How to build a Power BI report catalog people can trust

In this guide, a Power BI report catalog is a maintained directory of reports for business users. It answers: What does this report help me do? Is it appropriate for my task? How do I open it, and who supports it?

A technical data catalog serves a different purpose: documenting semantic models, measures, definitions, and lineage. Link to that documentation when it helps, but keep the report directory focused on choosing and opening reports.

Begin with one audience and a manageable collection, such as the reports used in a monthly operations review. Include reports people should use today. Keep drafts and retired items in the administrator inventory, with their status clearly marked.

The downloadable CSV contains column headings only. Open it in a spreadsheet, add one row per report, and store it in an organization-approved location. It is a planning document, not a LumioBI import file.

A catalog review date tells you when someone checked the entry. It does not prove the underlying data refreshed successfully. Likewise, an expected refresh schedule is not a live freshness indicator.

Replace vague names such as “Dashboard v7 FINAL” with a stable business label. Add a one-sentence purpose that distinguishes it from similar reports. Here is an illustrative entry; the roles and report are fictional.

For a Sales pipeline report, the purpose might instead be “Review open opportunities and next actions with account owners.” Those descriptions help users choose between reports even when both contain revenue-related numbers.

Keep workspace names, report IDs, and other maintenance details available to administrators. Give business users the shorter description and the approved viewing link.

Power BI supports promotion and certification for reports and apps. Promotion highlights useful content; certification represents an organization's quality review and requires authorized reviewers. Record a certification only when it exists in Power BI. See Microsoft's endorsement guidance.

Your own “Active” catalog status is a maintenance label, not Microsoft certification. Make that distinction visible so users do not mistake a tidy directory for a quality guarantee.

1. Open each viewing link using a representative account from the intended audience. If access is provided through an app, verify the app-context link users will receive.
2. Check that a person without permission still cannot open restricted content through its direct URL.
3. Record an access-request route with an accountable recipient. Avoid leaving users with a permission error and no next step.

The catalog itself may reveal sensitive report names or business topics. Limit visibility of those entries where appropriate. Hiding a catalog link does not secure the report; maintain permissions in Power BI.

For a small audience, a maintained list of links may be enough. The multiple-report landing-page guide compares approaches for presenting that starting point. Here, the inventory supplies the context and maintenance process behind it.

With LumioBI, translate the approved collection into navigation your team can use alongside Power BI:

1. Create business-area folders such as Finance, Sales, and Operations in the Navigation editor.
2. Add approved report links with the clear labels from your inventory. For example, place “Monthly revenue — Finance” inside Finance.
3. Add an appropriate documentation or support link as a resource. Keep detailed ownership, review dates, and limitations in your maintained inventory or linked documentation.
4. Configure group visibility, review the draft, and publish the portal configuration.
5. Have an approved user find the report through the menu or portal search and save it to Favorites using the extension.

Maintain ownership, endorsement, and review details in your catalog records, and update LumioBI navigation when the approved destinations change. Portal search finds destinations in the menu; keep detailed report documentation accessible through resource links.

For rollout requirements and setup, see the Power BI Chrome extension page. Users still need approved portal access and the applicable Microsoft licensing and report permissions.

Assign an accountable catalog coordinator and an owner for each report. As a starting routine, review heavily used or frequently changed reports monthly and stable entries quarterly. Adjust that schedule to your organization's needs.

• When a report changes: update its purpose, limitations, link, and support details.
• When an owner leaves: assign a successor before the entry becomes unsupported.
• When a report is replaced: record the successor, notify its audience, and update the portal link. Coordinate any report deletion with its owner and retention process.
• When a review is overdue: flag the entry for follow-up. An overdue catalog review is not evidence that its numbers are wrong.

Test usefulness with three tasks: find a report for a familiar question, identify who supports it, and explain one limitation. During these sessions, record successful completions and requests for help in a simple scorecard. Use the results to improve names, descriptions, and support instructions.

Review duplicate entries and recurring questions before adding more categories. A smaller collection of understandable, maintained reports is easier to trust than an inventory nobody owns.

Can the catalog include reports from different workspaces?

Yes. A maintained directory can point to reports in separate workspaces. Test the viewing links and each audience's access; inclusion in the directory does not grant permission.

Should every report be listed?

Keep a complete administrative inventory if your governance process needs one. The business-user catalog should emphasize useful, supported content and clearly separate drafts or retired reports.

Is the template a live report inventory?

No. It is a blank CSV for planning and maintenance. It does not connect to Power BI, discover reports, monitor refreshes, or import into LumioBI.