Reducing model size in Power BI - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Reducing model size

Business Question

How can we reduce the size of our Power BI data model to improve performance and save storage?

Sample Data

OrderID	Product	Category	Quantity	Price	OrderDate
1001	Notebook	Stationery	10	2.5	2024-01-10
1002	Pen	Stationery	20	1.2	2024-01-11
1003	Chair	Furniture	5	45	2024-01-12
1004	Desk	Furniture	2	120	2024-01-13
1005	Marker	Stationery	15	3	2024-01-14
1006	Lamp	Furniture	3	30	2024-01-15

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: Total Sales = SUMX(Sales, Sales[Quantity] * Sales[Price])
  Shows total revenue from all sales.
• Table: Sales Data
  Shows raw sales data with columns OrderID, Product, Category, Quantity, Price, OrderDate.
• Bar Chart: Sales by Category
  Formula: Sales by Category = SUMX(Sales, Sales[Quantity] * Sales[Price])
  Shows total sales grouped by product category.
• Measure: Distinct Products Count
  Formula: Distinct Products = DISTINCTCOUNT(Sales[Product])
  Counts unique products sold.
• Measure: Model Size Reduction Tips
  Text box listing tips:
  • Remove unused columns
  • Use numeric data types instead of text where possible
  • Aggregate data before loading
  • Disable auto date/time if not needed

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-----------------------+
|      Total Sales      | Distinct Products      |
|       (KPI Card)      |       (KPI Card)       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+
|                                              |
|           Sales by Category (Bar Chart)      |
|                                              |
+----------------------------------------------+
|                                              |
|               Sales Data (Table)              |
|                                              |
+----------------------------------------------+
|                                              |
|          Model Size Reduction Tips (Text)    |
|                                              |
+----------------------------------------------+
  

Interactivity

Adding a slicer for Category will filter the Sales Data table, the Sales by Category bar chart, and update the Total Sales and Distinct Products KPIs accordingly. This helps focus on specific product categories and see how model size reduction tips apply to filtered data.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Category = Furniture, which components update?

• The Total Sales KPI will show sales only for Furniture.
• The Distinct Products KPI will count only Furniture products.
• The Sales by Category bar chart will show only Furniture category data.
• The Sales Data table will list only Furniture sales rows.
• The Model Size Reduction Tips text remains unchanged.

Key Result

Dashboard showing total sales, product counts, sales by category, and tips to reduce Power BI model size.