Technical Support Books

Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems (8th Edition)

Efraim Turban, Jay E. Aronson, Ting-Peng Liang, Ramesh Sharda

Amazon Price: $133.33 List Price: $166.67 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $17.90

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Management & Leadership -> Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Editorial Review:

Appropriate for all courses in Decision Support Systems (DSS), computerized decision making tools, and management support systems.

Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems 8e provides the only comprehensive, up-to-date guide to today's revolutionary management support system technologies, and showcases how they can be used for better decision-making. This completely revised and re-titled edition incorporates the expanded coverage of Business Intelligence and reflects the emphasis that most decision support courses are now taking.

Spreadsheet Modeling and Decision Analysis (with CD-ROM and Microsoft Project 2003 120 day version)

Cliff Ragsdale

Amazon Price: $126.69 List Price: $192.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: South-Western College Pub Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $69.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Decision analysis 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book; I am considering it as a textbook for a Managerial Sciences course. The examples are clear and real increasing the interest of the students.

Great book, and includes @RISK 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ragsdale really makes spreadsheet modeling accessible to real-world business situations. It was a great asset to my MBA coursework. As a student, it came with a free student version of @RISK risk analysis software as well.

Editorial Review:

Valuable software, realistic examples, and fascinating topics . . . everything you need to master the most widely used management science techniques using Microsoft® Excel™ is right here! Learning to make decisions in today's business world takes training and experience. Cliff Ragsdale--the respected innovator in the field of management science--is an outstanding guide to help you learn the skills you need, use Microsoft Excel for Windows to implement those skills, and gain the confidence to apply what you learn to real business situations. SPREADSHEET MODELING AND DECISION ANALYSIS gives you step-by-step instructions and annotated screen shots to make examples easy to follow. Plus, interesting sections called The World of Management Science show you how each topic has been applied in a real company.

A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Third Edition

Fred Beisse

Amazon Price: $63.85 List Price: $70.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Course Technology Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $49.45

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

well-written 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book. Good for anyone's collections. Helpful in help desk support. Well-written book. Good examples and cases.

Editorial Review:

A standard for help desk professionals and those considering becoming support professionals, this text focuses on key information for user support professionals, including decision making, communicating successfully with a client, determining the client's specific needs, and writing for the end user. This text has been updated to reflect the latest in support industry trends, especially the use of Web and email-based support. For those considering entering the field, alternate career paths for user-support workers are described. This edition has retained and updated the CloseUp feature, which details real-life scenarios of working professionals and issues in the workplace. With balanced coverage of both people skills and technical skills, this book is an excellent resource for those in the technical-support field.

VBA for Modelers: Developing Decision Support Systems Using Microsoft® Excel (with VBA Program CD-ROM)

S. Christian Albright

Amazon Price: $91.75 List Price: $101.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: South-Western College Pub Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $87.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Aimed at a very specific audience: avoid if you are not a management scientist! 1 out of 5 stars.
12 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I am a little surprised at the high rating that this book seems to get from the current 13 reviewers but, then again, these are probably memebers of the books target audience. When Albright refers to "modelers" in his title he is constraining the definition very tightly to those in the business world who develop models for "management science". This book has little to do with the more general concept of modelling as it might be found in the physical sciences, engingineering, the social sciences and anything else you can think of outside of management science.

What is good about this book is that it provides a fairly basic introduction to VBA in the first part in a nicely laid out fashion. It then goes on to develop example code targeted very specifically at the management science student or professional. I think this is an admirable approach and this book is probably very useful to the "management scientist" who wishes to learn VBA as it is implemented in Microsoft Excel. It is also quite nicely written. I think that within its target market this is a book that could be recommended. However, if you are not into business modelling or don't make extensive use of the Solver Add-In that ships with Microsoft Office then this book is probably not for you.

Again, I wish to emphasise that this book is very tightly focused on a particular type of VBA developer: i.e. the "management science" specialist who makes extensive use of spreadsheets. As I said, the introduction to VBA programming is well laid out but there are better texts and this one is really very basic (excuse the pun). The scope of the book is not broad so don't expect to learn a lot about much of VBA that does not fall within the fairly narrow constraints of business modelling.

