Wow! eBook – Blog

Book Description

Have you ever been responsible for a big project? Did it go as smoothly as you’d hoped? This illuminating book contains 97 short and extremely practical tips from some of the world’s most experienced project managers. You’ll learn how these professionals have dealt with everything from budgets and purchasing to personnel problems and runaway meetings. 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know offers knowledge that’s priceless, gained the hard way from years of experience.

While this book focuses on software projects, the nuggets of wisdom within are not really about software. Rather, they underscore the principles of getting the job done, whether you’re planning a wedding or building a house. You can read the book end to end, or browse through the tips to find topics that are of particular relevance to you. 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know is both a useful reference and a source of inspiration.

About the Author
Barbee Davis, PMP, PHR, writes a semi-monthly feature for the Project Management Institute (PMI) international publication, Community Post, in which she guides project managers to more successful projects. She is also an international reviewer for the PMI Registered Educational Provider (R.E.P.) program. Download Now »

Book Description

Maximize the powerful BI tools available in PerformancePoint 2007 with help from this practical guide. You will learn how to collect and store data, monitor progress, analyze performance, distribute dynamic reports, and create maintainable projects and forecasts. Business Intelligence with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 provides full details on creating scorecards and dashboards, performing advanced analysis on data, and setting up business plans. You will also learn how to integrate PerformancePoint with ProClarity, Excel 2007, and SQL Server Reporting Services.

• Configure, deploy, and secure all the PerformancePoint components
• Create KPIs, scorecards, reports, and dashboards with the Dashboard Designer
• Create business models with the Planning Business Modeler and create budgets and forecasts with Excel 2007
• Enable advanced data analysis with PerformancePoint Server and ProClarity tools
• Take advantage of the enhanced analytic capabilities of Excel 2007
• Use SQL Server Reporting Services for analytics
• Align performance with organizational objectives Download Now »

Book Description

Building information modeling (BIM) integrates 3D drawings and 4D animations to dramatically improve the communication, coordination, and planning of construction projects, while reducing risks, errors, and costs. Building Information Modeling is an in-depth resource that shows architects and building professionals how to capitalize on BIM concepts, tools, and techniques for their own building projects.

• An in-depth explanation of BIM concepts, tools, and techniques
• Guidance on applying BIM to new and retrofit construction projects
• More than 200 photos, charts, diagrams, and details of the BIM process
• Detailed case studies

Inside this Comprehensive Guide to BIM Technology

Background: • The Setting for BIM • Current Practice • Legal Considerations Building Information Modeling: • BIM Concepts • BIM Planning • BIM Implementation Software Tools: • Modeling Tools • Model Production • Model Analysis • Specific SoftwareOptions Learning BIM: • Learning Methods • Skill Sets • The Learners Case Studies Download Now »

Book Description

Engineer a clear-cut strategy for achieving best-in-class results

• Build and deploy effective planning models using Cognos 8 Planning
• Filled with ideas and techniques for designing planning models
• Ample screenshots and clear explanations to facilitate learning
• Written for first-time developers focusing on what is important to the beginner
• A step-by-step approach that will help you strengthen your understanding of all the major concepts

Business planning is no longer just about defining goals, identifying critical issues, and then mapping out strategies. In today’s dynamic and highly competitive business environment, companies with complex business models want their abstract strategies turned into discrete, executable plans. They want information from the field to reach decision makers in real-time so that they can fine-tune their plans as events unfold. IBM Cognos 8 Planning offers just that.

This book provides you with everything you need to know for building planning models using IBM Cognos 8 Planning. After reading this book, you can begin your journey into model building bringing with you a perspective that comes from three of the most seasoned IBM Cognos Planning consultants in the business.

In this book, you will learn how to build planning models using IBM Cognos Planning’s modeling tool, Analyst. We introduce you to key objects in Analyst that let you define, store, and move data. Then we show how you can deploy the model to hundreds or thousands of users using IBM Cognos Planning’s web-based tool, Contributor. We demonstrate some of the things you can do as an administrator and as a user. Finally, we show the automation tools that you can use to maintain and support your models. As we go through this, we will share with you tips and tricks and insights from our experience with real implementations. Download Now »

Book Description

What, exactly, do you know about your body? Do you know how your immune system works? Or what your pancreas does? Or the myriad — and often simple — ways you can improve the way your body functions?

This full-color, visually rich guide answers these questions and more. Matthew MacDonald, noted author of Your Brain: The Missing Manual, takes you on a fascinating tour of your body from the outside in, beginning with your skin and progressing to your vital organs. You’ll look at the quirks, curiosities, and shortcomings we’ve all learned to live with, and pick up just enough biology to understand how your body works. You’ll learn:

• That you shed skin more frequently than snakes do
• Why the number of fat cells you have rarely changes, no matter how much you diet or exercise — they simply get bigger or smaller
• How you can measure and control fat
• That your hair is made from the same stuff as horses’ hooves
• That you use only a small amount of the oxygen you inhale
• Why blood pressure is a more important health measure than heart rate — with four ways to lower dangerously high blood pressure
• Why our bodies crave foods that make us fat Download Now »

Book Description

The history of science is all around us, if you know where to look. With this unique traveler’s guide, you’ll learn about 128 destinations around the world where discoveries in science, mathematics, or technology occurred or is happening now. Travel to Munich to see the world’s largest science museum, watch Foucault’s pendulum swinging in Paris, ponder a descendant of Newton’s apple tree at Trinity College, Cambridge, and more. Each site in The Geek Atlas focuses on discoveries or inventions, and includes information about the people and the science behind them. Full of interesting photos and illustrations, the book is organized geographically by country (by state within the U.S.), complete with latitudes and longitudes for GPS devices. Destinations include:

• Bletchley Park in the UK, where the Enigma code was broken
• The Alan Turing Memorial in Manchester, England
• The Horn Antenna in New Jersey, where the Big Bang theory was confirmed
• The National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland
• The Trinity Test Site in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was exploded
• The Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California

You won’t find tedious, third-rate museums, or a tacky plaque stuck to a wall stating that “Professor X slept here.” Every site in this book has real scientific, mathematical, or technological interest–places guaranteed to make every geek’s heart pound a little faster. Plan a trip with The Geek Atlas and make your own discoveries along the way. Download Now »