You’ve probably faced this already: counterintuitive value of the total in a table or matrix visual in Power BI. For example, the values from 2 visible rows are 20 and 30, so that is 50 when you sum it up. But the total keeps showing 200 for some reason.

But why is this happening? Can’t Power BI (DAX engine, to be specific), just sum up the individual cell values to compute the total? Well, the answer to this question is a bit more complex. But here’s the good news for you: the whole thing is quite quick and easy to solve once you know how to get onto it. If you don’t, then you might just as well spend hours trying to make the total display the expected value.

There is a number of scenarios, varying by complexity, that can lead to unintuitive totals. During this session we will explore them and see how to tackle each of the use-cases during a live demo. We will also brainstorm on the opposite side of the coin – that is, when it might not actually be a good idea to make the total more intuitive.

After this session you will:
• Know how to make the total intuitive in a number of scenarios varying by complexity.
• Understand why the totals are not always intuitive, but still correct.
• Be aware of what do the additive, semi-additive and non-additive measures have to do with the Power BI totals.

It would be great if prior to attending this session you would have a general understanding of DAX, dimensional modelling and would have created a couple of reports yourself.