Excel-based reporting took 45 minutes to refresh and was error-prone. No version control for data transformations. No automated data quality testing.
Architecture Overview
📊 Excel Reports→⚙️ dbt Models→💾 Snowflake→📈 Power BI→🎯 3min Refresh
Excel (45min) → dbt → Snowflake → Power BI (3min) → 40+ Data Quality Tests
The Solution
Rebuilt 15 Excel reports into dbt models using star schema design. Implemented incremental models for large tables (2.3M+ rows). Added 40+ automated data quality tests.
Set up CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions for automated testing and deployment. Generated auto-documentation for all models.
Results
Refresh time: 45 minutes → 3 minutes (94% faster)
Data quality: 40+ automated tests catching 12% of anomalies
Version control: Full Git history for all transformations
Documentation: Auto-generated, always up to date
Key Takeaway
Incremental models reduced refresh time by 90% on large tables. Data quality tests caught issues before business users saw them.