Why data modeling connects related tables in Power BI - Dashboard Impact

Dashboard Mode - Why data modeling connects related tables

Business Question

How can connecting related tables help us analyze sales data by product and region?

Sample Data

SaleID	ProductID	RegionID	Quantity	SaleAmount
1	101	1	5	500
2	102	2	3	300
3	101	2	2	200
4	103	1	4	400
5	102	3	1	100

ProductID	ProductName
101	Widget
102	Gadget
103	Doohickey

RegionID	RegionName
1	North
2	South
3	East

Dashboard Components

KPI Card: Total Sales Amount

Formula: Total Sales = SUM(Sales[SaleAmount])

Result: 1500

Table: Sales by Product and Region

Uses relationships to show product names and region names with sales.

Columns: ProductName, RegionName, Total Quantity, Total Sales

Measures:

• Total Quantity = SUM(Sales[Quantity])
• Total Sales = SUM(Sales[SaleAmount])

Sample rows:

ProductName	RegionName	Total Quantity	Total Sales
Widget	North	5	500
Widget	South	2	200
Gadget	South	3	300
Gadget	East	1	100
Doohickey	North	4	400

Bar Chart: Sales Amount by Region

Shows total sales per region using the relationship to Region table.

Measure: Total Sales = SUM(Sales[SaleAmount])

Values:

• North: 900
• South: 500
• East: 100

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|  KPI: Total Sales    |  Bar Chart: Sales by  |
|                      |  Region              |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|      Table: Sales by Product and Region          |
|                                                  |
+--------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Filters on ProductName or RegionName update the table and bar chart automatically because the tables are connected by relationships.

For example, selecting 'Widget' in a slicer filters the table and bar chart to show only sales for Widget.

Self Check

If you add a filter for RegionName = 'North', which components update?

• The KPI card updates to show total sales only for North (900).
• The table updates to show sales only for North region.
• The bar chart updates to show sales only for North region (900).

Key Result

Dashboard shows total sales and detailed sales by product and region using connected tables.