Analyst Roadmap to Databricks: From SQL to End-to-End BI

Analysts often begin their Databricks journey by running familiar SQL queries in the SQL Editor, but that’s just the start. In this session, I’ll share the roadmap I followed to expand beyond ad-hoc querying into SQL Editor/notebook-driven development to scheduled data pipelines producing interactive dashboards — all powered by Databricks SQL and Unity Catalog. You’ll learn how to organize tables with primary-key/foreign-key relationships along with creating table and column comments to form the semantic model, utilizing DBSQL features like RELY constraints. I’ll also show how parameterized dashboards can be set up to empower self-service analytics and feed into Genie Spaces. Attendees will walk away with best practices for starting out with building a robust BI platform on Databricks, including tips for table design and metadata enrichment. Whether you’re a data analyst or BI developer, this talk will help you unlock powerful, AI-enhanced analytics workflows.