Monitor 3D model issues using Power BI with Speckle

Speckle issues make it easy to track problems directly on 3D models, but their real power comes when you start analyzing them at scale. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to bring issues data from Speckle into Power BI so you can monitor priorities, spot bottlenecks, and build clear, actionable dashboards for your projects.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, ensure you have:

• A Speckle account. You can start by creating a Free Speckle workspace here!
• Power BI Desktop installed
• The Speckle Power BI connector installed
• Access to a Speckle project with issues created

Step 1: Create and organize issues in Speckle

Start by adding issues to your Speckle project. Issues can be attached directly to 3D models and include details such as title, description, status, priority, assignee, due date, and labels.

You can also add markups to clearly communicate what the issue refers to. This setup is essential for meaningful reporting later.

Step 2: Copy the project, model, or version URL

Navigate to the Speckle project you want to analyze and copy its URL.

The issues helper function accepts a project URL, a model URL, or even a specific version URL, depending on the level of detail you want.

Step 3: Load issues into Power BI using Power Query

Open Power BI Desktop app and go to Transform data to access Power Query. Call the helper function by typing:

Speckle.Project.Issues

1. Paste the Speckle URL as the first parameter.
2. Optionally, set the second parameter to true if you want to fetch replies associated with each issue. By default, this parameter is set to false.

Once you confirm, Power Query will load all issues related to the provided URL.

Step 4: Review and prepare the issues data

After loading, you’ll see columns such as issue ID, title, description, status, priority, assignee, due date, labels, creation time, update time, and issue URL. Select all columns, go to Transform, and choose Detect data type to ensure each column—especially date fields—has the correct data type.

Step 5: Build reports and dashboards in Power BI

Switch to the report view and start building visuals. You can track total issues, issues in progress, high-priority open issues, overdue items, and distributions by assignee, priority, or status.

Add filters and dropdowns to quickly focus on specific issues or priorities. Once the data is in Power BI, you can slice and analyze it in whatever way best supports your project management and reporting needs.

Conclusion

By combining Speckle issues with Power BI, you can turn issue tracking data into actionable insights.

Whether you’re monitoring overdue tasks, identifying bottlenecks, or building executive dashboards, this workflow gives you full flexibility to report on what matters most.

If you have questions about the issues helper function or want to explore more use cases, check out the Speckle community forum or leave a comment to continue the discussion.