This quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein, very nicely sums up my thoughts on how to best test and improve your (QlikView) skills and knowledge. Starting out as a hands-on practitioner, this lead to me teaching QlikView and writing a blog about it, and culminated in 2012 when Miguel García and I wrote the book QlikView 11 for Developers.

When we finished writing the first draft of the book back in June 2012, our editor asked us to recommend people for technical review. Stephen Redmond was one of the first persons to come to my mind. Anyone who has read his blog or interacted with him can see that he knows QlikView. More importantly though, as I know from experience, he also has no problem voicing a strong opinion. Since we intended for QlikView 11 for Developers to compete on quality and depth of subject, Stephen was an ideal technical reviewer to challenge us. Along with that of the other technical reviewers, Stephen's expert feedback helped ensure that our book achieved the quality and depth that we strived for.

After being published in November 2012, QlikView 11 for Developers quickly became the best rated and best-selling book on QlikView, and has continued to do very well. It has helped novices take their first steps in QlikView, as well as help more experienced developers prepare for their certifications.

Given the success of QlikView 11 for Developers, you can imagine that I was initially skeptical when I learned that our publisher wanted to release another book about QlikView. Why would you need another book?

I was reassured, however, when I learned that Stephen would be taking on the job. Not only because his involvement in our book would ensure minimal overlap between the two titles, but also because I was (and am) confident that he would deliver quality material that appeals to anyone who is looking to further enhance his or her QlikView skills and knowledge. The man who brought us the "Redmond Debt Profile Chart" was bound to have many more interesting and innovative recipes up his sleeve.

As a technical reviewer for this book, I got a first-hand look at the materials Stephen was producing and I can tell you that this is quite a different book that will be a valuable addition to your library. Stephen's cookbook allows for casual, bite-sized reads by offering self-contained recipes. It is as if you've just discovered a completely new QlikView blog with dozens of tips and tricks. The recipes will take you from simple-but-effective tricks to sophisticated solutions. Even I have found a few recipes that I cannot wait to serve my clients. Best of all, they are all explained in a simple, straightforward manner, demonstrating that Stephen absolutely understands QlikView very well.

Barry Harmsen

Independent Business Intelligence Consultant, Co-author of QlikView 11 for Developers, and blogger at www.qlikfix.com.