An Intern's Journey: Transforming Harvest Data into Insights with Power BI

As a young graduate, it's essential to continue learning beyond the classroom, and there’s no better way to do that than by diving into real-world applications. Internships provide a unique opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in school to practical challenges, revealing just how much more there is to learn. At Plainsight you get the perfect opportunity to work with new products and applications, such as Microsoft Fabric.

This is particularly important for anyone entering the tech industry, where hands-on experience with new tools and platforms is key to staying relevant. In this post, I’ll share my journey of building a data platform during my 5-week internship at Plainsight, using Microsoft Fabric and Power BI to turn Harvest data into actionable insights. Whether you're a future intern or just starting your career in tech, I’ll explain why this experience was valuable, how I tackled the project, and offer some tips for getting the most out of your internship.

First week: Navigating The New Environment

My first week at Plainsight was all about new experiences, I got introduced to the project and the platforms I’d be working with. Initially, the industry-specific vocabulary and numerous programs felt overwhelming, and it was really difficult navigating through this. However, as I immersed myself in the work, I gradually became more familiar with the terminology and more comfortable navigating the tools.

This learning curve paralleled my experience with meeting my new colleagues. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the warm introductions quickly put me at ease. It felt more like meeting good friends than just getting to know new colleagues. Within a few days, I had started building good friendships and was even invited to join my colleagues for dinner. The welcoming atmosphere made it clear from the start that this was going to be a positive and supportive environment to work in.

Second week – Fourth week: Gaining Momentum

After the first week, I got more into the project. We came up with a good plan and reasonable objectives for the realization of the project:

The use case focused on identifying which employees fill in their timesheets accurately and promptly. By analyzing time-tracking data provided by employees using Harvest, the goal was to calculate the lead time and understand patterns of compliance and non-compliance, which is crucial for ensuring timely invoicing and maintaining efficient operations. This analysis helps improving time management practices, ultimately supporting better resource planning and enhancing overall productivity.

While the scope became clear to me, I didn’t only get familiar with Microsoft Fabric, but with my co-workers as well. This helped greatly as I encountered several difficult challenges which wouldn’t be solved without the help of numerous people.

One of my proudest achievements during this phase was successfully building a working data pipeline that ran without issues. We implemented a Medallion architecture and established a robust and repeatable data pipeline. While the primary focus was on creating a functional and scalable solution, there was also flexibility for future enhancements and additions, which was actively encouraged.

As I became more familiar with the programs, I also encountered more challenging steps in the process. It was around this time that I had a midway follow up in which it became clear I should ask more questions, being more proactive. This feedback really helped me in the later stages of the project, when everything needed to fall into place and be finalized.

Final week: The party is over time to go home

The last week of the project was both challenging and bittersweet. The primary focus was on finalizing the project and ensuring that everything ran smoothly without any issues. Additionally, a clear and comprehensive Power BI report had to be built, and at this stage, I relied heavily on my mentor's help to ensure I completed the project on time. This was demanding, but the real difficulty lay in having to say goodbye to some of my co-workers.

Fortunately, I had the chance to express my gratitude and say my farewells during my final presentation, where I detailed the accomplishments of the past five weeks. During the presentation, I felt sad but also relieved, as I could look back on a successful internship and project.  The week concluded on a high note with a thrilling padel tournament, providing a fun and competitive way to determine the ultimate padel champion among us. It was the perfect ending for an incredible internship experience.

Wrap up

My time at Plainsight though brief, was amazing, interesting and fun. I learned many things and got to meet extraordinary people. I would recommend every student who has the opportunity to pursue an internship at Plainsight to do so. It is the perfect way to gain some real experience in the data consulting world. One small step for a student, one big leap for your career.

For future interns, I advise you to ask plenty of questions and seek help whenever you're stuck on something. The more you engage with the tools and the people around you, the more you will learn.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone at Plainsight for making my internship such a memorable and rewarding experience. I am especially thankful to my mentor, Esli, for his guidance, support, and encouragement throughout my time here. His mentorship has been invaluable in helping me grow both personally and professionally. Thank you all for the opportunity to learn and contribute to such an inspiring team!

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To all students out there, this is your moment to shine and to gain the meaningful knowledge you've worked so hard for over the years. Seize the opportunity to grow and learn— it could be the catalyst for your future success.

Amanuel Van Eyndhoven

Hello, my name is Amanuel. I’m a last year student Data Analytics at the University of Ghent, with a passion for gaining meaningful insight from raw data. During my internship at Plainsight, I had the opportunity to dive deep into Microsoft Fabric. My curiosity lies at the intersection of data visualization and machine learning, areas I’m eager to explore further.

As I prepare to graduate, I’m excited about the prospect of entering the world of data consulting, where I can continue to grow and apply my skills to real-world problems.

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