Why should you or should not learn DAX in Power BI

1. Downloaded from: justpaste.it/3pv2q Why should you or should not learn DAX in Power BI? DAX stands for Data Analysis Expressions, a Microsoft-designed language for communicating with data on a variety of platforms such as Power BI, PowerPivot, and SSAS tabular models. Although exposing the strength and versatility of tabular models, it is built to be quick and easy to understand. You could compare it to Excel formulas on steroids in some way. Using DAX will fully unleash Power BI's capabilities. While I am still far from being a DAX expert myself, I have reached a point in my daily job where I use a lot of the code and have colleagues start asking more and more questions about it. For this reason, from the data science/data analysis toolbox, I decided to write this article on why you should(n't) use this tool. Become a Master of Power BI by going through this online Power BI Training. Why Should You Study DAX in Power BI A Whole New Planet Opens Up Learning DAX as a user of Power BI is just like being an Excel user and figuring out how to use formulas, you were able to organize your tables, add some charts, and press the sum/average/... button (almost but you unexpectedly discover the world of VLOOKUP, IF, and whatever. However this analogy is not entirely true because, or at least in my view, even without DAX, Power BI is already an extremely powerful tool, as anything beyond light use in Excel, on the other hand, already requires formulas. That being said, studying DAX is going to open up a new Power BI world for you. The most important import feature you can unlock is the ability to dynamically select, enter, filter,... info. This implies that users will take feedback from the dashboard and use it to produce measured columns, measures, and tables dynamically. Fewer Headaches In order to reach a point where you are swearing at your computer, it does not take a lot of experience, because your dashboard does not give you the results you wanted. You would be shocked by how many of these headaches you can prevent, or even bypass until you know how to use DAX (in some hacky way). The 'blank' meaning in the card widget is a very clear example of this. However, instead of 'null', a more natural way to show 'no revenue' should be '0'. You can construct a measure that adds '0' to the formula with a very simple DAX expression, meaning you will never have to see 'blank' again. This is one of the many ways the user experience can be greatly enhanced by a tiny bit of code.

2. Besides, this should be important to some of you. Speed Your Dashboard Up The better you get at DAX, the smarter your dashboard will be made for you. You can create smarter measured columns and/or steps by using DAX. Thus, you can restrict the data that the dashboard has to collect and visualize. Although the limitations of the data engines can be checked by certain DAX expressions, a well-written expression can speed up stuff, thereby restricting the use of resources. You can read these 5 tips I shared a couple of months ago for some other ways to speed up your dashboard without using DAX. More than Strength BI, DAX in Power BI Is More If you take the time to invest in learning DAX, you don't have to restrict your newly acquired ability to a Power BI environment. DAX can be used in Microsoft tabular items like: BI Capacity Services for Microsoft Research Power Pivot for Excel by Microsoft The DAX syntax is also very similar to Excel formulas, making the information also transferable to this good old piece of software that is commonly used. It makes you a better practitioner of data The ability to know how to use DAX goes well beyond its reach, even though DAX can only be used in an environment that supports it. Since DAX is based on a system of distinct nested filter contexts where performance is significant, it alters the way you think about tables and data filtering. You may be able to enhance the output of some Python code you wrote earlier in the afternoon by writing a smart piece of DAX code in the morning. In other words, you can enhance your way of thinking on how to combine, filter, select, and manipulate data effectively by studying DAX. Although I am pleased to learn DAX and I have just mentioned some convincing reasons why you should start using it I have to add that DAX is not for everyone. There are some reasons why it should not be a priority for you to learn DAX. Why Not learn DAX in Power BI The curve of Steep Learning It won't be possible overnight to completely understand DAX. While you can start writing some simple code easily, it will probably take time to comprehend how the various filter contexts communicate, etc (something of which I often still struggle with myself). You have to know for yourself how much you'd use it to see if the effort is worth putting in. With alternatives, you can do a lot with DAX in Power BI In DAX, even before the information ends up in one of the widgets, there is a lot of data manipulation possible. There are a lot of choices for something that does not have to be dynamically generated. For starters, with Python, adding some new extra columns to your dashboard can be done just as easily. For Outsiders, Dashboards may become mysterious Adding a DAX to a dashboard adds complexity to the layer. This may not be a concern if you are the only one designing or controlling the dashboard, but it might complicate things for those working in teams. I personally met colleagues who were unfamiliar with the terminology of using DAX confusion-induced dashboard manipulation. The need to simplify things should not be a sufficient excuse to stop going forward, but when taking this next move in Power BI, it is something you should take into account. The Law of 80/20 The theory of Pareto or the 80/20 rule states that with 20 percent of the effort, 80 percent of the outcome can be obtained and vice versa. After reading this, hardcore DAX'ers may not be content, but I think 80% can be done without DAX. Power BI is a powerful instrument where valuable dashboards and observations can be generated by even beginners. More advanced dashboards would definitely rely on a broad DAX partition, of course, but a lot of

3. dashboards are fairly easy and can respond without extensive code to the users' needs. This implies that the investment is actually not worth it for many Power BI users. It could be better to just outsource the DAX part of your dashboard to a specialist in today's world of freelance networks, 24/7 networking, digital nomads, and whatnot. Where To Begin Learning DAX Okay, so it seems I've persuaded you to dive into the DAX universe. That's good news, as every software environment benefits wider society. You're probably wondering at this point where to start; well, DAX learning is difficult but not complicated per se. It will take time and effort to learn the concepts, but to get started, you will not even need a Ph.D. in Computer Science. You can learn more about DAX and other functions through Power BI online training.