Statistical Analysis in Excel and SQL Server Analysis Services: An Example using Boxplot

To offset the lack of commonly-used statistical calculations in Analysis Services, the author describes an approach for creating statistical calculations in SSAS and visualizing the results using Excel pivot tables, to combine slice-and-dice filtering with statistical functions in customizable charts. The boxplot is used as an example to demonstrate the technique, and tips are provided for how to extend the technique to other statistical functions, such as the probability density function.