Designing and Building an Ontology in Microsoft Fabric (uncut)
In this video, we'll break down what an ontology actually is and why it matters for data analysis. We'll walk through the process of designing entity types and relationships, then jump into a step-by-step tutorial building one inside Microsoft Fabric from the ground up.
Description
Microsoft Fabric's new Ontology feature (preview) lets you model your business domain — entities, properties, and relationships — and bind them to your live data in OneLake. In this video, I break down what an ontology is, how to design one for data analysis, and walk through building one inside Fabric.
What you'll learn:
• What an ontology is (Data + Logic + Action)
• How to design entity types and relationships
• Best practices for naming relationships (active verbs, clear direction)
• Step-by-step implementation in Microsoft Fabric
Resources:
• GitHub repo (source data + code): https://github.com/robkerr/trucking-ontology
• Fabric Graphs Explained: https://youtu.be/E6q-Oi94M1Y
• Microsoft Fabric Ontology docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/iq/ontology/overview
• Fabric IQ Blog Post: https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-fabric-iq-the-semantic-foundation-for-enterprise-ai
0:00 Introduction
0:49 Ontology Intro
2:03 Fabric Ontology
3:08 Ontology Design Basics
4:40 Tutorial Intro
5:01 Github Repo
5:27 E-R Diagram
7:21 Import Data
12:59 Create Ontology Item
13:55 Demo Design
16:21 Create Entities
24:57 Create Relationships
33:13 Process Ontology
36:35 Review Ontology Data
39:53 Summary