Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps - Second Edition

Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps - Second Edition

by JJ Yadav, Sandeep Shukla, Rahul Mohta, Yogesh Kasat
Released March 2020
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781789950847

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Book description

Harness the power of Finance and Operations apps, and discover all you need for their implementation

Key Features

  • Manage and plan different Dynamics configurations, designs, and products
  • Learn how to manage projects for pre-sales and implementation using Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS)
  • Discover various integration planning techniques, tools, and frameworks such as PowerApps and Power Automate

Book Description

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is a modern cloud ERP platform that adopts a mobile-first approach suitable for medium-to-large enterprises. This book covers the entire implementation process of Dynamics 365 Finance and Operation Apps, including post-implementation and business transformation.

The updated second edition starts with an introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365, describing different apps and tools under it. You will learn about different implementation methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile, for your projects. We will cover various application components and architectures of Dynamics such as requirements processing, development, reports and analytics, and integration. With the help of tips, techniques, and best practices, you'll explore strategies for managing configurations and data migrations. As you read further, you'll discover development tools and processes in Dynamics for building customized solutions in Dynamics. The book will also demonstrate analytics and financial reporting options such as Power BI and Cortana Intelligence. Finally, you'll learn the importance of testing and explore various automated testing strategies.

By the end of this book, you will have gained the necessary knowledge to implement Microsoft business solutions with Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps.

What you will learn

  • Understand the architecture of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps
  • Implement Dynamics with confidence to manage finances in your business
  • Get up to speed with different methodologies and support cycles of the Microsoft Dynamics architecture
  • Explore best practices to analyze the requirements of your business
  • Understand the technique of data migration from legacy systems
  • Leverage the capabilities of Power BI to make informed business decisions
  • Manage all your upgrades through One Version service updates

