Book Image

Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Certification Guide

By : Orrin Edenfield, Edward Corcoran
5 (1)
Book Image

Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Certification Guide

5 (1)
By: Orrin Edenfield, Edward Corcoran

Overview of this book

Microsoft Power BI enables organizations to create a data-driven culture with business intelligence for all. This guide to achieving the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Associate certification will help you take control of your organization's data and pass the exam with confidence. From getting started with Power BI to connecting to data sources, including files, databases, cloud services, and SaaS providers, to using Power BI’s built-in tools to build data models and produce visualizations, this book will walk you through everything from setup to preparing for the certification exam. Throughout the chapters, you'll get detailed explanations and learn how to analyze your data, prepare it for consumption by business users, and maintain an enterprise environment in a secure and efficient way. By the end of this book, you'll be able to create and maintain robust reports and dashboards, enabling you to manage a data-driven enterprise, and be ready to take the PL-300 exam with confidence.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
1
Part 1 – Preparing the Data
6
Part 2 – Modeling the Data
11
Part 3 – Visualizing the Data
15
Part 4 – Analyzing the Data
18
Part 5 – Deploying and Maintaining Deliverables
21
Part 6 – Practice Exams

Optimizing measures, relationships, and visuals

Measures in Power BI are driven by DAX queries. To optimize DAX queries (and measures), we must understand how Power BI uses both a Formula Engine (FE) and an SE, which make up the backend technology. Simply put, the SE is where imported data is stored in the highly compressed columnar VertiPaq format, and the FE is where data can be calculated based on the requirements in DAX queries.

The SE provides a single interface for the FE to query and retrieve data. It functions to store data or provide a conduit for underlying data stores in cases where data is connected using DirectQuery. The SE is built into Power BI Desktop and is also part of the underlying technology used in SQL Server Analysis Services and Azure Analysis Services.

The FE is the query processor that takes DAX queries as input, interacts with the SE, and then returns data to Power BI visuals in reports and dashboards. The FE does not have direct access to every kind...