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Power BI Desktop and Service Part 2: Data Modelling and DAX

Build star-schema data models with date tables, relationships and hierarchies, then add calculated columns, measures, CALCULATE and time intelligence with DAX.

Created byGrant Gamble
IntermediateUpdated Oct 23, 2026
Power BI Desktop and Service Part 2: Data Modelling and DAX

What You'll Learn

  • check_circleDesign a data model with fact and dimension tables, including SQL Server views prepared for Power BI
  • check_circleCreate and mark date tables using Power Query, external sources and DAX
  • check_circleDefine automatic, manual, date and concatenated-key relationships between tables
  • check_circleOrganise data with formal and informal hierarchies, groups and bins
  • check_circleWrite DAX calculated columns, calculated tables and measures using functions such as RELATED, SUMX and SUMMARIZE
  • check_circleUse CALCULATE and time intelligence functions to produce year-to-date, prior-period, running and moving totals

About This Course

A Power BI report is only as good as the data model behind it. This course, Part 2 of a three-part Power BI series, teaches you to build well-structured data models in Power BI Desktop and to add the calculations that turn them into real business insight using DAX.

You will start by learning the building blocks of a data model, then design fact and dimension tables, create date tables, define relationships and organise your data with hierarchies and groups. You will then move on to DAX: calculated columns, calculated tables, measures, the CALCULATE function and time intelligence. The course is hands-on throughout: every file used in the videos is supplied, each section opens with an overview and closes with a summary, and an interactive PDF workbook accompanies the course.

What you will cover:

  • Data modelling fundamentals: data tables and columns, calculated tables and columns, relationships, measures, hierarchies and rows of data.
  • Fact and dimension tables: creating a schema, views and a dedicated login in SQL Server, connecting to views, and using relationship columns and Merge Queries.
  • Date tables: disabling Auto Date/Time, building date tables in Power Query and DAX, using external date tables and marking a date table.
  • Relationships: automatic and manual relationships, date column relationships and concatenated-key relationships.
  • Hierarchies and groups: date and business hierarchies, groups, bins and informal hierarchies.
  • Calculated columns and tables: calculated versus computed columns, RELATED and RELATEDTABLE, CALENDAR, ADDCOLUMNS, SUMMARIZE and FILTER.
  • Measures: explicit versus implicit measures, SUMX and AVERAGEX, actual-to-target and margin calculations, and aggregating virtual tables.
  • CALCULATE and time intelligence: CALCULATE with Booleans, FILTER and ALL, year-to-date, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, DATEADD, PARALLELPERIOD, running totals and moving annual totals.

The Power BI series

  • Part 1: Get and Transform Data
  • Part 2: Data Modelling and DAX (this course)
  • Part 3: Reports, Dashboards and the Power BI Service

Who this course is for:

  • Power BI users who can bring data in and now want to model it properly and write DAX.
  • Analysts and report writers who need reliable calculations such as year-on-year growth, margins and running totals.
  • Finance, operations and sales professionals who build management reporting in Power BI.
  • Learners who have completed Part 1 of the series, or have equivalent experience with Power Query.

Your Instructor

Grant Gamble

CEO of AI Awareness Limited | 25+ years in IT training | Helping non-technical professionals go from AI-curious to AI-confident

menu_book8 courses
star4 reviews

Grant Gamble has spent over 25 years in IT and technology training, working with businesses across the UK on practical AI adoption. He is CEO of AI Awareness Limited and founder of G Com Solutions Limited, and specialises in helping non-technical professionals move from AI-curious to AI-confident through hands-on, domain-specific training and certification. Grant's view is that AI is not a single tool but a set of capabilities spread across every department, often underused or ungoverned. The organisations making real progress are not the ones running generic awareness programmes; they are the ones mapping specific AI capabilities to specific workflows and giving their people the time and permission to use them. His courses take exactly that approach. His teaching covers practical AI literacy for non-technical professionals, AI skills and workforce readiness, and the governance and responsible use of AI at work. Expect a hands-on style: real business examples, clear explanations of why each technique works, and skills you can apply to your own work straight away.

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Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 300+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 27 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.

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