The recommended star schema design is to create a fact table and separate dimensions for Date, Customer, and Product. This is correct because a star schema organizes data into a central fact table containing quantitative measures—here, the Transactions table with Quantity and Amount—surrounded by descriptive dimension tables that provide context for filtering and grouping, such as Date, Customer, and Product. On the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst PL-300 exam, this question tests your understanding of dimensional modeling best practices for sales analysis, often appearing as a scenario where you must avoid common traps like flattening all data into a single table or merging Customer and Product into one dimension, which breaks normalization and star schema principles. A key memory tip is to think of the fact table as the “what happened” (sales transactions) and dimensions as the “who, what, when” (customer, product, date). Remember: one fact, many dimensions—never combine them.
PL-300 Model the data Practice Question
This PL-300 practice question tests your understanding of model the data. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You need to design a data model for a sales analysis that includes measures for total sales, sales by product, and sales by customer. The source data has a 'Transactions' table with columns: TransactionID, Date, CustomerID, ProductID, Quantity, Amount. What is the recommended star schema design?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a fact table and separate dimensions for Date, Customer, and Product
Option C is correct because a star schema has a fact table (Transactions) and dimension tables for Date, Customer, Product. Option A is wrong because a single flat table is not a star schema. Option B is wrong because placing Customer and Product in the same dimension violates star schema. Option D is wrong because splitting into two fact tables is not necessary.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Create two fact tables: one for sales and one for customers
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessarily complex; one fact table suffices.
✓
Create a fact table and separate dimensions for Date, Customer, and Product
Why this is correct
This follows star schema best practices.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a single table with all columns
Why it's wrong here
This is not a star schema; it's denormalized.
✗
Create a fact table and one dimension containing Customer and Product
Why it's wrong here
Customer and Product should be separate dimensions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PL-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Model the data — This question tests Model the data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a fact table and separate dimensions for Date, Customer, and Product — Option C is correct because a star schema has a fact table (Transactions) and dimension tables for Date, Customer, Product. Option A is wrong because a single flat table is not a star schema. Option B is wrong because placing Customer and Product in the same dimension violates star schema. Option D is wrong because splitting into two fact tables is not necessary.
What should I do if I get this PL-300 question wrong?
Identify which PL-300 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are designing a Power BI data model for a sales analysis. The model includes a table named Sales with columns: OrderID, OrderDate, CustomerID, ProductID, Quantity, UnitPrice. You need to create a star schema. Which TWO tables should you create as dimension tables?
medium
A.Calendar
✓ B.Product
C.Sales
D.Orders
✓ E.Customer
Why B: In a star schema, dimension tables contain descriptive attributes that provide context for the measures stored in the fact table. Product is a classic dimension because it holds product details (e.g., name, category) that describe the sales facts. Customer is also a dimension because it stores customer attributes (e.g., name, region) used for slicing and dicing sales data.
Variation 2. You are designing a star schema for a sales analysis report. The source data includes Order Details, Products, Customers, and Dates. Which table should be the fact table?
hard
A.Dates
B.Customers
✓ C.Order Details
D.Products
Why C: Option A is correct because Order Details contains transactional measures (quantity, price) and foreign keys to dimensions. Option B (Products) is a dimension. Option C (Customers) is a dimension. Option D (Dates) is a dimension.
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This PL-300 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-300 exam.
Question Discussion
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