Ravindra BagaleCourses & study guides

27. Performance Tips

27.5 DAX Best Practices

  • Measures over calculated columns for aggregations – measures are computed only when needed and take no storage.
  • Use variables to avoid calculating the same expression twice.
  • Use DIVIDE instead of IF(denominator = 0, …) patterns.
  • Filter columns, not tables: CALCULATE([Total Sales], Product[Category] = "Snacks") rather than FILTER(Orders, RELATED(Product[Category]) = "Snacks").
  • Avoid iterating large tables with complex row-by-row logic when a simple aggregation works.
  • Reduce use of FORMAT in measures that feed large tables.
  • Return BLANK instead of 0 where appropriate – visuals then skip empty combinations rather than showing thousands of zero rows.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

A common DAX performance mistake is using FILTER over an entire fact table, and repeating sub-expressions. Use column filters inside CALCULATE, store repeated values in variables, and prefer DIVIDE. Test a slow measure in DAX Studio to see the server timings. It's very simple – just make it a habit.