Most anxious analysts rush to the report canvas because it feels like progress. We slow the room down on purpose. When relationship view comes first, people attach names to tables they will actually refresh on Monday.
The second paragraph is about naming: we enforce a short prefix scheme so measures read like sentences. That sounds picky until you try to debug someone else’s file six months later.
Third, we document grain on paper. Power BI will let you draw almost anything; the paper step exposes assumptions before DAX gets involved.
Finally, we close the week with a publish checklist—not a lecture, a literal checkbox saved beside the dataset. That small artifact is what alumni say they keep longest.