Matrix visual

Native visual

Hierarchical rows and columns with expand/collapse, subtotals and grand totals.

Working example

Department / Team / Employee	Hours	Avg performance
	236.0 h	88%
	95.6 h	85%
	140.4 h	91%
	254.0 h	80%
	146.5 h	81%
	244.7 h	78%
Total — all departments	881.2 h	82%

Native Power BI pattern: Matrix. Use it instead of a Table when rows belong to a hierarchy or values must be aggregated per group. Average performance is recalculated at every level — it is not the sum of the rows below.

What it is

The Matrix visual is a pivot-style visual: row groups, optional column groups, subtotals and grand totals with stepped or tabular layout.

When to use it

Data has a hierarchy (Department → Team → Employee) or values must be crossed by a second dimension.

Native Power BI capability

Yes — Matrix visual with row hierarchy, column hierarchy, +/- expand controls, subtotals and totals.

UX considerations

Specify the default expansion level; fully expanded matrices read as noise.
Decide stepped layout (indented, compact) versus tabular layout (one column per level).
State which subtotals are meaningful — not every level deserves one.

BI developer considerations

Build the hierarchy in the model or the Rows field well.
Enable +/- icons in the format pane so users can expand without the header menu.
Turn subtotals off per level rather than globally where possible.

QA considerations

Subtotals aggregate the measure, not the displayed rows.
Expand/collapse state resets as specified on page navigation.

Limitations

Expansion state is not persisted per user unless captured in a bookmark.
Very wide column hierarchies degrade performance and readability.

HTML prototype note

This interactive HTML example simulates the native Power BI behaviour. It is not Power BI itself and should not be interpreted as an implementation of the Power BI rendering engine.

Designer ↔ BI developer handoff

UX designer defines

Information hierarchy and column order
Required fields and measures
Default state (sort, filters, selection)
Interaction intent and what it should affect
Responsive priority and what may be dropped
Accessibility expectations and focus order
Empty, loading and error states

BI developer implements

Dataset fields, measures and relationships
Visual configuration in the format pane
Filters, sort order and interaction wiring
Drill-through / drill-down configuration
Conditional formatting rules
Row-level security and permissions
Query performance optimisation

QA validates

Data correctness against the source
Correct default state on first load
Sorting and filtering behaviour
Drill and selection behaviour
Permissions and row-level security
Empty states and responsive layout
Performance and export behaviour