u/Double-Market-453

I started working on an existing Power BI project and noticed the PBIX file is already over 1.3 GB before any actual report development has started.

Most of the source data appears to have been loaded directly into the model, and I’m concerned about long-term performance, refresh times, scalability, and maintenance.

I’m thinking about approaches such as:

• Reducing unnecessary columns/rows
• Improving the data model/star schema
• Moving transformations upstream
• Incremental refresh
• Splitting datasets and reports
• Using DirectQuery/composite models where appropriate

For those who’ve handled very large PBIX files:

• What worked best for you?
• What architectural changes would you recommend early?
• Any common mistakes to avoid?

Would appreciate practical advice from the community.