Microsoft Excel 2013 Building Data Models with PowerPivot (Business Skills) 1st Edition

The authors are well known BI gurus, who have unique insight into how the PowerPivot DAX engine functions under different conditions. This book was a slow read for me, with so much technical depth to comprehend. But it provides information on PowerPivot that I haven't encountered in other PowePivot books. I found myself reading sections over and over again to try to understand what was being explained. The material can be complex, and maybe I would have preferred a few modifications to the way the material is explained. But the information is there, and it is worth the work to conquer it, to become, as the authors say, a "DAX master".The only aspect I was disappointed with are the sample excel workbooks that go along with each chapter. At times I found them to be incomplete, in terms of following the examples that are cited in the text. This can be frustrating when trying to understand new concepts. However, the book is brilliant, so this doesn't discourage me from giving it 5 stars.

This book is is targeted at Excel users who want or have to learn about Powerpivot and Dax. . It not only explains how to write calculated fields (or measures) and columns, but also gives you a lot of Information about databases and business intelligence and of courese, all things you can do with Dax and Powerpivot.The great thing about this book is that the authors were able to combine their great technical knowledge with the experience of having teached Dax for the last two years to Excel users all over the world. They know where the difficulities lie, which concepts are difficult grasp for an Excel user and how to best explain them so that they are easily understood.In case you are using Excel 2010, it is still extremely useful, as only a small portion of the book is limited to things only available in Excel 2013, and it might be good to know about them anyway.

This book covers basics such as how to load data, how to create a basic pivot table, and how to do a basic model. It also goes into DAX, the language for creating formulas. The DAX section is extremely useful, but is at a higher level than the rest of the book. The DAX section was what I found most useful because I am already familiar with basic concepts like loading data and building pivot tables. I use the DAX section as a reference when working with PowerPivot.

First, this book is not for the person who uses Excel for storing passwords and making lists. If you haven't had experience with manipulating data with pivot tables, I would start with a different book. This book is for the advanced Excel user who wants to learn Powerpivot & DAX.It's not a reference either. Plan on reading and following/doing the calculations in the companion content.I have had the book for a week and have discovered new and amazing ways to analyze data. I highly recommend this book.

I have read the earlier book as well.This book is even better. It shows key differences between the previous version of PowerPivot as well as traditional Pivot in a detailed manner.It also shows how the approach needs to be different for PowerPivot vs PowerView based BI.I recommend this book to everyone who needs to go beyond Pivot Tables (which actually means everyone who creates reports in Excel). Yes. There is a constraint because everyone does not have Excel 2013. But from my point of view the business benefits you will get due to better analytics using PowerPivot alone will pay for the incremental cost of upgrade within few months!

This is the first powerpivot book that I have read that really attempts to explain the tabular model in Powerpivot. It has an interesting focus that does not shy away from digging into the tricky conceptual issues you will encounter in Powerpivot if you use it beyond the most basic measures. In that sense it was exactly what I was looking for.But I dont think that it is necessarily well written for people like myself who are not developers but have some experience in developing Powerpivot models . It digs into some tricky row context issues right near the start of the book using SUMX formulas as an example. Chapter 6 and 7 are very hard to understand. I think I have read these chapters 5 to 6 times and I still dont get it all. A caveat is given that these chapters will probably have to be read several times to get them, but I dont think this is good enough. If it is so hard to understand then a more detailed explanation is required.Overall this is a good book that doesnt patronise its readers, but if it is aimed at Excel end users and not just developers then it could be written better. Make it 500 pages if necessary, flesh out the examples with more explanations and I will buy the next edition.

Excellent text. This is a fantastic book. I wish I could give it higher, but I feel deceived, as the kindle preview had color screen shots. I bought the physical book because there was no way to buy the kindle version, and when I got it today I found this out. ADDITIONAL NOTE: I upgraded this review, because it is unfair to penalize the content and the authors, which are the best. And, their great next book on SSAS tabular is good too - but also in black and white even though the kindle preview is color screen shots.

