Power BI Export

SWAO can export assessment results in a format compatible with Microsoft Power BI Desktop, enabling rich dashboards, cross-assessment trend analysis, and integration with existing enterprise reporting infrastructure.

Exporting Data

Run the assessment and export:

swao assess --app <name> --export powerbi

Or export from the most recent assessment result:

swao report --format powerbi --output ./reports/gdpr-q2-2026.json

The export produces a JSON file structured for direct import into Power BI via the JSON connector or the SWAO Power BI template (.pbit).

Using the Power BI Template

The SWAO community provides a pre-built .pbit template with dashboards for:

• Compliance score over time (requires multiple assessment exports)
• Control domain breakdown
• Finding severity distribution
• Remediation progress tracking

To use the template:

1. Download swao-dashboard.pbit from the SWAO GitHub Releases page.
2. Open Power BI Desktop and select File > Import > Power BI template.
3. When prompted for the data source, point it at the exported JSON file.
4. Refresh the data model to populate the visuals.

Export Schema

The JSON export follows this structure:

{
  "swaoVersion": "0.3.9",
  "exportedAt": "2026-06-25T14:30:00Z",
  "app": "payment-service",
  "framework": "gdpr",
  "summary": {
    "total": 24,
    "pass": 15,
    "fail": 6,
    "warn": 3,
    "complianceScore": 0.71
  },
  "findings": [
    {
      "controlId": "ART-5",
      "controlName": "Data minimisation",
      "domain": "Data Protection",
      "status": "FAIL",
      "severity": "HIGH",
      "evidence": "src/user/profile.ts:42",
      "recommendation": "Remove non-essential personal data fields..."
    }
  ]
}

Dashboard Visuals

flowchart TD
    A["SWAO Assessment\n(.json export)"] --> B["Power BI\nJSON Connector"]
    B --> C["Data Model"]
    C --> D["Compliance Score\nGauge"]
    C --> E["Domain Breakdown\nBar Chart"]
    C --> F["Findings by Severity\nTreemap"]
    C --> G["Trend Over Time\nLine Chart"]
    C --> H["Remediation Backlog\nTable"]

Multi-Assessment Trends

To track compliance progress over time, export after each sprint or audit cycle and load all JSON files into a single Power BI report. The template's Date dimension uses the exportedAt field to create trend lines automatically.

Recommended naming convention for exports:

reports/
  gdpr-2026-Q1.json
  gdpr-2026-Q2.json
  gdpr-2026-Q3.json

Connecting to Power BI Service

To publish dashboards to Power BI Service (cloud):

1. Build and publish the .pbix file from Power BI Desktop.
2. Schedule a Dataflow refresh using the exported JSON files stored in SharePoint or OneDrive for Business.
3. Share the workspace with your compliance and audit team.

For automated pipeline integration, use the --export powerbi flag in your CI workflow and commit the JSON to a dedicated reports/ branch or upload to a shared drive.