Who this book is for

This book is for consultants, technical managers, project managers, or solution architects who are looking to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations apps in their business. A basic understanding of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation process and software lifecycle is expected.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright and Credits
    1. Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps Second Edition
  3. Dedication
  4. About Packt
    1. Why subscribe?
  5. Contributors
    1. About the authors
    2. About the reviewer
    3. Packt is searching for authors like you
  6. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Disclaimer
      1. Download the color images
      2. Conventions used
    5. Get in touch
      1. Reviews
  7. Introduction to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
    1. Introducing Microsoft Dynamics 365
      1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 salient features
    2. Understanding Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps
      1. Dynamics 365 Customer Service
      2. Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations apps
      3. Dynamics 365 Business Central
      4. Dynamics 365 Commerce
      5. Dynamics 365 Human Resources
    3. Understanding Power Platform
      1. Power Apps
      2. Power BI
      3. Power Automate
      4. Common Data Service (CDS)
      5. Microsoft AppSource
    4. Exploring Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
      1. What is Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations?
      2. Highlights of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
      3. Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations deployment options
      4. Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations capabilities
    5. Trial of Microsoft Dynamics 365
    6. ERP implementation team structure
      1. Implementation partner
      2. ISV solution
      3. Solution advisors
    7. Summary
  8. Methodology and Initiation
    1. Why select a methodology?
    2. Methodologies to choose from
      1. The Conference Room Pilot methodology
        1. Planning
        2. Execution
        3. Best practices in using CRP
      2. The agile methodology
      3. The waterfall methodology
    3. Project deliverables
      1. The planning phase
      2. Requirements of the definition phase
      3. The analysis phase
      4. The design phase
      5. The configure phase
      6. The development phase
      7. The testing and acceptance phase
      8. The training phase
      9. The go-live phase
      10. The support phase
      11. Comparative summary 
    4. Project initiation
    5. Project team composition
    6. Project backbone
      1. Project charter
      2. Project plan
    7. Ground rules for a project team
    8. Kickoff meeting
    9. FastTrack
    10. Best practices in project initiation
    11. Summary
  9. Lifecycle Services (LCS) and Tools
    1. LCS
      1. LCS tools
      2. Project-specific tools
    2. Setting up a project in LCS
      1. Tools for a solid project foundation
      2. Methodologies
      3. LCS projects
        1. Project onboarding
      4. Project users
        1. Organization users and roles
      5. Preview feature management
      6. Usage profile/subscription estimator
      7. Shared asset library
        1. Asset library
          1. SharePoint online
    3. Ongoing day-to-day activities
      1. Business process modeler
      2. Cloud-hosted environments
      3. Code upgrade
      4. Configuration and data manager
      5. Translation service
      6. Alert service
    4. Ongoing support
      1. Issue search
      2. LCS support options
      3. Work items
      4. Environment monitoring
        1. System diagnostics
      5. Updates
    5. Summary
  10. Architecture, Deployment, and Environments
    1. Understanding architecture
      1. Conceptual architecture
      2. Deployment architecture
        1. The cloud deployment architecture 
        2. On-premises deployment architecture 
    2. Understanding application components and architecture
      1. Working with identity management 
      2. Understanding the data layer components
      3. Understanding the platform-layer components 
      4. Understanding the application layer components
      5. Understanding the client components
        1. Browser client
        2. Mobile app
        3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Unified Operations – mobile app
        4. Office 365
      6. Using LCS
      7. Understanding development architecture 
      8. Understanding integration architecture
      9. Understanding security architecture
    3. Understanding deployment options
      1. Cloud
      2. Local business data or on-premises
      3. Comparing cloud and on-premises deployments  
    4. Understanding cloud deployment and environment planning
      1. Type of environment
        1. Tier-1 - Development or Build 
        2. Tier-2 - Standard Acceptance 
        3. Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5 environments
        4. Production 
      2. Project type and environments 
      3. Finance and Operations standard cloud offer
    5. Summary
  11. Requirements and Process Analysis
    1. Requirements scoping
    2. Hierarchy of business processes and subprocesses 
      1. Business goals
      2. Business process
      3. Subprocesses
      4. The requirements of the business process
    3. LCS BPM and Azure DevOps
      1. Business process modeler
    4. Understanding Microsoft Azure DevOps
      1. BPM and Azure DevOps sync
      2. Continuous reporting and Azure DevOps/VSTS
    5. Requirement-gathering techniques
      1. Listen
      2. Lead
      3. Negotiate
    6. Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
    7. Requirement segmentation and ownership
    8. Analysis of requirements
    9. Solution blueprint
    10. Key decision log
    11. Best practices in managing requirements
    12. Summary
  12. Configuration and Data Management
    1. Explaining configuration management 
      1. Planning configuration management
      2. The golden configuration environment 
    2. Managing data migration
      1. Scoping the data migration
      2. Common data migration areas
      3. Planning data migration
      4. Executing the data migration
    3. Introducing data management tools
    4. The data management framework
      1. Data management concepts
        1. The data management workspace
        2. Data entities
        3. Configuration data templates
          1. Default data templates
        4. Configuration data project
        5. Data packages
        6. LCS Project | Asset library | Data packages
          1. Configuration data packages
        7. LCS – configuration and data manager
        8. Process data packages 
      2. How these concepts come together 
    5. Database operations
    6. Cross-company data sharing 
    7. Data management scenarios
      1. Initial configuration in a blank environment
      2. Data migration from legacy systems
      3. Copying the company configuration within an existing environment
      4. Copying data between environments
      5. Ad hoc data loading
    8. Best practices in managing configurations and data migration
    9. Summary
  13. Solution Planning and Design
    1. Finding the right app for your business needs
      1. Before choosing ISV solutions
      2. After selecting the ISV partner
    2. Understanding common product features
      1. Personalization
      2. Integrating with Office
      3. Document handling
      4. Using workspaces
      5. Electronic Reporting 
      6. Tax engine
      7. Configurable business documents 
      8. Batch framework
      9. Workflows
      10. Database logging
      11. The Finance and Operations mobile application
      12. Common Data Services, Power Automate, and Power Apps
    3. The solution design document
      1. Overview and objectives
      2. Guidelines for the SDD
    4. The functional design document
      1. The fit-gap review session
      2. Why write an FDD?
      3. Project management aspects of design
      4. Things to know before writing an FDD
      5. Dos and don'ts
    5. The technical design document
      1. Guidelines for the TDD
      2. Things to consider while writing TDDs
    6. Summary
  14. Integration Technologies, Planning, and Design
    1. Basic web integration concepts
      1. RESTful APIs
