Course Code: nicrm
Duration: 14 hours
Course Outline:

Day 1 Agenda – Pre SaaS Migration – Overview Training

 

Introduction to CRM Fundamentals and User Interface

Objective: Provide participants with a foundational understanding of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, focusing on its interface, core functionality, and key components. 

Topics Covered:

Overview of CRM:

Core components and modules (Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and Cases). High Level Overview Requested

Understanding how CRM integrates with other Microsoft tools (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint).

Navigating the CRM Interface:

single sign on utilised

Personalising the dashboard for individual needs.

Exploring different views, filtering, and sorting records.

 

Entities and Data Management in CRM

Objective: Introduce participants to CRM entities and their role in managing customer data, focusing on best practices for creating and managing records.

Topics Covered:

Understanding CRM Entities:

Overview of standard and custom entities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. High Level Overview

The purpose of key entities: Accounts, Contacts, and Cases. High Level Overview covered as above

Creating and Managing Customer Records:

Step-by-step guide on creating a new customer record.

Avoiding duplication through the system's duplicate detection feature.

 

Working with Contacts:

Adding contacts to a customer record.

Using CRM for managing customer interactions (meetings, calls, (System

generated) emails).

Topics Covered:

Logging and Managing Customer Inquiries/Cases: (Clarify), Cases used for cust enquiries. (Creating and Managing Cases in CRM: Preferred From I.T POV not end user)

 

Managing Projects in CRM

Objective: Demonstrate how to manage customer projects and track progress using Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s project management features. (How cases and their tasks are managed, allocated to the correct member of staff, communications associated with the case, how they are logged by CRM.)

Topics Covered:These

Creating Project Cases:

Step-by-step guide to creating a project case and logging necessary details.

Assigning project-related tasks to team members.

Tracking Project Milestones:

Logging key milestones, tracking deadlines, and updating project progress.

Recording financial data associated with the project.

 

Monitoring Performance and Generating Reports, (covered in “Navigating the CRM Interface” and reports generated by COGNOS

Objective: Equip participants with the skills to monitor project performance and generate reports for review and analysis.

Topics Covered:

Monitoring Project Progress:

Using dashboards to keep track of project and inquiry performance.

Logging objectives, financials, and tracking outcomes.

Advanced Finds, Dashboards and Charts

Generating Reports:

How to create and export detailed reports from CRM data.

Customising Views:

Creating public and personal views

Filtering and sorting records

Adding conditional formatting

Customising Charts and Dashboards:

Creating charts to visualise data

Configuring interactive dashboards for insights and KPIs

Sharing dashboards with teams

Day 2 Agenda – InvestNI Developer Training

 

Building a Security Model in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Objective: Teach participants how to build and implement a security model within Dynamics CRM to protect sensitive data.

Topics Covered:

Security Roles and Permissions:

Overview of security roles and how they control access to CRM data

Managing user accounts and assigning security roles

Understanding privileges and access levels

Business Units and Teams:

Structuring the organisation using business units

Creating and managing teams for specific access control

Field-Level Security:

Configuring field-level security to protect sensitive information

Assigning security profiles

 

Customising Dynamics CRM

Objective: Enable participants to customise Dynamics CRM entities, fields, and relationships to align with their organisation's requirements.

Topics Covered:

Customising Entities:

Understanding entities (standard vs custom)

Creating custom entities

Configuring entity properties (ownership, activity tracking, etc.)

Customising Fields:

Adding fields to entities (types of fields: text, number, option sets, lookups, etc.)

Field properties (required, searchable, and default values)

Using calculated and rollup fields

Managing Relationships:

Understanding entity relationships (1, N:1, N)

Creating and managing relationships between entities

Configuring relationship behaviours (cascade rules)

 

Advanced Customisation and UI Configuration

Objective: Introduce advanced customisation techniques for forms, views, charts, dashboards, and business rules.

Topics Covered:

Customising Forms:

Creating and modifying forms

Adding fields, sections, and tabs to forms

Implementing form-level security

Configuring Business Rules:

Understanding business rules and when to use them

Creating business rules to automate data entry and validation

Testing and activating business rules

When to use Business Rules v Jscript on Forms 

 

Business Process Flows and Advanced CRM Automation

Objective: Teach participants how to build and manage Business Process Flows and leverage automation in Dynamics CRM.

Topics Covered:

Business Process Flows:

Introduction to Business Process Flows (BPFs) and their purpose

Creating and configuring BPFs to guide users through processes

Automating steps within BPFs and managing stage transitions

Monitoring and optimising BPFs

Workflows and Automation:

Automating processes with workflows

Triggering workflows based on specific conditions

Understanding real-time vs background workflows

 

Naming Conventions and Best Practices in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

Objective: Establish a consistent naming convention and follow best practices for managing solutions in CRM to ensure scalability, maintainability, and collaboration.

Topics Covered:

Importance of Naming Conventions:

Consistency for easier identification across the organisation.

Clarity, maintainability, and scalability for future-proofing solutions.

 

Naming Conventions for CRM Components:

Entities: Descriptive names for custom and standard entities.

Fields: Use prefixes (e.g., Acc_Email) to define field usage.

Views, Forms, Workflows: Name based on purpose and functionality.

Option Sets: Clear, logical names for options in dropdowns.

Best Practices:

Use underscores, follow a standard case format, prefix custom components, and include version numbers when needed.


Using Existing Solutions vs. Creating New Solutions

Objective: Understand when to update existing solutions versus creating new ones to optimise resource use and avoid redundancy.

Topics Covered:

Overview of Solutions:

Solutions manage customisations (entities, workflows, etc.).

When to Use Existing Solutions:

For minor updates or when customisations extend existing functionality.

To follow organisation-wide standards.

When to Create a New Solution:

For significant changes, new business processes, or integrations.

For sandboxing/testing customisations.

Best Practices:

Use version control, a modular approach, and always test in a sandbox before deployment.