Using SQL view as a source or building a model from this view

Hi Anonymous ,

It is generally recommended to create a proper data model with fact and dimension tables, and establish relationships between them. This approach is known as the star schema or snowflake schema.

In a star schema, the fact table contains the measures (such as depot) and foreign keys to the dimension tables. The dimension tables contain the descriptive attributes (such as categories) that are used to slice and dice the measures.

By creating a proper data model, you can take advantage of the benefits of Power BI such as filtering, slicing, drill-down, and drill-through. You can also improve the performance of your report by reducing the amount of data that needs to be loaded and processed.

However, if the SQL view provided by the client already contains all the necessary data and relationships, and the report is not too large, it may be acceptable to use the view directly. In this case, you can still create additional tables in Power Query to use as slicers or filters, as you have mentioned.

In summary, the best approach depends on the specific requirements of the project, the size of the report, and the complexity of the data. If the data is complex and the report is large, it is generally recommended to create a proper data model with fact and dimension tables. If the data is simple and the report is small, it may be acceptable to use the SQL view directly.

Best Regards,

Stephen Tao

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