Dataverse v Dynamics 365 Design Decisions
In 2018, I wrote about when I first heard from Matt Barbour when he told us that a ‘Microsoft Dynamics XRM’ image existed internally within Microsoft, but was not then available for the wider masses. Four years later, this internal Dynamics XRM image is the foundation for SaaS Dataverse, a stripped back version of Dynamics 365. One of the most crucial implementation decisions you will… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
How to fix Office 365 WS-Trust Authentication Deprecation for Dataverse and Dynamics 365 Client Applications
Today I had a problem to solve, so went back to the tried and trusted method of firing up a console application to connect to a Dynamics 365 instance, to quickly run some tests to make sure that something I thought was possible, was actually possible. In true old school style, I’ve still got a trusty boilerplate console application with a set of Nuget packages and libraries in place so I… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Licence Driven Design Revisited – 10 Tips
A few years ago, I wrote a blog about LDD – Licence Driven Development. You can read it here and hear the CRM podcast with George Doubinski discussing the concept here. It covered my thoughts at the time about how our development practices on Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform should be influenced by the Microsoft licensing guidelines. Re-reading it now, some of the conclusions seem out of… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Five ways to make Power Apps and Low Code Projects succeed
During the kick-off of any new software project, a senior stakeholder will often produce a slide that explains why a high percentage of software projects fail. The intention is often to explain how the soon to be kicked off project will not fail. If you search for “Why software projects fail?”, you will find a variety of failure reasons, such as general people issues, time, lack of testing,… Continue Reading Brian...
Five Reasons Power Apps and Low Code Projects Fail
During the kick-off of any new software project, a senior stakeholder will often produce a slide that explains why a high percentage of software projects fail. The intention is often to explain how the soon to be kicked off project will not fail. If you search for “Why software projects fail?”, you will find a variety of failure reasons, such as general people issues, time, lack of testing,… Continue Reading Brian...
Avoiding a Power Platform “Drive-By” using the Centre of Excellence Starter Kit
A few years ago, I wrote about ten different types of Dynamics 365 projects. One of these types of projects I referred to as a “drive-by”. A drive-by implementation is where someone, often a supplier, is interested in getting paid, and getting out as quickly as they can, leaving an implementation project to slowly fail. You might end up being the victim of a ‘drive-by’ through : Not… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s Article...
Five ways to become a Software Engineering Multiplier
Just before I started my working career, I completed a social sciences degree in Communication Studies. For the most part, this was a non-technical IT degree. It was one which made me think deeply about the day to day encounters I have with other people, written, verbal and more. With the job market not being awash with social science jobs at the time, and having hacked around a lot with BBC… Continue Reading Brian...
Explainer – Where should I store my Canvas Power App data?
Tech intensity refers to an organisation’s ability to turn tools and technologies into their own problem-solving digital solutions. If you are looking at using Canvas Power Apps to solve business problems, you might wonder where you should store your data. Here’s another two minute video I created to show what you should consider. Continue Reading Brian Illand’s Article on their blog Explainer – Where should I...
Explainer : Power Platform Licensing in under three minutes
Do you know the difference between perpetual and subscription licensing, or know your multiplexing from your software assurance? Here’s a quick three minute explainer for Power Platform licensing concepts you should understand if you plan to buy Power Platform or Dynamics 365 licences any time soon. If you’d like a similar explainer for another Power Platform topic, please let me… Continue Reading Brian...
Design Thinking : Power Platform Prototypes
Are you starting a new Power Platform or Dynamics 365 Project and not sure where to start or how to frame the requirements? Here’s a short explainer video I’ve created to get you thinking about the reasons for building a prototype and what you can hope to achieve through building one and demonstrating it to your prospective users or business stakeholders. Continue Reading Brian Illand’s Article on their blog Design...
Returning the Shopping Cart – Being a Good Power Platform Citizen Developer
I normally do my weekly grocery shopping online, however since the Coronavirus lockdown and because of the shortage of home delivery slots, I have the first world problem of visiting the supermarket again in person! After returning from a shopping trip this week, I saw a meme on twitter which reminded me of the dilemma most supermarket shoppers face after unpacking their shopping into their… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Five Tips for Running Remote Discovery Workshops during a Pandemic
I really enjoy the early phases of new greenfield Microsoft Business Applications projects. It might be delivering a fixed scope project with expected outputs already defined. It might be formulating and documenting new requirements for a truly agile project. Fundamentally however, it’s about getting into the minds of business users, perhaps building some SFDs and mapping the technology to… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Power Platform Enterprise Architecture
There are a myriad of new features being released to Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform right now. It’s tempting to try out new features and, perhaps push a new feature through to production if you or your customer is willing or agile enough. For some larger organisations however, there’s more of an importance placed on standards and governance than ensuring the continued agility of… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Protected: Protected: PowerApps and Dynamics Portals Design Decisions
This post is password protected. You must visit the website and enter the password to continue reading. Continue Reading Brian Illand’s Article on their blog Protected: PowerApps and Dynamics Portals Design Decisions Dynamics 365 & Power Platform Things Blog Syndicated with Brian Illand’s...
