From Flat Table to Star Schema with SQL and Power BI
Project Status: 🚧 In Progress
Started: July 2026
Estimated Completion: July–September 2026
Welcome to my second healthcare analytics project.
After completing my 30-Day Hospital Readmission Analysis, I wanted to move beyond a single-table analysis and build a complete Business Intelligence solution using dimensional modeling.
In this project, I redesign the CMS Hospital Readmission dataset into a professional star schema, preparing the data for scalable reporting and interactive dashboards in Power BI.
Throughout this series, I document every stage of the project—from understanding the raw dataset to designing the data model, transforming data with Power Query, creating DAX measures, and building an interactive Power BI dashboard.
This project is part of my continuing journey in healthcare analytics and Business Intelligence, while preparing for the Microsoft PL-300 Power BI Data Analyst certification..
Final Deliverables
- SQL Server relational database
- Star schema data model
- Power BI semantic model
- Interactive dashboard
- Technical documentation
- Project walkthrough
Learning Goals
Through this project, I aim to strengthen my skills in:
- Dimensional data modeling
- SQL Server database design
- Power Query transformations
- DAX calculations
- Power BI semantic modeling
- Interactive dashboard development
- Healthcare Business Intelligence
Project Objectives
By the end of this project, I will demonstrate how to:
- Design a dimensional data model using fact and dimension tables
- Build a scalable SQL Server database
- Transform and clean data with Power Query
- Create DAX measures and calculated columns
- Build an interactive Power BI dashboard
- Apply Business Intelligence best practices to a healthcare dataset
Technologies
- SQL Server • SQL • Power Query • Power BI • DAX • Data Modeling • Healthcare Analytics • CMS Hospital Readmission Data
Project Implementation Roadmap
Phase 1 — Project Planning & Objectives
Define project goals, Business Intelligence workflow, and project scope.
Phase 2 — Understanding the CMS Dataset
Explore the original CMS Hospital Readmission dataset and identify opportunities for dimensional modeling.
Phase 3 — Designing the Star Schema
Design fact and dimension tables, define relationships, and create the conceptual data model.
Phase 4 — Building the SQL Data Model
Create database objects, load data, define primary and foreign keys, and prepare the data warehouse.
Phase 5 — Power Query & Data Transformation
Import SQL data into Power BI and perform data preparation using Power Query.
Phase 6 — Building the Power BI Semantic Model
Configure relationships, create DAX measures, and prepare the semantic model for reporting.
Phase 7 — Dashboard Development
Build an interactive healthcare dashboard following Business Intelligence best practices.
Phase 8 — Insights & Final Report
Analyze the results, summarize key findings, and discuss future improvements.
Data Source
This project uses publicly available CMS Hospital Readmission data for educational and portfolio purposes. No protected health information (PHI) is included.
Healthcare Business Intelligence Project
Current Progress
| Phase | Status |
|---|---|
| ✅ Phase 1 — Project Planning & Objectives | Completed |
| ⏳ Phase 2 — Understanding the CMS Dataset | In Progress |
| ⬜ Phase 3 — Designing the Star Schema | Planned |
| ⬜ Phase 4 — Building the SQL Data Model | Planned |
| ⬜ Phase 5 — Power Query & Data Transformation | Planned |
| ⬜ Phase 6 — Building the Power BI Semantic Model | Planned |
| ⬜ Phase 7 — Dashboard Development | Planned |
| ⬜ Phase 8 — Insights & Final Report | Planned |
Related Project
⭐ 30-Day Hospital Readmission Analysis
My first healthcare analytics project focuses on downloading, validating, cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing CMS Hospital Readmission data using SQL Server and Power BI.