Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) [Paperback]

Cindi Howson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072226811 | ISBN-13: 978-0072226812 | Publication Date: May 2, 2003 | Edition: 1

If your objective in business intelligence reporting is Business Objects success, this is the resource for you. Gives a thorough run-down of the software, plus coverage of Web intelligence, complex queries, multidimensional analysis, and more. Author Cindi Howson has plenty of hands-on experience with the product.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Definitive Resource on BusinessObjects

Covers BusinessObjects administrator and end-user tools for query, reporting, and analysis

Improve profitability and operations in your company by leveraging BusinessObjects with help from this comprehensive guidebook. Divided into three digestible sections, Business Objects: The Complete Reference will help you get fully acquainted with this sophisticated tool set, design and build a user-friendly interface, then reap the rewards of reporting and analysis. Learn how to align your implementation with business goals, define user segments, devise the best deployment strategy, and design and build your universe to ensure success. Finally, create reports that will help you explore and analyze data, make complex queries, and improve business decision-making and execution based on one of the leading business intelligence tools.

• Determine your goals and implement a BusinessObjects deployment strategy
• Use marketing techniques to boost BusinessObjects usage
• Create the appropriate business representation of your data warehouse or transaction database
• Enhance your universe with custom hierarchies and drill through to detail
• Design insightful reports using tables, charts, breaks, and formulas
• Access, analyze, and explore huge amounts of data to improve profitability and manage costs
• Translate a business question into an efficient query
• Customize the portal to create a simple Web-based dashboard

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Product Details

• Paperback: 770 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (May 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072226811
• ISBN-13: 978-0072226812
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As an industry analyst and BI consultant, I publish product reviews on BIScorecard.com and write for Intelligent Enterprise. I teach for TDWI and consult with customers who are selecting a BI tool and BI strategy.

I grew up in NJ and MD and moved to Switzerland where I first began my career in BI in the early 1990s. Giving into the frustration of trying to build a BI application for income statement analysis that I didn't understand, I earned my MBA at Rice University in Houston, TX.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than BO!, June 2, 2003

By 

Steve Haffner "shaffner" (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

Based on the first section alone, Getting Ready for Business Objects, I would recommend this book to anyone just starting out in the Business Intelligence space! Finally someone has come out with a workable model for BI implementation. It is obvious Ms. Howson actually operates in the real world and understands that sometimes you have to OLTP before you STAR and OLAP.

In addition to this lagniappe, there are solid explanations of Universe Design and Report Creation principles. I actually prefer the WROX line of books, but this compares nicely in terms of technical depth. The book provides perspective from both the IT professional and the end user. However, it provides no explanation of how to install or tune Business Objects servers. Basically, it assumes that Business Objects is up and running.

I would say that the book is primarily for Business Objects Administrators who use Designer, Supervisor, Full Client and WebI to meet the reporting needs of their end user community. However, if you just need to learn how to create reports and talk to your IT shop it is an excellent tool as well. If you are looking for the best Business Objects book written to date...then you have found it....don't waste your money on the other books.

One downfall of the book is that no CD was included. You must download the reporting database, sample universe and reports from the web. Also, it would have been nice if the book was available in electronic format as well.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Business Objects: The Complete Reference, June 15, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

As a reference guide, the book is extremely valuable. I have seen other books on this subject that are essentially a copy of the help guide. Not to mention that the pricing is 2 to 3 times what a normal book would cost.

The examples are good and the index is pretty complete. A test for a good reference book is that you can readily find the solution to a particular problem. Ms. Howson's book certainly fits the bill.

It would have been nice to have more how to descriptions and practical solutions to common business problems.

5.0 out of 5 stars Business Objects: The Complete Reference, May 13, 2007

By 

S. Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

I have not gotten through the entire book yet but so far it has addressed all my needes. I found it to be more than just a reference manual. It takes you through eash aspect of the product in a fair amount of detail. It also give you best practices, the kind of thing I would hope to get in classroom instruction.