Documentation standards in Power BI - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows example documentation standards for Power BI measures including measure name, description, and formula.

Cell	Value
A1	Measure Name
B1	Description
C1	Formula
A2	Total Sales
B2	Sum of all sales amounts
C2	SUM(Sales[Amount])
A3	Average Sales
B3	Average sales per transaction
C3	AVERAGE(Sales[Amount])
A4	Sales Growth %
B4	Percentage growth compared to previous year
C4	DIVIDE([Total Sales] - [Total Sales LY], [Total Sales LY])

Formula Trace

SUM(Sales[Amount])

Step 1: Sales[Amount]

Step 2: SUM([100, 200, 150, 50])

Cell Reference Map

Amount

↓

Amount

↓

Total Sales

The documentation table references measure names, their descriptions, and the DAX formulas used.

Result

   A           B                          C
1  Total Sales  Sum of all sales amounts   500

The result shows the Total Sales measure calculated as the sum of sales amounts, documented clearly with name and description.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Why is it important to include a description for each measure in documentation?

A To explain what the measure calculates in simple terms

B To make the formula longer

C To confuse users

D To hide the formula

Key Result

Documentation tables list measure names, descriptions, and formulas for clarity and ease of use.