Book Image

Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook

By : Paul te Braak
Book Image

Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook

By: Paul te Braak

Overview of this book

Business Intelligence Semantic Models (BISM) is a technology that is designed to deliver analytical information to users through a variety of mechanisms that include model structure, definition, and design. This book demonstrates how to create BISM models so that information can be presented to users in an intuitive and easy-to-use format. Once the model is defined, we also show you how it can be managed and maintained so that the data in it remains current and secure. Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook is an all-encompassing guide to developing, managing, creating, and using analytical models using the Business Intelligence Semantic Model (BISM). This title covers a range of modeling situations and common data analysis related problems to show you the techniques required to turn data into information using tabular modeling. Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook examines three areas of tabular modeling: model development, model management and maintenance, and reporting. This book is a practical guide on how to develop semantic models and turn business data into information. It covers all phases of the model lifecycle from creation to administration and finally reporting. It also shows you how to create models which are designed to analyze data. All sections of BISM modeling from development to management and finally reporting are covered. The sections on development examine a wide range of techniques and tricks required to build models, including moving data into the model, structuring the model to manipulate the data, and finally the formulas required to answer common business questions; all of these are discussed in this book in detail. Finally, the book examines methods of reporting on the data within the model, including the creation of data-driven workbooks and reports for a powerful end user experience.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Relative Time – pivoting around measures


A Relative Time dimension is an example of a Utility dimension, a dimension that does not directly join to the data being analyzed, and is not directly used to slice and dice data. Rather, the Utility dimension assists the modeler (and user) by making the presentation of the model more user-friendly. An example of this is allowing the user to select a measure to show in the pivot they create (or report), by allowing them to select a dimension member (that is, the measure name from a list of options).

Consider the following screenshot, which shows a very simple proforma report with Years and Months on rows, and the product categories on columns. A Utility dimension allows the user to select the measure that they wish to see in the report data area. They do not have to alter the pivot table by dragging a measure to the Values section of the pivot table layout.

Tip

A proforma can be thought of as a shell report layout. In the following screenshot, we can...