The idea for this book started several years ago, when a client claimed he learned more about universe design and development from a single quality assurance review than all the classes he had taken and books he had read. For a consultant, there is no higher compliment. Let me set the record straight, though: I think the vendor training and documentation is excellent. What makes BusinessObjects uniquely challenging, however, is that for business intelligence, it is not enough to know the software; you have to know the business and the business users. In this respect, it's not enough to know how to create a universe object-for example, you have to know why users need objects defined a certain way, how certain SQL settings prevent or enable users to answer a business question. This book is my attempt at bridging what is often the great divide between IT and the business in their quest for better access to information. My hope is that it helps you take your implementation one step further.