Perhaps no greater risk exists in business intelligence than the potential to motivate or drive an incorrect decision. Several of the chapters earlier in this book, particularly Chapter 7, Planning Power BI Projects, through Chapter 10, Developing DAX Measures and Security Roles, are dedicated to topics and practices that aim to reduce that risk. Although business users and analysts are often comfortable with the visualization layer, the quality and sustainability of this content rest on the planning, testing, and skills (for example, M queries, DAX measures) applied to the source dataset. A severe risk, therefore, to Self-Service BI projects is whether the business user(s) can build and maintain a source dataset that provides consistent, accurate information.

Another significant risk is a loss of version control and change management. The workspace users may not internally manage changes to content and thus inadvertently misinterpret or share content without the knowledge of changes implemented by other users. For example, rather than only using the published app for external communication and collaborating on any updates to the app, the users could view and edit the content of the app workspace itself thus eliminating all the staging of changes.

A final risk is that the self-service solution created may ultimately need to be discarded rather than migrated. For example, to quickly respond to new and changing analytical needs, the source dataset and reports may include many inefficient customizations and design patterns. These customizations can render the solution difficult to support and potentially consume unnecessary system resources. As more users and reports become dependent on these designs or anti-patterns, it can be more difficult and costly to migrate to a more sustainable solution.