DirectQuery datasets need stricter certification than Import. One unbounded report page can issue dozens of SQL statements per user interaction.
Report and model rules
- Enable Query reduction (Apply button) on high-cardinality slicers — Settings → Query reduction — so filter changes do not fire SQL on every click.
- Ban Visual-level filters that duplicate page filters without purpose; prefer shared filter tables.
- Require Summarize / aggregation awareness on large facts; do not expose raw transactional grain to every self-service author.
Platform settings to document
Document the dataset’s Maximum connections per data source (model setting) and the SQL command timeout. If Capacity Autoscale or Fabric CU spikes correlate with dashboard open rates at 09:00, treat that as a design smell — not more CU by default. Log the SQL login used by the gateway data source; auditors ask whose credentials hit production.
Certification checklist must include a DBA-reviewed execution plan for the top three visuals (captured via Performance Analyzer → copy queries → run in SSMS with SET STATISTICS IO ON).