SKEW.P OpenBI

How lopsided a column's numbers are when they are all there is: the population skewness, as Excel's SKEW.P.

Skewness says which way the values lean: 0 for a symmetric spread, positive when a few large values make a long tail to the right (most order sizes, most prices), negative for a long tail to the left.

Group: Aggregation. OpenBI’s own: DAX has no function of this name.

Syntax

SKEW.P ( <ColumnName> )

Returns

Number. The population skewness of the column's values in the filter context; BLANK for fewer than three values, or when they are all equal.

Remarks

• The population skewness, the one Excel's SKEW.P gives: the mean of the cubed differences from the mean, divided by the population standard deviation cubed - √n × s3 ÷ s2^1.5, where s2 and s3 add up the squared and cubed differences of the n values from their mean.
• Blanks are left out. Fewer than three values, or values that are all the same, give BLANK, as Excel's SKEW.P gives an error for them.
• Its result is a little closer to 0 than SKEW.S gives for the same values; the two come together as the number of values grows.

Compared with DAX

An OpenBI function: DAX has none like it, so a measure or query that uses it works in OpenBI only, not in Power BI or Analysis Services.

Excel's SKEW.P gives the same number for the same values.

Examples

The prices per liter, both ways

EVALUATE
ROW (
    "Population", SKEW.P ( Products[Price per liter] ),
    "Sample", SKEW.S ( Products[Price per liter] )
)

Each category's prices

Beer has three products; cider one, too few.

EVALUATE
ADDCOLUMNS (
    VALUES ( Products[Category] ),
    "Skewness", CALCULATE ( SKEW.P ( Products[Price per liter] ) )
)
ORDER BY Products[Category]

Related functions

SKEW.S, SKEWX.P, KURT.P, STDEV.P.

Last updated 8 November 2026 · OpenBI Studio 0.3.78