In this episode, John Vöge explores how to implement data input scenarios (WriteBack) in Power BI—from ditching Excel to leveraging the latest Translytical Task Flows in Microsoft Fabric. He breaks down the pros and cons of Power Apps, third-party visuals, and native Fabric solutions.

If you're working with Power BI and wondering how to go beyond just displaying data—this episode is for you. John Vöge shares deep insights on how to enable user input within Power BI reports. He walks us through the pain points of Excel-based workflows, real-life examples like finance forecasting with 250 users, and the technical trade-offs between Power Apps, third-party visuals like InfoRiver, and the brand-new Translytical Task Flows in Fabric.

You'll learn how to choose the right tool depending on flexibility, cost, data governance, and user expectations. And we go beyond planning: use cases like triggering refreshes, managing row-level security, or embedding chatbots show how this is not just about "Write-Back" anymore—it's about making dashboards interactive. Whether you're building planning tools or interactive workflows in BI, this episode will help you understand what's possible today, what to avoid, and what’s coming soon.

00:00 WriteBack in Power BI – Why users still ask for input features

03:54 Real-world finance use case: 250 users, Excel chaos, and the WriteBack fix

07:30 The 3 main WriteBack options: Power Apps, 3rd-party visuals & Translytical

10:15 InfoRiver & Excel-like experiences – pros, cons, and sovereignty concerns

13:45 Translytical Task Flows explained: native, low-cost, and flexible

17:36 Can we use Translytical in production already? Future outlook

21:01 Beyond planning: Master data, comments & advanced scenarios

32:40 Bonus: Fabric Symposium – community, lessons learned & organizing events

Fabric Symposium:

https://www.fabricsymposium.com/

Recap Blog of 2025:

https://downhill-data.com/2025/01/07/how-i-built-fabric-symposium/

Translytical Task Flow Gallery: https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Translytical-Task-Flow-Gallery/bd-p/pbi_translyticalgallery

(find the Sudoku there!)

Jon Vöge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonvoge/

Artur König: https://www.linkedin.com/in/datakoenigartur/

Daten-WG: https://www.daten-wg.com/ [DE]