Learn the intricate workings of DAX and the mechanics that are necessary to solve advanced Power BI challenges. This book is all about DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), the formula language used in Power BI―Microsoft’s leading self-service business intelligence application―and covers other products such as PowerPivot and SQL Server Analysis Services Tabular. You will learn how to leverage the advanced applications of DAX to solve complex tasks.

Often a task seems complex due to a lack of understanding, or a misunderstanding of core principles, and how certain components interact with each other. The authors of this book use solutions and examples to teach you how to solve complex problems. They explain the intricate workings of important concepts such as Filter Context and Context Transition. You will learn how Power BI, through combining DAX building blocks (such as measures, table filtering, and data lineage), can yield extraordinary analytical power. Throughout Pro Dax with Power BI these building blocks are used to create and compose solutions for advanced DAX problems, so you can independently build solutions to your own complex problems, and gain valuable insight from your data.

• What You Will LearnUnderstand the intricate workings of DAX to solve advanced problems
• Deconstruct problems into manageable parts in order to create your own recipes
• Apply predefined solutions for addressing problems, and link back step-by-step to the mechanics of DAX, to know the foundation of this powerful query language
• Get fully on board with DAX, a new and evolving language, by learning best practices

Who This Book Is For

Anyone who wants to use Power BI to build advanced and complex models. Some experience writing DAX is helpful, but not essential if you have experience with other data query languages such as MDX or SQL.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Foundation

Chapter 1: DAX Mechanics

Chapter 2: Data Modeling

Chapter 3: DAX Lineage

Part II: Core Concepts

Chapter 4: This Weird Context Thing

Chapter 5: Filtering in DAX

Chapter 6: Iterators

Chapter 7: Filtering Using Measures

Part Ill: DAX to Solve Advanced Everyday Problems

Chapter 8: Using DAX to Solve Advanced Reporting Requirements

Chapter 9: Time Intelligence

Chapter 10: Finding What's Not There

Chapter 11: Row-Level Security

Part IV: Debugging and Optimization

Chapter 12: DAX Studio

Chapter 13: Query Plans

Chapter 14: Scale Your Models

About the Authors

Philip Seamark is an experienced data warehouse (DW) and business intelligence (BI) consultant with a deep understanding of the Microsoft stack and extensive knowledge of DW methodologies and enterprise data modeling. Recognized for his analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving abilities, he has more than 25 years of commercial experience delivering business applications across a broad range of technologies. His expertise runs the gamut from project management, dimensional modeling, performance tuning, ETL design, development and optimization, and report and dashboard design to installation and administration.

In 2017 Phil received a Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for his contributions to the Power BI community site, and in 2018 he was named a top 10 influencer in the Power BI space. He can be found speaking at many data, analytic, and reporting events around the world. He is also the founder and organizer of the Wellington Power BI User Group. Hecan be reached through Twitter at PhilSeamark.

Thomas Martens has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of BI, DW, and analytics. In his current role as Principal Consultant of Business Intelligence and Analytics, he helps large enterprises to implement sustainable analytical applications. He specializes in the visualization of data, and the application of analytical methods to large amounts of data. He recognizes DAX as a powerful query language available in many products and wants to leverage his hard-earned experience in creating solutions to bring DAX users to the next level. He can be reached at Twitter at tommartens68.