22-25 April 2026

What NOT TO DO in DAX

Proposed session for SQLBits 2026

TL; DR

In this session you will learn what things should not be done in DAX to avoid performance issues and incorrect calcuations

Session Details

DAX is a hard language. Tabular is a very fast engine but bad DAX practices can turn its performance into bad. Understanding how to avoid known pitfalls will reduce this risk. In this session the most dangerous practices will be examined, reasons for the bad perfomance explained and alternatives provided so to take the best out of Tabular and DAX in Power BI, Power Pivot and Analysis Services.

3 things you'll get out of this session

- identify bad practices in DAX - understand the reason why they are bad practices - find alternative ways to get to target avoiding the bad practices