a dashboard.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Saying that you can do storytelling in a dashboard is like saying that you can travel from Portugal to New York on a bus. Of course, you can put a bus on a boat and cross the Atlantic Ocean while sitting in a bus. Technically, you did what you claim, but obviously that was a hack. (AI image)

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Is the hype for storytelling in dashboards finally fading away? It is about time. But data visualisation alone is not enough for dashboard creator. What next you should learn after mastering the skill of avoiding pie-charts? Find out in my new article: chartplanet.net/storytelling...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

There are two types of people. – Excel YES – Excel NO Which one are you?

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

You cannot be late on preceding steps and expect for Power BI developer to squeeze all the work and meet all the project deadlines.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

– Can you add this filter to the dashboard so I can check this one number just once? – I'll email you with that single number instead. – Oh ... that would be easier indeed. Come with your problems and rely on Power BI developer to solve them.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

– Just pull it and start creatin' that dashboard! – No, first we have to make star schema – No no, you don't understand, we need just a few visuals! I wish more managers understood the amount of work that goes into a well-performing, easy to use Power BI semantic model. And would plan accordingly.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

There are 3 things I wish more business people understood about Power BI projects. Here are they in the article: chartplanet.net/3-things-bus...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Frustrations of a dashboard user: • Confusing – I'm not sure if I get it • Distracting – It is hard to focus • Ugly – I don't like looking at it • Poor experience – Why is there (Blank) when I filter? • Lack of purpose – OK, so what? • Technical issues – It takes ages to load!

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Design in dashboards is primarily for guiding. Beauty is the secondary objective.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Text hint is a sophisticated, yet straightforward way of guiding the attention of a dashboard reader. Text works well when it explains what to do next. The post example explains cross-filtering with text, and adds a little attention grabber in the chart.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Colour is a simple, but slippery way of guiding the attention of a dashboard reader. An odd colour draws attention – it may be a background, a border, font colour, or shape fill. But if there are too many colours, nothing draws attention, it just looks like a mess.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Size is a simple way of guiding the attention of a dashboard reader. Bigger things, numbers, texts attract attention first. In the posted example, there is no doubt that number 600 is more important than 7 and clustered bar chart is more important than the other two

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Layout is the simplest way of guiding the attention of a dashboard reader. Our job here is to give clues, users are still free to ignore them and inspect the page in another way.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Writing a book is easy – you lay out words in the sequence you want the reader to read them. But making a dashboard is difficult – all the things are available at once, and readers get lost. For guiding them – use design. I propose a few tips in my next article: chartplanet.net/guide-on-gui...

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

There is no single cure for all design issues. Neither alignment nor minimalism. There could be very minimalistic, yet not pleasant nor readable design.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

One of the most ridiculous attempts at creating nice-looking dashboards and presentations, is by using charts with default settings, and then trying to add nice-looking things on top.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Adding more colours to a dashboard might be a good and well-justified decision. But only if each colour encodes something and this additional encoding guides the reader, rather than confuses. Still, keep numbers of distinct colours low.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Unless the #dashboard is about the person in question – people faces are ultimate attention stealers. Never use generic images with people.

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Martynas Jočys @martynasjocys.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I have posted a list of recommended conferences, and noted that #SQLbits2026 might be one of the better options I haven't visited myself. But I'm going to visit it, and I'm going to talk about design essentials for Power BI developer. It will happen in Wales. Where the prince lives. See you there!

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