1. ABC! Always Be…. Coding (calculated measures)
Tommy Puglia
December 5th 2017

2. First, an Intro
Who are you?
Tonight’s Theme
Why?
Tips & Demos

3. Thank you Alec Baldwin

4. Flip the Script

5. Why Models Matter

6. Creating a Standard: Good Models are: Good Models make Good Processes
Reproducible
Organized
Efficient
Accurate
Good Models make Good Processes
Scalable for Models of any size
Use the same process from simple to highly complex calculations
Able to explain to others, able to back-track your steps

7. How Models get Complicated
How many Reports have you perfected on the first attempt?
Answer: Never
Report Creation = Expect to Modify
Updates to Business Logic & Calculations
Additional Feature Requests
Data Validation testing

8. Simple Reports are Simple

9. But More is always Needed…

10. The Gap between Good & Bad
Bad Models can Hurt
Harder to Back-Track
Prone to Data Inaccuracy
Decrease in Performance
Difficult to explain & Share
Good Models make you better
Easier Navigation in your Report
Flexible to edits & new requirements
Helps with data validation
Logical convention of tables/queries to confirm business rules

11. Standards of a Data Model

12. What you MUST have Naming Convention for objects
Organized Queries into Folders
ABC…. Always Be Coding Calculated (Measures)!
Fact & Dimension Tables
Relationships

13. The Three Sections in the Power BI Model
Query Editor
Data View / DAX
Report View / Design

14. Query Editor Best Practices

15. Define Your Goal & What you Need
Always start with:
What am I trying to do?
What data do I need?
What data do I have?
Demo – Baseball Player & Team Stats
How did players & teams perform in 2015/2016?

16. Key Takeaways for Query Editor
Options & Settings
Names & Organization
Optimize your data
Referencing & Duplicating
Loading & Refreshing

17. Before We Begin – Data Modeling 101
Naming Objects
Tables
Use Logical Names!
Avoid Spaces or Special Characters
Columns
Do not have same column name in 2 different tables!
Avoid Spaces if possible
Optimize What you need
Remove Columns that are unnecessary
Create & use Dimension Tables

18. Power BI Report Options & Settings
For each new File
Deselect Autodetect Relationships
Auto Date/Time… Maybe
Data Preview - Discussion
Global Settings
Query Editor
Formula Bar, Display Query Settings
Native Queries (Security)
Enable Preview Features (Preview features)

19. Query Editor Demo

20. Query Editor Summary Defined & Scoped our Model
Create Baseload Queries for multiple tables
Organize Queries in Folders
Gave Queries logical names
Optimize where you can (Reference, columns needed)
Only load what you need
Only refresh what you need

21. Data View / DAX

22. Key Takeaways for Data View/DAX
Clean & Verify Data Types
Connect our Tables via Relationships
Organize our Tables & only show what we need
Measures vs. Columns
Measure Tables
Foundational Measures

23. Data View Demo

24. Let’s Stop Right Here ABC – Always be Coding (Measures!)
Measures are the foundation of Power BI in your Report
Standard to link/relate measures to each other
Implicit vs. Explicit Measures – Always Explicit!
Always Think like DAX
Relating from other tables
Use Format!

25. DAX Measures - Demo
Implicit vs. Explicit

26. DAX Example - $ per Home Run
What was the Avg. Cost per Home Run hit for MLB Batting Leaders by Year?
Approach
4 Tables – Batting (HR), Salary (Salary), Year, Player Name
Batters Qualify for Leaders by 3.1 AB per Game
Need to flag Batters years to see if they Qualify
Why DAX is going to Matter

28. Data View Summary
ABC!!! Think like DAX, Always Be Coding Calculated Measures!
Organize, Relate, & Optimize your Tables & Measures
Use the formatting options to polish
Only show what you need
Always use Logical names
Foundational Measures
Understanding DAX Engine & Thinking

29. Report View - Design

30. Key Takeaways for Report View
Titles & Naming
Formatting Options
Adjust your Sizes
Color Themes
Visual vs. Column Names
View Options
Custom Visuals

31. Report View Demo

32. Tools & Resources

33. Tools & Why DAX Studio Notepad ++ for M Language DAX Formatter
Report Theme Generator
Excel Power Query
Power BI Helper
Custom Visuals Gallery

34. Resources for Learning – Blogs
General Learning
Power BI Blog
RadaCad
PowerPivotPro
Guy in a Cube
M Language
Chris Webb’s Blog
Excel Guru
BI Insight
DataChant
DAX
SQLBI
Excelerator BI

35. Resources – Websites & Communities
Tampa PUG User Group Page
Power BI Documentation
Power BI Community Forums
Microsoft TechNet Forums – Power Pivot
Microsoft TechNet Forums – Power Query
Stack Overflow – Power Query
Stack Overflow – Power BI

36. Books
Power Pivot & Power BI: The Excel User’s Guide to DAX – Rob Collie
The Definitive Guide to DAX – Alberto Ferrari & Marco Russo
Analyzing Data with Power BI & Power Pivot – Alberto Ferrari & Marco Russo
DAX Patters – Alberto Ferrari & Marco Russo
M is for (Data) Monkey – Ken Puls
Power Query for Power BI and Excel – Chris Webb