Microsoft Excel – Power Query — Lesson 3: Combining Files, Tables and Business Sources

Learning Objectives

• Merge and append queries, combine files, use reference and duplicate queries, and manage dependencies
• Create reusable transformation patterns for monthly reporting, master data, and multi-source reconciliation
• Validate combining files, tables and business sources decisions with documented requirements, evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Detailed Topics

• Merge and append queries: Merge and append queries, combine files, use reference and duplicate queries, and manage dependencies
• Create reusable transformation patterns for monthly reporting: Create reusable transformation patterns for monthly reporting, master data, and multi-source reconciliation
• Validate combining files: Validate combining files, tables and business sources decisions with documented requirements, evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, users, data, dependencies, permissions, risks, and expected result.
2. Demonstrate the relevant configuration, creation, administration, analysis, or development workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, test results, and other useful evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with acceptance criteria and explain any corrective action.

Hands-On Activity

Analyze a realistic business case, compare implementation options, and validate the selected approach.

• Document assumptions, prerequisites, and the planned sequence before starting.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal, boundary, and failure behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, reusable notes, and the next improvement priority.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify the business or technical decision that must be made.
• Compare valid implementation approaches and their trade-offs.
• Consider security, privacy, accessibility, performance, support, and operational impact.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, data, permissions, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, ownership, user impact, and business continuity.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement, scope, inputs, and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected design or configuration is documented and follows approved standards.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, accessibility, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Combining Files, Tables and Business Sources in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.