🏆 Power BI DataViz World Championships | Week 4 | Final Qualifying Challenge

[slindsay]

Post updates: 7 March 2025

Welcome to the 4th and final week of the qualifying rounds for the Power BI DataViz World Championships! Read on to learn what the final featured data is, the requirements for your build, and how to submit.

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How the competition works

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships consists of four qualifying rounds over four weeks, where you’ll submit your best Power BI visualizations for a designated theme. Each week, one winner is selected, and the four finalists will compete live at the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference. The grand finale will feature a head-to-head showdown on stage, with the winner earning the prestigious title of World Champion!

The winner of each week will win a conference package to the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference in Las Vegas! We're now in Week 4, so this is the final chance to win! Check out the week 1 and 2 winners. Week 3 winner will be announced on the 12th of March.

Please see our  FAQs for more information.

Data

This week, we invite you to explore the world of nature and climate through data. 🐛🌍📊🌱 From tracking global temperature trends and extreme weather events to analyzing air quality and rainfall patterns, there are countless ways to uncover insights about our planet. You might choose to visualize endangered species populations, deforestation rates, or the impact of national park visitors on conservation efforts. Alternatively, you could dive into sustainability data, such as carbon emissions by industry, the growth of renewable energy, or trends in electric vehicle adoption. No matter which angle you take, this is your chance to tell a powerful data story about the environment and the forces shaping our future.

Need some ideas? Check out these datasets:

• GBIF: Global Biodiversity Data – The Global Biodiversity Information Facility offers millions of species occurrence records, allowing you to analyze the distribution of animals, plants, and insects across different ecosystems. 
• Data.gov Monarch Butterfly Datasets: This catalog includes multiple datasets related to monarch butterflies, such as monitoring data, habitat information, and climate change impacts on their migratory patterns.
• Global Air Pollution Data (World Air Quality Index) – This dataset includes real-time and historical air quality index (AQI) data from cities around the world, allowing you to explore pollution patterns and their effects on public health.

Requirements

Entries will be judged based on whether the requirements listed below have been met.

 

Get and transform data

• Source your own dataset related to this week’s theme, nature and climate.

• Your dataset must be cited in your submitted report, in a manner that is easy to find for readers.

• Use Power BI to import and transform your data as needed. Ensure your dataset is clean and ready for visualization.

• You’re welcome to create complex functions and do great work in Power Query and DAX, but note that this work will not be explicitly scored. Judges will only see the front-end of the Power BI report.

 

Create visuals

• You must use at least one Power BI core visual in your report.

• Create engaging visuals. See the judging criteria below for guidance on what we’re looking for.

• Ensure all visuals meet accessibility standards, including alt text, logical tab order, and appropriate color contrast.

• ***Judges note*** - designing an accessible report is a third of the score. Please be sure not to skip this if you want to win!

Judging criteria

Submissions will be scored by a panel of judges out of 30 points based on the following:

1. Insightfulness (10 points)

• Clarity of Insights (1-5 points): How clearly does the visualization/report convey the insights? Are the key messages easy to understand?

• Relevance of Insights (1-5 points): How relevant are the insights to this week’s theme (Nature and Climate)? Do they provide meaningful and valuable information?

2. Visual Effectiveness (10 points)

• Simplicity and Cleanliness (1-3 points): Is the visualization/report simple and clean, avoiding unnecessary clutter? Does it focus on the most important information?

• Effective Use of Text and Color (1-3 points): Are text and color used effectively to enhance understanding? Are the labels, titles, and color schemes appropriate and helpful?

• Appropriateness of Visual Elements (1-4 points): Are the chosen visual elements (charts, graphs, etc.) appropriate for the data being presented? Do they effectively communicate the insights?

3. Accessibility (10 points)

• Tab Order (1-3 points): Is the tab order logical and intuitive for users navigating with a keyboard?

• Alt Text (1-3 points): Are alt texts provided for all visual elements to ensure accessibility for screen readers?

• Color Contrast (1-4 points): Does the visualization meet minimum color contrast standards to ensure readability for all users?

How to submit

• You must be a member of the community to submit.

• You do not need to have a Fabric or Power BI tenant to submit. You can create your report entirely in Power BI desktop.
• Navigate to the Contests Gallery and either submit a Publish to Web URL or submit a .pbix file. 
• ***Important*** - please use "Week 4" as the first part of the title of your entry. Example: "Week 4 - Shannon's Favorite Bugs"

Ask questions

We want to help you! If you can't find the answer to your question in our FAQs, please add a comment to this post and we'll get back to you as soon as we're able!

[Srilata99]

Can you kindly share the link for Monarch Butterfly Migration Data (Monarch Watch) 

[slindsay]

@Srilata99 - thanks for the note. I updated that dataset and link!

[jlardy]

Could you precise what is the limit of time to submit this Friday please ? In which time zone.
Thanks !

[slindsay]

@jlardy - the official deadline is 11:59PM Pacific Daylight Time. So, the end of the day in Washington state, US. I'll update the post, thanks for asking!

[DamianSmith00]

@slindsay Hi Judges,

I've noticed that some reports have been significantly modified after the submission deadline. Since Power BI allows continuous updates and republishing, viewers can’t see the published date, making it difficult to track when changes were made. I hope the judges have access to this information and consider both the original submission time and the last published time and date to ensure a fair evaluation for all participants.

[slindsay]

@DamianSmith00 - thanks so much for calling this out and for your concern! We are able to track if/when reports are updated/edited in our system, and what was updated. I appreciate you looking out for all participants, that's very thoughtful. If you'd like to discuss this further please feel free to send me a private message. Thanks!