Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari describe model dependency:
In a previous article, Introducing user-defined functions in DAX, we introduced the syntax and the capabilities of this feature that was introduced in preview in September 2025. While there could be many ways to categorize functions, every function can be one of the following:
- Model-independent function – Has no references to specific tables, columns, calendars, or measures within a semantic model. A model-independent function can have dependencies on other model-independent functions, but it cannot depend on a model-dependent function.
- Model-dependent function – Has one or more direct or indirect references to specific tables, columns, calendars, measures, or other model-dependent functions within a semantic model.
Read on to learn more about each of these categories.