Explicit Measures Podcast 513: Git Best Practices: Diff Noise & Naming
Mar 24, 2026
They dig into Git practices for Power BI teams, focusing on reducing diff noise from slicer states and matrix expansions. They debate visual folder renames and naming conventions. They outline branching strategies from single-branch to personal branches and how automation can enforce clean commits.
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Episode notes
Make The Repo The Source Of Truth
- Do treat the Git repo as the source of truth and shift mental models away from editing only in the workspace.
- Mike warns that enabling Git makes the repository the canonical version, not the live Power BI workspace.
New File Formats Enable Real Diffs
- Insight that PBIR and TMDL break reports and models into many small files, enabling meaningful diffs and multi‑person collaboration.
- Mike explains pages and visuals become separate files so you can see who added a page or visual in the diff.
Write Precise Commit Messages
- Do use clear commit messages that summarize intent and key changes so reviewers can focus on the important files.
- Tommy insists messages like “we added three measures” let reviewers skip irrelevant noise across many changed files.