Designing a model
In Chapter 4, we talked about how the design of your semantic model starts in phase 1, which is when you start asking questions and recording the requirements. We call this design thinking. But before we explore this further, let’s try to understand what a semantic model is, and what it should ideally look like.
Multiple design methods can be used to design a semantic model in Power BI. However, the recommended approach by Microsoft, and what Power BI is best used with, is the star schema. We have already touched upon this in previous chapters, but we shall dive deep here.
What is dimensional modeling?
Dimensional modeling, also known as the star schema methodology, was made popular by Ralph Kimball and has been used for a very long time to design data warehouses. If you look at a semantic model very closely, it carries a lot of characteristics of a data warehouse. You can also think of a semantic model as an enhanced, specialized piece of a data warehouse...
