Customer Reviews

BusinessObjects XI (Release 2): The Complete Reference

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I recently purchased the "Complete Reference Business Objects XI (R2)" by Cindi Howson.

She has worked closely with Business Objects (foreword by B. Liautaud, founder of Business Objects) and technical editors who are Business Objects employees, which has its advantages (inside knowledge).

On the universe/Designer side the book does cover the SQL parameters of universes such as SQL ANSI92 syntax, aggregate awareness, index awareness, universes built directly against OLAP cubes, fan/chasm traps, loops, contexts and aliases, etc. The problematic involving semi-additive measures is mentionend as well. The OLAP technology with advantages/disadvantages is well explained.

Cindi prefers putting most of the Intelligence in the universe

WebIntelligence with its formulas is covered in depth.

What is missing:
Cindi clearly states in her introduction that her book does not cover Crystal Reports, Performance Management, DataIntegrator, or Live Office.

Further the challenge on how to setup a Business Objects system in detail nor the many options in the CMS (setting up complex security, best practices, etc.) did not find its way into the book. The "rights fidelity" and "merge" options in the import/export wizard are only briefly mentioned. Although cascading prompts are covered, the many shortcomings of cascading prompts in Business Objects are not (cascading prompts in Crystal Reports work better).

What is clearly missing is a cd with the book in electronic format acompanying the printed edition.

This book is the only reference book for XI (covering universe design as well as reports) as far as I am aware.

I can see that a lot of work went into this book and it does a pretty good job of explaining Business Objects at a high level. This is a good book for you if you are tentative about working with computers and don't expect to do intermediate or advanced work with Business Objects.

The notion that this book is a 'reference' or can replace a manual is completely off base. This book is a 'primer' not a reference. Any topic that is easily addressable through discussing the GUI is handled, but only for obvious cases. The function reference is incomplete and poorly documented. Insightful examples that make you think, "Oh, that's how you do X (where X is anything nontrivial)" are not found in this book. The kind of situations you will likely encounter if you want to create reports for a real business, are not handled. In these cases you are left to your own devices.

As a consultant, I've watched my clients routinely underestimate the power of Business Objects software. In this book, Cindi Howson lays it all out, distilling insights from what is obviously a deep and hands-on experience base with BO. I was surprised at the book's breadth, and impressed with the arwork, charts, and visual aids that supplemented the text. A great resource for BO development.

If you are new to Business Objects and need a good understanding of what Business objects does and can do then this is an excellent book. Where I work we have purchased several copies of this book. Doesn't go into tremendous detail on how to do some of the more complicated concepts of Business Objects but is more than enough to get you started.

I've been implementing and supporting BO since version 4.0.3, so I've read a few BO manuals over the years. It's difficult to encompass all the functionality of BO XI R2 into a single manual without turning it into a multi-volume text. This is a very good reference covering the major ground work of the new BO version. I recommend it as the starting point for all old and new users of BO, especially given the fact that they've totally rewired our favourite BI tool. And didn't it need it!

It is a great book to give you an overview of the product from a user's perspective. Recommended for universe designers. Although it doesn't go in detail on best practices. This coupled with reading the business objects documentation online (which is REALLY good) shoulg get you pretty far.

BusinessObjects XI (Release 2): The Complete Reference is not just about how to use this module or that module, it is also about how to maximize your Business Objects (BOBJ) investment. Cindi does a great job explaining how to use many of the modules (she focuses on the core products) but she opens the book with valuable advice on managing Business Objects across your company. BOBJ is not just another little application for a specific project, it, as with many BI tools, can transform your business if you allow it to (and save you alot of money).

The other section that I was happy to see was on the fundementals of creating a universe - keep it simple and keep it focused!

This very readable book is for the entire organization (get all your project managers a copy) everyone can learn and appreciate what it takes to deploy and deliver meaningful reporting.

The distribute Help files with the BO Web Intelligence product are horrible. Almost any search yields the complete index to the thin help files that are provided. Maybe something was lost in the translation into English, but this book make the product learnable and usable.

Cindi Howson's guide to Business Objects XI Release 2 is a must-have addition to any Business Object developer's war chest. She has explained in easy-to-follow terminology HOW to use functions and WHY to use functions. Business Objects is touted as being a user-friendly program but frequently their own documentation is lacking. Ms. Howson bridges the gap neatly and comprehensively. I recommend this book for those who are getting started with the tool, as well as for experts who want a quick reference to specifics.

Once again Cindi has done a great job explaining Business Intelligence and how to create a successful implementation.

I'm thrilled with the new version of BusinessObjects XI: The Complete Reference! Details are covered in this book that are missing or hidden in documentation and are learned by actually using the product. Best practices are found throughout the book.

What I have enjoyed so much about this book is that while the new functions are covered she has also taken the time to explain differences in the the new version for those of use who have used the product and want to know what happened to the bomain.key!

It's great to see that Designer and Desktop Intelligence are fully covered. What's even better is that so much is covered in the chapter on WebIntelligence since that's where so many changes have taken place.

I can't imagine a better reference book to have if you are working with BusinessObjects XI!