Licence Driven Development (LDD)
A few months ago I met an old colleague – let’s call him Ben, and we got talking. He is an experienced Microsoft developer now working on a greenfield Dynamics 365 project. He’d picked Dynamics up quickly after a few months training and upskilling himself, and had a good grasp of the platforms functionality and extensibility techniques. Our conversation went something like this : Him :… Continue Reading Brian...
Building a Shitty First Draft in Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform
There’s a lot of talk about software delivery methodologies these days. To those not constantly reading the latest 400+ page textbooks on methodologies, it can be quite hard to keep up. Agile methodologies such as Scrum can be great, but to work optimally they require a fair amount of education for all stakeholders involved, which is not always practical. Waterfall is considered by many as… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Building a Shitty First Draft in Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform – Brian Illand
There’s a lot of talk about software delivery methodologies these days. To those not constantly reading the latest 400+ page textbooks on methodologies, it can be quite hard to keep up. Agile methodologies such as Scrum can be great, but to work optimally they require a fair amount of education for all stakeholders involved, which is not always practical. Waterfall is considered by many… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Building an SFD in Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform
There’s a lot of talk about software delivery methodologies these days. To those not constantly reading the latest 400+ page textbooks on methodologies, it can be quite hard to keep up. Agile methodologies such as Scrum can be great, but to work optimally they require a fair amount of education for all stakeholders involved, which is not always practical. Waterfall is considered by many as… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Building a Power Platform Dream Team
As Microsoft Practice Lead for Codec in UK and Northern Ireland, I’m regularly thinking how Codec has grown a Microsoft Dynamics practice from a small team of 2 people to over 100 Microsoft ‘Power Platform‘ Consultants, in little over four years. In the past two years, our Belfast team has experienced rapid growth with exciting plans to grow further. Building teams at such a rate can… Continue Reading Brian...
Building a Power Platform Dream Team – Brian Illand
As Microsoft Practice Lead for Codec in UK and Northern Ireland, I’m regularly thinking how Codec has grown a Microsoft Dynamics practice from a small team of 2 people to over 100 Microsoft ‘Power Platform’ Consultants, in little over four years. In the past two years, our Belfast team has experienced rapid growth with exciting plans to grow further. Building teams at such a rate can… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article...
Dynamics 365 CE Licensing Guide Changes October 2018
How do you solve a problem like team member? The hills are alive, with the sound of people downloading the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide October 2018, just released today! Ok, so apart from me, most people don’t get too excited about software licensing, but there are some fundamental changes coming for Microsoft Dynamics customers, so be aware. You’d better set aside a day or… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Dynamics 365 CE Licensing Guide Changes October 2018 – Brian Illand
Loving the Dynamics 365 Licensing GuideHow do you solve a problem like Team Member? The hills are alive, with the sound of people downloading the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide October 2018, just released today! Ok, so apart from me, most people don’t get too excited about software licensing, but there are some fundamental changes coming for Microsoft Dynamics customers, so be… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Adventures in UCI Site Map Configuration and Usability
Over the past few days, I’ve spent some time doing a deep dive into the Unified Client Interface – it seems like most people have now settled on calling it UCI. I have been trying to work out some ‘better practices’ for user centered design, with the aim of improving user adoption for those users inclined, or perhaps directed, to use it. Microsoft are clearly working towards a User… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Adventures in UCI Site Map Configuration and Usability – Brian Illand
Over the past few days, I’ve spent some time doing a deep dive into the Unified Client Interface – it seems like most people have now settled on calling it UCI. I have been trying to work out some ‘better practices’ for user centered design, with the aim of improving user adoption for those users inclined, or perhaps directed, to use it. Microsoft are clearly working towards a User… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article...
PowerApps is dead. Long live XRMPowerApps. – Brian Illand
In April 2017 I attended SummitEMEA in Amsterdam and listened intently when Matt Barbour told us that a true Microsoft Dynamics XRM image – i.e. a CRM organisation instance with only accounts, contacts, activities and nothing else – existed internally within Microsoft. This interested me as partners have been calling out for this since the old CRM 4.0 on-premise days. At that time it… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article...
PowerApps is dead. Long live XRMPowerApps.
