Phase 2 – When Dynamics 365 Really Starts Making an Impact

May 10, 2022 | By Brian Begley | Category: Digital Transformation, Dynamics 365 Sales, Power Platform

Getting a CRM system live can be a struggle or it can be a focused project. But what happens next when you reach Go-Live? We call it Phase 2

Phase 2 (and its counterparts Phase 3, Phase 4 etc.) are all components of a successful continuous product development strategy. Phase 2 is all of the updates to CRM that happens after Go-Live

One benefit of the agile approach that enCloud9 takes to project development is that the client has continual visibility into the progress as it is achieved. We continually demo our updates, usually on a weekly basis, and encourage our clients to actively test our changes. But during that initial project we always run into new client requirements, change orders, and other requests from clients that go beyond the original scope of the project. Best practice within the consulting space is to track these requests on a backlog document and determine the importance of these items.

How to use a backlog?

We like to start with prioritizing tasks into four categories.

Quick wins include CRM updates that can be implemented quickly, have a measurable impact on system usage and improve the quality of data. Think of ideas like improved dashboards, automating field data entry and additional user training. Quick wins result in happy clients as they see the impact of their most important requests. We try to get quick wins completed as soon as we hit Go-Live.
Fill ins are little projects, also designed to be quickly implemented, but have little overall impact to the system, but might smaller groups of users – For example adding new fields to help a sales team or modifying views and forms. They may not be the highest priority to most users but should be considered as part of Phase 2 and beyond.
Major Projects are the most time-consuming backlog items and usually identified as Phase 2 and beyond from an early stage in a Dynamics CRM implementation. Significant projects like integrating with external systems, implementing Customer Service or Marketing Automation would be major projects. Generally, they should be scoped out and a formal Statement of Work created and signed off. Each major project should generally be considered a self-contained phase.
Thankless Tasks are the worst kind of project tasks – items like converting text fields to a choice field or running thousands of Flows to update data seem to take forever and are mind numbing. No-one wants to do them, but they need to be done. We like to do these while sitting through a streaming marathon of our favorite sitcoms.

In Conclusion

Phase 2 might be considered the most important part of any Dynamics 365 CRM implementation, as it ensures the long-term success of the project. By integrating user feedback into a continuous improvement system, end users feel an essential part of the project. Happy users result in successful CRM systems.

How can we help?

If you’ve got an upcoming Dynamics 365 deployment and are looking to get the most out of your CRM, turn to enCloud9 for assistance.

From platform selection to licensing to implementation and go live, we guide you every step of the way. Once you are live, enCloud9’s Dynamics 365 Management Services support your users and keep your system up-to-date and running smoothly. To learn more, contact us today.

We’d love to hear about your business and discuss how our custom Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions can work with your business and its specific needs.

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