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EnterpriseDNA

'What If' Analysis Techniques For Power BI

In this post, I want to dive into 'What if' analysis and why it is so powerful to utilize this technique inside your Power BI models and reports.

 

When utilizing 'What if' parameters, you can run scenarios and scenario type analysis on your data. With this, you can look forward or look historically and analyze what would have happened if a different scenario had played out. This is why 'What if' parameters are so powerful. Implementing this in your models and Power BI reports enables you to create advanced analytics that can be classified as prediction or forecasting of what 'could' happen in the future.

 

I'm including here three great examples on how you can utilize 'What if' parameters. From initially just starting out, if you haven't used them before in your models, up to how you can incorporate very advanced logic around the features available to us.

 

If you're just getting started with 'What if' parameters, this video is perfect to get you going. It showcases how you can utilize the feature, what it implements within your model, and how you can incorporate it to your report pages while integrating the parameters you input into DAX calculations.

 


In this second video, I run through how you can layer 'What if' parameters. This is a unique technique where you can layer multiple different variables into your results.

 

You can layer things like changes in price, changes in demand, and changes in cost all on top of each other. Then essentially shock results to see what may happen or could have happened if these particular variables played out in your calculations.

 


In this third example, we will go through how you can incorporate some advanced logic around these 'What if' parameters.

 

This was taken from a real-life example that an Enterprise DNA member wanted to analyze. They wanted to see what would happen to their overall results if they reduced the prices on some goods in their store. This would hopefully increase to foot traffic across their entire retail site, therefore, increasing demand and sales of all the other products that were not discounted.

 

These are some really powerful insights you discover when using Power BI effectively. I go into how you can incorporate details in your model and into your DAX formulas to achieve this type of analysis in this particular video tutorial.

 


Hopefully, by reviewing these examples, you can really understand the power you have analytically when you utilize the 'What if' parameters successfully in your model and reports.

 

There are so many ways you could ultimately take these analysis techniques using these features. But hopefully, with the examples reviewed here, you can see at least the potential and then try to slowly work them into the scenario that you might be working with at the moment.

 

All the best in utilizing these techniques.

 

Sam

 

  

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