easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PL-900 Practice Question: A sales manager wants to create a dashboard that…
A sales manager wants to create a dashboard that shows sales by region and product category. The data is stored in an Excel file that is updated weekly. What is the most efficient way to ensure the dashboard reflects the latest data?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse manual re-publishing (Option B) or manual upload (Option D) with the automated refresh capability, overlooking that Power BI service can schedule data refreshes from a published report without needing to re-publish the .pbix file.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Publish the report from Power BI Desktop and schedule a daily data refresh in Power BI service
It separates the report creation (in Power BI Desktop) from the data refresh schedule (in the Power BI service). By publishing the report once and configuring a daily scheduled refresh, the dashboard automatically reflects the latest data from the Excel file without manual intervention, which is the most efficient approach for weekly updates.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Publish the report from Power BI Desktop and schedule a daily data refresh in Power BI service
Why this is correct
Scheduled refresh automates data updates without manual intervention.
- ✗
Use Power BI Desktop to connect to the Excel file and publish a new report weekly
Why it's wrong here
This still requires manual effort and does not automate refresh.
- ✗
Use Power Query to merge data from the Excel file and create a composite model
Why it's wrong here
Power Query transforms data but does not schedule refreshes in the service.
- ✗
Upload the Excel file to the Power BI service each week
Why it's wrong here
Manual uploads are inefficient and not the best practice for regular updates.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every PL-900 question from scratch — 904 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PL-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-900 exam.