In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, Sports Scientist at the Melbourne Storm rugby league club, Rob Delves discusses the growing use of PowerBI in sports science for data analysis and visualization.

PowerBI is becoming a preferred tool over Excel due to its efficiency in handling larger data sets from multiple sources. Rob emphasizes the importance of upskilling in data analysis and communication within sports science, as resources can be limited. PowerBI provides streamlined data management and visualization capabilities, allowing for more advanced data manipulation than Excel. Its easy access, customization options, and cost-effectiveness make it an attractive alternative.

Rob highlights that PowerBI offers a uniform platform for data access and management, reducing the need for physical report distribution and potential errors. It integrates smoothly with existing Microsoft Office suites and ensures data security through multi-factor authentication. The transition from Excel to PowerBI is facilitated by their similar layouts, making it user-friendly for those familiar with Excel.

The podcast also covers the benefits of PowerBI in saving time through automation, which allows coaches to focus more on coaching rather than data entry. Data from training sessions can be quickly synced into PowerBI, streamlining the analysis process. However, Rob notes the challenges in collecting subjective data from athletes, as it may not always be reliable.

Rob concludes by discussing the integration of APIs for advanced data analysis, the importance of investing in data science skills, and the creative visualization opportunities that PowerBI offers. He suggests that while PowerBI is excellent for data reporting, it may not be the best tool for integrating video analysis.

Main talking points:

• The importance of efficiency in data analysis and communication
• PowerBI and its difference and similarities to Excel
• Increased data security through using a cloud based solution
• How to streamline data processing with PowerBI
• Visualisation options in PowerBI versus Excel
• Increased statistical analysis in PowerBI
• Combining PowerBI and R or Python
• Automation and PowerBI