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Power BI semantic model design

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Power BI semantic model design

How to design Power BI / Fabric semantic models for performance, usability, and reuse — star schemas, measures, and best practices.

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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01

Star schema as the foundation

The single most important design principle: star schema. Centre fact tables (transactional / event data) surrounded by dimension tables (descriptive lookup data):

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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02

DAX measures vs calculated columns

Two ways to add calculations:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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03

Naming conventions

Good naming is the difference between a usable model and a confusing one.

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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04

Measure tables

A common pattern: create a measures table (an empty placeholder table) and put all measures there. The model browser groups them visibly, separated from columns. For complex models with hundreds of measures, multiple me…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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05

Storage modes

Three modes per table:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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06

Performance tuning

For models that feel slow:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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07

Documentation

For semantic models consumed by many people:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/power-bi-semantic-model-design

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