Or Shoham said
Since the organization I work for recently purchased a Business Objects XI package that includes Xcelsius 2008, I picked up a copy of 'Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices'. While I'm impressed with the technical aspects of the book (and some of the tips), I found this to be a very poor guide in how to actually build a good dashboard. Additionally, the book contains a number of subjects which have nothing to do with Dashboard design - a better title might be "Excelsius 2008 Analytics Best Practices"
The good:
* Excellent reference book for Xcelsius functions, objects, and mechanisms.
* Many useful tips you won't find anywhere else, including ones that will save you a lot of grief when working with Xcelsius 2008.
* Provides a thorough review of Xcelsius 2008, leaving the reader with a complete 'toolbox' for creating dashboards.
The bad:
* Despite giving the developer a complete 'toolbox', this book makes little if any effort in teaching how to use it. If this book is all you read before you set out to build dashboards, you will end up with poor results.
* Many of the object types and mechanisms covered in this book should never be placed on a dashboard. While it is still important to know about these if you're building analytical packages with Xcelsius, don't be misled into placing these in your dashboards.
In summary, if you plan to create dashboards or analytical packages with Xcelsius 2008, you should get a copy of this book, if only for the tips and as a reference for functions - but make sure you learn proper dashboard design from other sources, such as Stephen Few's Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data.
Dallas Marks said
I've spent a lot of time in 2008 and 2009 creating Xcelsius dashboards for various clients. A book that I have found very helpful is Loren Abdulezer's Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices. According to the bio on the back of the book, Loren is editor-in-chief of Xcelsius Journal, the online magazine for Xcelsius users.
Loren's book provides a comprehensive view on Xcelsius 2008 functionality including samples, which can be downloaded here from the Xcelsius Journal web site. The book contains 16 chapters organized into three sections: Xcelsius 2008 Fundamentals, Xcelsius 2008 Best Practices and Techniques, and Advanced Features. As an IT professional who didn't use Excel much before Xcelsius, I really appreciate how Loren brings his extensive knowledge of Excel to the material. This includes treatment of statistics, financial analysis and "less-than-optimal" (uh, dirty?) data.
In the "Advanced Features" section, Chapter 15 deals with XML and Data Connectivity. I would have preferred a more robust treatment of Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) and Live Office. But "rather than attempt a cursory across-the-board discussion, this chapter outlines from a hands-on perspective pragmatic issues and techniques for accessing XML data, particularly Excel XML maps". Of course, treatment of QaaWS and Live Office would have required a big investment in sample universes, reports, BIAR files, etc.
The last chapter, Chapter 16, is about "Creating Custom Components for Fun and Profit" using the Xcelsius Component SDK. Many Business Objects professionals don't code applications, but the chapter helps Xcelsius developers stick their toe into the water with Adobe Flex Builder and ActionScript/Flash/SWF development.
The bottom line? If you're an Xcelsius 2008 user, this book belongs on your shelf.
Mreviewer said
The book may be useful to get an idea of what is Xcelcius and how to use it. For me, the most essential components of live connection to external data sources and applications are covered in one chapter but not in details. To get a basic understanding of Xcelsius, it is a good book. If you want to create custom applications with Xcelsius and enterprise data, this book may not be enough.
M. Nambeti said
The Author, did not mention main topics in this book.
He did not mention any information about connections from data manager.
Actually they are the Importent topics in Xcelsius.. but he missed them..
so, NO USE with this book.
I have wasted my money by buying this book.
D. J. Crane said
I've used Xcelsius "lightly" for several years, particularly to build interactive "ValueDialog models" for our business. Several new projects created a need to enhance and extend the use of Xcelsius for interactive, real time analysis. This book lives up to the title claim of Best Practices in many ways. It certainly goes well beyond the User Guide in explaining HOW to apply the components and capabilities. I have not yet tried the download examples, but I anticipate they will take my overall rating to 5.
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