For a general introduction to VBA programming that is far more wide reaching than this book try one of the editions of Walkenbachs "Power Programming with VBA". If you are already competent in VBA or VB programming and want a good reference book on VBA with excellent examples and a very far reaching scope then there is nothing better than the Wrox books by Bullen et al: my "Excel 2002 VBA" serves as an irreplacable reference bible even after 4 years and an upgrade to Excel itself.

I am not a "management science" professional. I have been developing a number of fairly extensive specialist VBA Add-Ins as a scientist/engineer for several years now and I can honestly say that this book taught me nothing new. I didn't actually find anything wrong in any of the text or code that I studied but from my point of view the code examples are highly repetetive and very simple (definitely aimed at the novice VBA programmer). Possibley a great book for management scientists wanting to learn VBA but others can find far better in terms of both introductory texts and advanced programming texts.

For mangement scientists wanting to learn VBA I would give this five stars but for all other Excel users, or potential users, of VBA I can only give it one star.

Editorial Review:

Learn more effective modeling techniques than ever before! VBA FOR MODELERS: DEVELOPING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS USING MICROSOFT ® EXCEL shows you the easy way to automate methods and models and create special applications. You'll learn sophisticated techniques through a simple and clean interface, so there's no more long nights of trying to make it work. And because it works with Microsoft ® Excel, you'll be saving time while the program crunches all the numbers.

Keys For Writers With Helpdesk With Cd Fourth Edition

Ann Raimes

By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $16.88

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

HORRAY! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book for an English course three years ago. Unfortunately, sometime in the last year or so, I lost it. I actually had to buy it again because I keep going to the bookshelf to reference it, and then remember it's not there. This book is just as useful in my everyday life as it once was in college. You probably need it too.

good for school 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My daughter used the 4th edition in high school English class and loved it so much that she wanted the next version for college. It seems easy to use and a good reference.

Great handbook for writing 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This manual is great for any piece of writing. It is very helpful even when editing or proofreading. You won't regret having bought this book.

Keys for College Student Writers 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is the most quickly referenced guide for MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago and CGOS documentation! A must have for all college students!

Book never received 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

We ordered the book on July 25th, and to date (August 27th) have not received the book. I have written 4 emails, and the fourth email finally got a response. How do you contact someone to help you find your book if the method you have is not working!!!!!

The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery

George M. Piskurich, Peter Beckschi, Brandon Hall

Amazon Price: $62.68 List Price: $79.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $39.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Disappointed 3 out of 5 stars.
54 of 68 people found this review helpful.

I finishing my PhD in Cognitive Psychology, and I am new to the field of training. My purpose in reading training books is to discover whether or not I would like to pursue being a trainer, or at the very least use the information to help me in my current field. So, you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I know that ASTD is the big professional association for trainers, so I was surprised and disappointed in the limited usefulness of a book sponsored by them.

Other books present design and delivery in a more thorough manner. You can skim this book in a few minutes and get the key points. Whether this is entirely due to the lack of substantive content or due to the book's format is debatable, but I am thinking more the former than the latter.

The key points that are useful are not adequately backed up by sufficient supporting detail or research. I don't think the "Delivery" part should necessarily be backed up by research, but the "Design" part surely should. I would like to know why the techniques they suggest should work and how cognitive processes relate to those techniques. But my thinking that this is important may be more due to my own background, rather than a real flaw of the book. However, even if that is true, I have found other books that do give sufficient supporting detail and/or research.

The other books I recommend instead of this one are:
- Beyond the Podium by Rossett
- Developing Training Courses by Hassell-Corbiell
- Web-Based Training by Horton
- Multimedia for Learning: Methods and Development by Alessi and Trollip
- Building Expertise by Clark

Editorial Review:

This comprehensive companion volume to the bestselling ASTD Training and Development Handbook (Craig, ed.) helps trainers design classroom, self-study, or technology-based training programs. Delivering the latest information on how adults learn best and human performance technology, it shows trainers how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver highly memorable presentations.

Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications (Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series)

Larissa T. Moss, Shaku Atre

Amazon Price: $52.50 List Price: $59.99 Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks By: Addison-Wesley Professional Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $43.90

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good Practical advice 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The book offers good practical advice that can be used in the development of a Business Intelligence (BI) project / initiative. The over all road map provides a check list of issues to consider and offers a place to start in planning your own initiative. It is a good reference for individuals starting a BI project for the first time.

