A one-day masterclass focused on the modern Power BI Desktop and DAX experience. The course highlights the most important Power BI Desktop and DAX improvements from the last two years, including DAX Query View, calculation groups, visual calculations, recent DAX capabilities, and the shift toward AI-ready semantic models.
Basic topics list
Description
This opening section sets the context for the day. Power BI Desktop has changed significantly, and modern DAX work is no longer only about writing measures in the formula bar and checking the result in a visual. The newer experience encourages testing, reusable logic, clearer semantic models, and more deliberate separation between model-level calculations and visual-level calculations.
Topics
Key takeaway
Attendees should understand that modern Power BI work is not just about writing individual measures. It is about building a reliable semantic layer that supports reports, users, and AI-assisted analysis.
Description
This is the modeling foundation of the masterclass. The course should emphasize that AI querying does not magically fix a messy model. If tables, columns, relationships, measures, and descriptions are unclear, AI experiences will struggle to return reliable answers. A strong semantic model needs clear business meaning, not just technically correct relationships.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
A smart semantic model is not just a data structure. It is a communication layer between the data, report developers, business users, and AI experiences. Microsoft’s Copilot guidance makes the semantic model central to answering data questions, which makes model clarity and metadata more important.
Description
This section connects the course title directly to day-to-day DAX work. The focus should be on writing measures that are readable, reusable, testable, and aligned with business logic. This should not become a beginner DAX syntax session, but it should refresh the core patterns that matter most in modern models.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
Better measures are not just shorter formulas. They are measures with clearer intent, less duplication, better structure, and more predictable behavior.
Description
This should be one of the signature sections of the day. DAX Query View gives Power BI developers a more professional way to test, inspect, and validate calculations directly inside Power BI Desktop. It moves DAX development away from “put it in a visual and hope it works” toward a more deliberate testing workflow. Microsoft describes DAX Query View as the Power BI Desktop experience for writing and running DAX queries against the semantic model.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
DAX Query View should become part of the regular development workflow for serious Power BI authors.
Description
Calculation groups deserve a central place in the course. They are one of the strongest examples of “write better measures, build smarter models” because they reduce repeated measures and centralize logic. Native Power BI support also makes them more approachable for users who previously relied on external tools. Microsoft documents creating calculation groups in Power BI, including calculation items, selected measure behavior, and dynamic format strings.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
Calculation groups help move repeated logic out of individual measures and into a reusable calculation layer.
Description
This section should highlight recent and important DAX capabilities without becoming a function-by-function reference. The emphasis should be on what these functions make easier, where they fit, and how they change practical modeling or reporting patterns. Microsoft maintains a dedicated list of new and updated DAX functions, and notes that new DAX functionality is typically introduced first in Power BI Desktop.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
The focus is not memorizing new functions. The focus is recognizing when recent DAX capabilities make business calculations clearer, shorter, or easier to maintain.
Part 7: Visual Calculations: Where They Fit
Description
Visual calculations are important to include because they are one of the clearest recent changes in how Power BI users can write DAX. But they need careful positioning. They are useful for visual-specific logic, but they should not replace properly modeled business measures. Microsoft describes visual calculations as DAX calculations defined and run directly on a visual rather than stored in the semantic model.
Topics
Practical examples
Key takeaway
Use visual calculations for visual-specific analysis. Use model measures and calculation groups for reusable, governed business logic.
Description
This final section turns the day into a repeatable framework. It should help attendees leave with a clear way to apply what they learned in their own models.
Topics
! Mac versions are not supported, and Power BI Desktop does not have a Mac version.
20, 21, 22 October 2026
Van Gogh 7 Event Space, Sofia