This is a great book written in understanding the PowerPivot for Excel 2013. It is a little advanced for the new user to PowerPivot and I would recomend Rob Collie's book first as well as some experience with the tool before reading this book. This book is geared toward someone that has had some experience with PowerPivot. It is more of a reference book than a "how to" book.

This is a fantastic book to BI readers. I recomend it like partner of another ones like the definitive guide of dax.

Même si ce commentaire vient bien tard, Ce livre, à l'usage est très bien conçu. encore aujourd'hui, j'y reviens régulièrement (plusieurs fois par an).

I am only at the middle of chapter 12 but I feel compelled to recommend this book to anyone who wants to get serious about PowerPivot.After completing the whirlwind introductory tour of PowerPivot in Kasper DeJong's book, the Russo-Ferari book takes you up to an entirely unsuspected new level.This time, ditch the inflatable arm cushions and get ready for a deep-dive into the core of it all.Be warned: this is one serious book worth both every penny and every hour spent on it. It should probably not be the first book to start up from zero - a rank beginner will most be likely be completely overwhelmed. Kasper de Jong's looks like a more suitable kickstart book.It begins easily enough, until you land in chapters 7 and 8 regarding the evaluation context. The confidence you gained so far is in for a major challenge. This is the land mine field where the first wrong turn puts a swift end to your illusions of being PowerPivot-ready.Chapter 12, covering Time Intelligence is also great at explaining what is involved.The authors made a special effort to highlight a few cases where it is better to use Excel instead of DAX and the PowerPivot data model. For instance, enriching a calendar table to identify working days and statutory holidays. It is shown how it could be done by forcing a new relationship but conclude that the extra effort and complication is totally unwarranted as there is no corresponding return for doing it the hard way.In addition to the crystal-clear explanation of the key topic (evaluation context), this book is accompanied with a large set of ready-made Excel spreadsheets (from an open Internet site).I am simply amazed at the level of detail that was put in producing these spreadsheets which consistently match exactly the screenshots in the book. Up to chapter 13, I have not found a single instance where the results shown in the book do not match what I can experiment with using the spreadsheets. That alone is a tour de force.

These guys are the masters. Outstanding coverage. Concepts have been explained well. I am doing an online video course as well, which makes deciphering complex concepts in the book a tad easier. On the whole - a great book to have if you want to crack dax.

Es un libro básico y necesario si quieres aprender DAX. Por un lado, ayuda a entender cómo funciona por dentro el motor de powerpivot y, por otro, a aprender las diferentes funciones que componen este complemento de Excel y el lenguaje DAX.Comienza realizando una introducción a Powerpivot, para posteriormente explicar cómo funciona internamente la herramienta y el modelo de datos. Después, se centra en cómo utilizar la herramienta con temas dedicados a la carga de los datos a usar, cómo publicar los resultados en Sahrepoint y, sobre todo, cómo aplicar el lenguaje DAX desde los niveles más básicos hasta los más avanzados.Es un libro bastante técnico. Se centra mucho en cómo funcionan por dentro las herramientas y las funciones pero, aún así contiene bastantes elementos prácticos de cómo usar las funciones. Como usuario de Excel (y no SQL Server) se me hizo bastante complicado entender ciertas partes, pero es cierto que si quieres aprovechar todo el potencial de Powerpivot necesitas saber cómo es por dentro.Imprescindibles los capítulos 7 y 8 para entender cómo funciona los contextos de evaluación y CALCULATE. Como dice el libro ... Igual hay que leérselos 2 ó 3 veces (o más) para comprenderlos 100% pero una vez lo haces ..... Vuelas.El libro está escrito por los principales gurús (junto con Rob Collie) de todo lo relacionado con Powerpivot. De hecho, si usas/lees este libro junto con el de Rob Collie titulado DAX Formulas For Powerpivot aprenderás mucho más rápido. Uno te da los fundamentos (este) y el otro te ofrece muchas formas de aplicarlos.