      2. SOAP APIs
        1. SOAP versus REST
      3. JSON message format
      4. OData protocol
      5. OAuth authentication model
      6. Event-driven architecture 
    2. Learning about the integration architecture
    3. Integration concepts in Finance and Operations
      1. Data entities
        1. What is a data entity?
      2. OData services
        1. Querying or browsing an OData endpoint
        2. Consuming OData services
          1. Client application registration and setup
          2. Creating a project, adding libraries, and generating an OData service proxy
          3. Authentication and OData service call
      3. Custom services
      4. Business events 
        1. Business events catalog 
        2. Business events endpoints 
        3. Business events processing 
        4. Available business events and extensibility 
        5. Benefits and use cases 
      5. Data feeds 
      6. Dual-writes 
      7. Data management and the batch data API
      8. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 integration 
    4. Integration scenarios and planning
      1. Integration scenarios
      2. Integration requirements
      3. Synchronous or asynchronous?
      4. Integration strategy 
      5. Integration middleware/messaging services
        1. Logic Apps 
        2. Power Automate
        3. Event Hub, Event Grid, and Service Bus 
        4. Azure Storage/Azure Data Lake 
        5. Recurring integrations scheduler
    5. Integration design and development
      1. Developing a high-level conceptual design
      2. Selecting the right integration technology
      3. Defining field mapping
      4. Developing, configuring, and testing
    6. Best practices and recommendations
    7. Summary
  15. Customization and Extension
    1. Understanding solution architecture and development concepts
      1. Programming language 
        1. Compiling exclusively in .NET CIL
        2. Language enhancements 
        3. Unit of compilation
      2. Integrated development environment (IDE)
        1. Development IDE in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
        2. Development environment architecture 
      3. Programming concepts
        1. Models
        2. Packages
        3. Packages and models on disk
        4. Models and packages in Visual Studio
        5. Overlayering
        6. Extensions
    2. Understanding the development environment
      1. Version control
        1. Branching strategies
      2. Development machines
        1. Cloud development environment
        2. Local development environment
      3. Application Explorer
        1. Application Explorer views
        2. Filtering the Application Explorer
        3. Working with elements 
      4. Tools Addins for Visual Studio
      5. Creating a new model to start the customization process
        1. Extension capabilities 
      6. Project
        1. Creating a new project
        2. Adding new or existing elements to the project
        3. Import/export project
    3. Development planning
      1. Be agile
      2. Establishing the code review process
    4. Development process 
      1. Conceptualization
      2. Create or extend the data model
      3. Create or extend business logic
      4. Create or extend the user interface
        1. Form patterns
        2. User interface extensibility
        3. Control extensibility
      5. Reporting and analytics
        1. SQL Server Reporting Services (SRSS)
        2. Power BI
      6. Security
        1. Security for custom objects
      7. Acceptance test library (ATL) resources 
      8. Learn and improve
    5. Build and continuous updates
      1. Automated build
      2. Continuous updates
    6. Guidelines and best practices
    7. Summary
  16. Analytics, Business Intelligence, and Reporting
    1. Gathering reporting and analytics requirements
    2. Reporting scenarios and tools
      1. Operational reporting
        1. Operational workspace
        2. Inquiry pages and exporting to Excel
        3. Operational SSRS reports
        4. Analytical workspaces for operational reporting
      2. Regulatory and tax reporting
        1. Exploring ER
      3. Business/commercial documents
        1. SSRS business documents
        2. Business document management
      4. Financial reporting
        1. Row definition
        2. Column definition
        3. Reporting tree definition
        4. Report definition
      5. Analytical reporting
        1. Analytical Power BI reports
    3. Analytics data strategy and data integrations
      1. Using the Entity store
      2. Bring your own database
    4. Moving from relational databases to Azure Data Lake
      1. Learning about fundamental Azure data technologies
        1. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS)
        2. Common data model folder (CDM folder)
        3. Azure Data Factory
        4. Azure Synapse analytics and SQL On-Demand
      2. Entity store in Azure Data Lake
      3. Replacing BYOD and the Entity store in Data Lake using data feeds
    5. Best practices in analytics and information insights
    6. Summary
  17. Testing and Training
    1. The importance of testing
    2. Types of testing
      1. Feature testing
        1. Testing of custom-developed features
        2. Testing of standard and ISV solution features
      2. System integration testing
        1. Process/system testing
        2. Data migration testing
        3. Integration testing
        4. Performance/load testing
      3. User acceptance testing
      4. End-to-end testing
      5. Continuous update testing
    3. Automated testing strategies
      1. Test automation features in Finance and Operations
        1. RSAT
          1. RSAT prerequisites
          2. Azure DevOps Test Manager
          3. Windows configuration
          4. RSAT and Selenium
          5. RSAT configuration
          6. RSAT test case execution
        2. Acceptance Test Library
        3. Data task automation
        4. SysTest framework
        5. Task recorder-based (Coded UI) testing
        6. PerfSDK
      2. Integrating a test with a build process
    4. Test-planning guidelines and recommendations
      1. Test planning and scenarios
      2. User acceptance test (UAT)
        1. Planning
        2. UAT kickoff 
        3. Execution
        4. Sign-off
      3. End-to-end test planning and execution
        1. Execution and real-life examples
    5. Training
      1. Training and the help system
        1. Modern clients and navigation concepts
        2. In-product help
        3. Business process modeler (BPM)
        4. Task recorder and task guides
        5. Documentation website
    6. Planning and executing training
      1. Training plan
        1. Training preparation
        2. Training environment
    7. Change management
    8. Summary
  18. Managing Go-Live and Post Go-Live
    1. Learning about the production environment and responsibilities 
      1. Understanding cloud deployment
      2. Looking at the on-premises deployment option
    2. Understanding go-live activities
    3. Exploring the organization's readiness to go-live
      1. Sign-offs
      2. The decision to go live
      3. Business contingency planning
    4. Understanding go-live planning and execution
      1. Planning
      2. Executing a release
      3. The importance of communication
    5. Learning about post go-live support
      1. Glancing on resources for support
      2. Understanding support tools and LCS
      3. Learning about production environment support with Microsoft
      4. Integrating support analytics with monitoring and diagnostics
      5. Best practices in post go-live support
    6. Summary
  19. One Version Service Updates
    1. Exploring One Version
      1. Principles of One Version
      2. Update availability
      3. Update early adoption
      4. Service updates
      5. Quality updates
      6. One Version service update FAQs
    2. Understanding feature management
      1. The feature management workspace
      2. Turning on a feature
      3. Turning off a feature
      4. Check for updates
    3. Summary
  20. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Leave a review - let other readers know what you think

Product information

  • Title: Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Apps - Second Edition
  • Author(s): JJ Yadav, Sandeep Shukla, Rahul Mohta, Yogesh Kasat
  • Release date: March 2020
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781789950847