Great for a PM 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Am currently in the process of executing a DW/BI project, my background is JAVA application Project management. This book has been great in getting me upto speed on the basic architecture and lingo of BI/DW.

Book lays out step by step the different parts to a DW. The front office, the back office, meta data repository. Highlights how DW/BI phases are different from other application dev phases. It doesn't go into how to do data modelling - for this get the lifecycle toolkit. But it gives a great overview of planning a BI/DW initiative. Much better than the pure Project Management books.
To get a complete picture I'd use this book along with the Toolkit book.

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Help Desk Professional, Second Edition

Donna Knapp

Amazon Price: $79.95 List Price: $79.95 Usually ships in 10 to 13 days By: Course Technology Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $38.00

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Editorial Review:

This text has been completely revised to focus on new business topics such as trend analysis, root cause analysis, cost benefit analysis, and measuring return on investment. With less of a focus on technology and more of a focus on "soft" and self-management skills, this book will help students succeed as help desk professionals. The chapters on customer satisfaction and listening techniques can be used as quick reference in the work environment, outside of the classroom. Each chapter explores, in detail, a particular skill required to provide effective customer support and provides proven techniques for implementing the concepts.

PC Help Desk in a Book: The Do-it-Yourself Guide to PC Troubleshooting and Repair

Mark Edward Soper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A great help 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I had looked at this book for a long time, but delayed buying it. I finally bought it as a supplement to other, more technical books I have. It gives me the information I need without numbing my mind in geek-speak. During the first 24 hours after buying it, this book got me out of several difficult problems quickly and effortlessly. Surprisingly, it is not the diagnostic flow charts I have found most helpful, but the book's running text located by way of index entries has been the most helpful to me in solving the problems I had, one of which was the Blue Screen of Death related to the recognition of a hard drive on an OS installation.

Editorial Review:

Each year, thousands of harmless PCs suffer the pain and humiliation of buggy Windows installations, bad cable connections, mismanaged system resources, viruses, and slow Internet connections. All too often, these downtrodden PCs end up being scrapped before their time by owners who just can't care for them any longer. The real travesty is that with a little love, these wounded PCs could become useful members of society. That's where PC HelpDesk in a Book comes in. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, this book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer.

OLAP Solutions: Building Multidimensional Information Systems

Erik Thomsen

Amazon Price: $61.60 List Price: $75.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $28.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A must read for anybody involved in Olap design 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

A book which gives you a comprehensive theoretical foundation together with useful, pratical techniques to design Olap solutions.
In the first half of the book the author explains you all you need to think clearly in N dimensions, in the second half he guides you through the design of a rather complex application, stepping into the purchasing process, the material inventory analysis, sales & marketing, and activity-based management. He teaches you using maieutics, Socrates' way of teaching, via a dialogue between two designers. This way, a lot of questions that usually arise during real-life development are examined and solved.
Whilst the examples in the first edition of this book were based on TM1, in this second edition they are written using a vendor-independent language, called LC (Located contents), which provides you with a solid, logically based foundation to multidimensional design.
The vendor languages, like those used by Microsoft Analysis Services (MDX), Applix TM1, Oracle Express and Hyperion Essbase, are kind of Plato's shadows in the cavern of this ideal language (which is sort of a tautology for MS Plato...), so if you start thinking in LC, you'll be able to work with all of these products.
Ideal complements to this book, if you use Microsoft Analysis Server, are "MDX Solutions" by George Spofford, and "Microsoft Olap Solutions", by Thomsen (again!), Spofford and Chase.

Editorial Review:

OLAP enables users to access information from multidimensional data warehouses almost instantly, to view information in any way they like, and to cleanly specify and carry out sophisticated calculations. Although many commercial OLAP tools and products are now available, OLAP is still a difficult and complex technology to master.

• Substantially updated with expanded coverage of implementation methods for data storage, access, and calculation; also, new chapters added to combine OLAP with data warehouse, mining, and decision support tools
• Teaches the best practices for building OLAP models that improve business and organizational decision-making, completely independent of commercial tools, using revised case studies
• Companion Web site provides updates on OLAP standards and tools, code examples, and links to valuable resources