Infosys
Infosys Data Analyst Interview Questions – SQL & Power BI (30 Q&A)
SQL – 15 Questions
1. Q: What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?
A:
• INNER JOIN returns only matching rows from both tables.
• LEFT JOIN returns all rows from the left table and matching rows from the
right table; unmatched right rows return NULL.
2. Q: How do you find the second highest salary in a table?
A:
SELECT MAX(salary) AS second_highest
FROM employees
WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees);
3. Q: What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING?
A:
• WHERE filters rows before aggregation.
• HAVING filters aggregated results after GROUP BY.
4. Q: How to find duplicate records in SQL?
A:
SELECT column_name, COUNT(*)
FROM table_name
GROUP BY column_name
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
5. Q: Write a query to get top 5 customers by sales.
A:
SELECT customer_id, SUM(sales) AS total_sales
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer_id
ORDER BY total_sales DESC
LIMIT 5;
6. Q: Explain RANK() vs DENSE_RANK().
A:
• RANK() leaves gaps in ranking when there are ties.
• DENSE_RANK() gives consecutive ranks without gaps.
7. Q: How do you handle NULL values in SQL?
A:
Use functions like COALESCE() or ISNULL() to replace NULL with default values.
8. Q: Write a query to calculate running total of sales.
A:
SELECT order_date, sales,
SUM(sales) OVER (ORDER BY order_date) AS running_total
FROM orders;
9. Q: What is the difference between UNION and UNION ALL?
A:
• UNION removes duplicates.
• UNION ALL keeps duplicates.
10. Q: How to find customers who didn’t place any order?
A:
SELECT c.customer_id, c.customer_name
FROM customers c
LEFT JOIN orders o ON c.customer_id = o.customer_id
WHERE o.customer_id IS NULL;
11. Q: Explain the purpose of indexes in SQL.
A:
Indexes speed up data retrieval by reducing the number of rows scanned.
12. Q: Write a query to get monthly sales for 2024.
A:
SELECT MONTH(order_date) AS month, SUM(sales) AS total_sales
FROM orders
WHERE YEAR(order_date) = 2024
GROUP BY MONTH(order_date)
ORDER BY month;
13. Q: What is the difference between TRUNCATE and DELETE?
A:
• DELETE removes rows but logs each transaction and can have a WHERE
clause.
• TRUNCATE removes all rows without logging each row and resets identity.
14. Q: How to find the percentage contribution of each category to total sales?
A:
SELECT category,
SUM(sales) AS category_sales,
(SUM(sales) * 100.0 / SUM(SUM(sales)) OVER()) AS percentage_contribution
FROM orders
GROUP BY category;
15. Q: Explain CTE and when to use it.
A:
• CTE (Common Table Expression) is a temporary result set defined using
WITH for better readability and reusability in complex queries.
Power BI – 15 Questions
16. Q: What is the difference between calculated column and measure in Power
BI?
A:
• Calculated column is stored in the model and computed row-by-row.
• Measure is calculated on the fly based on filter context.
17. Q: How do you handle data refresh in Power BI?
A:
• Schedule refresh in Power BI Service.
• Ensure gateway is configured for on-premises sources.
18. Q: Explain Row-Level Security (RLS) in Power BI.
A:
RLS restricts data visibility based on filters defined in roles, so users only see
authorized data.
19. Q: What is the difference between Import and DirectQuery mode?
A:
• Import stores data in Power BI for faster performance.
• DirectQuery queries the source directly, useful for large datasets.
20. Q: How to create year-to-date (YTD) sales in DAX?
A:
YTD Sales =
TOTALYTD(SUM(Orders[Sales]), 'Orders'[Order Date])
21. Q: How do you improve Power BI dashboard performance?
A:
• Reduce columns and rows in data model.
• Use measures instead of calculated columns where possible.
• Apply aggregations and query folding.
22. Q: Explain relationship cardinality in Power BI.
A:
• One-to-One (1:1), One-to-Many (1:*), and Many-to-Many (:) define how
tables relate.
23. Q: How to create a previous year sales comparison in Power BI?
A:
Previous Year Sales =
CALCULATE(SUM(Orders[Sales]), SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR('Orders'[Order Date]))
24. Q: What is a Star Schema in Power BI?
A:
A data model design with one fact table linked to multiple dimension tables,
improving query performance.
25. Q: How do you use Bookmarks in Power BI?
A:
Bookmarks capture a report's current state, allowing toggling between views for
storytelling or navigation.
26. Q: How to create a Top 5 products by sales measure in DAX?
A:
Top 5 Products Sales =
TOPN(5, SUMMARIZE(Products, Products[Product Name], "Sales",
SUM(Orders[Sales])), [Sales], DESC)
27. Q: What is Query Folding in Power BI?
A:
Query Folding pushes transformations back to the data source, reducing load
time and improving performance.
28. Q: How to create a Profit Margin % in Power BI?
A:
Profit Margin % =
DIVIDE(SUM(Orders[Profit]), SUM(Orders[Sales]), 0)
29. Q: How do you publish and share a Power BI report securely?
A:
• Publish to Power BI Service.
• Share via workspaces, apps, or RLS-based sharing.
30. Q: How do you handle different time zones in Power BI reports?
A:
• Convert UTC to local time in Power Query using
DateTimeZone.SwitchZone.
Dipankar Pal
[email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/dipankar-analyst
