PBIMCR presents Predicting FPL Points, Forge in Fabric & Epic Data Projects

When: Thursday 26th of February 2026
Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt
Location: Bloc, 17 Marble St, Manchester M2 3AW
Session will not be streamed over MS Teams but uploaded to our YouTube channel in early Feb
Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts Slalom & sponsors Robert Walters

February's PBIMCR will feature .....
Speaker Details -

Talk 1:
Ben Wolfenden
Title: Predicting Fantasy Premier League Points with Microsoft Fabric: An End-to-End Solution

#### Description

I will showcase a complete end-to-end solution built on Microsoft Fabric to predict Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points. The demo will be a whistle-stop tour of the full data journey: ingesting raw football data, orchestrating pipelines, implementing a medallion architecture, applying machine learning for predictive modelling, designing dimensional models, and visualising insights in Power BI. Learn best practices for building scalable, modern analytics platforms using Fabric Lakehouse, Delta tables, PySpark, machine learning and visualisation.

If you are looking to level up your Power BI game, you’ll leave with practical tools, techniques, and frameworks to turn your dashboards into decision-driving assets.

Talk 2
Bob Pearman - Head of Platform and Engineering at Forge Holiday Group
Title: Forge in Fabric
How Forge Holidays (formerly Sykes Cottage) are powering self-service analytics, AI and data products, securely and safely using Microsoft Fabric.
A talk focusing on medallion data architecture and Data Vault 2.0 methodology in Microsoft Fabric. Our journey and what we have learned.
How Forge are powering self-service analytics, AI and data products, securely and safely using Microsoft Fabric.
A talk focusing on medallion data architecture and Data Vault 2.0 methodology in Microsoft Fabric. Our journey and what we have learned.

Topics Covered: Power BI, Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse, Delta tables, PySpark, machine learning and visualisation

Talk 3.
Jerome Wittersheim - MD of Hexagon Data
Title: Managing Successful Data Projects: A Balanced Approach

Data projects fail at surprisingly high rates - around 70-80% regardless of whether they're led by technology or business priorities alone. This talk introduces the Three Pillars Framework for data project success: balancing Business objectives, Data modelling, quality and governance, and Technology implementation.
Drawing on real-world examples and industry research, we'll explore:

• Why both tech-driven and tech-ignorant approaches produce similar failure rates
• How to integrate business value, data fundamentals, and technical delivery effectively
• Practical strategies for avoiding common pitfalls throughout the project lifecycle
• What successful data projects actually look like in practice

Whether you're delivering analytics solutions, building data platforms, or leading transformation initiatives, this session offers evidence-based guidance for improving your project outcomes.

Bio:
Jerome is Managing Director of Hexagon Data Services, a Snowflake Select Partner based in Manchester. With over 20 years of hands-on experience in data architecture, strategy, and delivery, Jerome has worked across multiple industries helping organisations build and rescue data projects.
Having seen data initiatives fail (and succeed) from both the technical and business sides, Jerome developed the Three Pillars Framework as a practical approach to balancing business requirements, data modelling and governance, and technology implementation. He's passionate about helping data professionals navigate the real-world challenges of project delivery without getting caught in theological debates about what matters most.