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

Performing currency calculations


Currency calculations are a unique type of calculation, because the value that is returned to the user needs to be dynamically determined within the model, based on their input (choice of currency). This relies on two dynamic types of data, which can change within the model and therefore may impact the calculation. Firstly, the rate used can be changed (that is, a change to the rate of existing data) or secondly, new currencies can be added or removed to the currency data that requires a new conversion to be created. Unlike the previous calculations that we have seen in this book, the calculation must dynamically determine the rate that is to be applied in conversions based on the available data in the model. Because additional currency data could be added at any time, it is simply not possible to add additional columns to our target table to precalculate a value in a target currency and materialize it in a table. If we wanted to materialize values for each...