In April 2017 I attended SummitEMEA in Amsterdam and listened intently when Matt Barbour told us that a true Microsoft Dynamics XRM image – i.e. a CRM organisation instance with only accounts, contacts, activities and nothing else – existed internally within Microsoft. This interested me as partners have been calling out for this since the old CRM 4.0 on-premise days. At that time it seemed… Continue Reading Brian...
Native Dynamics 365 v9 Auto Number Solution for Custom Entities – Brian Illand
I spent some time watching the some of the Microsoft Ignite sessions on YouTube, and the most interesting from a Dynamics point of view was Matt Barbour’s session looking at platform updates for Dynamics 365 Customer Edition v9. One thing that was not disclosed at the preview sessions earlier this year was the addition of Auto Numbering for any entity – not just a few select core… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article on...
Native Dynamics 365 v9 Auto Number Solution for Custom Entities
I spent some time watching the some of the Microsoft Ignite sessions on YouTube, and the most interesting from a Dynamics point of view was Matt Barbour’s session looking at platform updates for Dynamics 365 Customer Edition v9. One thing that was not disclosed at the preview sessions earlier this year was the addition of Auto Numbering for any entity – not just a few select core entities…. Continue Reading Brian...
Dynamics 365 Fantasy License League
I listened with interest to Steve Mordue on the MS Dynamics World podcast today about his views on the recent announcements at the NAV Directions conference last week. Steve is a Microsoft Partner with an opinion worth listening to on everything Dynamics, but primarily CRM. As a Dynamics partner or interested customer, If you haven’t listened to the podcast I would recommend doing so, but… Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Dynamics 365 Fantasy License League – Brian Illand
I listened with interest to Steve Mordue on the MS Dynamics World podcast today about his views on the recent announcements at the NAV Directions conference last week. Steve is a Microsoft Partner with an opinion worth listening to on everything Dynamics, but primarily CRM. As a Dynamics partner or interested customer, If you haven’t listened to the podcast I would recommend doing so, but… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Dynamics 365 v9 – Changes for Developers
After the Dynamics 365 v9 preview sessions we are now getting a little bit more detail direct from the Microsoft website detailing what the changes mean in practical terms for users, configurers and developers. Head over to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/get-started/whats-new/ to see the full details or just read my summary below. Here is my take on some of the major points that… Continue Reading Brian...
Dynamics 365 v9 – Changes for Developers – Brian Illand
After the Dynamics 365 v9 preview sessions we are now getting a little bit more detail direct from the Microsoft website detailing what the changes mean in practical terms for users, configurers and developers. Head over to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/get-started/whats-new/ to see the full details or just read my summary below. Here is my take on some of the major points… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Segmenting your Contact records with Dynamics 365 Apps – Brian Illand
I’ve been using apps with Dynamics 365 for some time now and they are a great way of simplifying the user interface in a way that doesn’t require you to cross reference low level security permissions with Site Map XML. One problem that has come up time and time again is the fact that different organisations often have different types of contact because of the nature of their business…. Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Segmenting your Contact records with Dynamics 365 Apps
I’ve been using apps with Dynamics 365 for some time now and they are a great way of simplifying the user interface in a way that doesn’t require you to cross reference low level security permissions with Site Map XML. One problem that has come up time and time again is the fact that different organisations often have different types of contact because of the nature of their business…. Continue Reading Brian Illand’s...
Dynamics 365 V9.0 Summary (July 2017 Update) – Brian Illand
Today I dropped into the Dynamics 365 Insider program for day one of a series of reveals we have all been waiting on for some time now. With the NDA lifted on what Dynamics CRM 9.0 will be, it was an interesting set of changes. To quote some of the technical leads, this is the biggest release Microsoft have made to Dynamics 365 so lets understand what is involved to make it a smooth… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article...
Summit EMEA Review – Day 2 – Brian Illand
Day 2 of Summit EMEA started with some useful breakout sessions by Microsoft Partners and MVPs. The first session I attended covered some use cases of Custom Entities. Adam Vero’s session gave an interesting overview of how custom entities can be used for things other than storing business data. The 5 main use cases for custom entities covered were, replacing pick-lists, N-N intersect… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
Summit EMEA Review – Day 1 – Brian Illand
Today I attended the first day of the Summit EMEA Conference in Amsterdam with my Codec-Dss colleagues where over 2000 Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals and users come together to digest all things across Dynamics 365. With the converging product set, this included separate streams on CRM, NAV and AX. Being a community-driven conference it features special access to Microsoft leadership… Continue Reading brianilland’s...
On-Premise Dynamics 365 – How does Deployment Manager find all available databases? – Brian Illand
Today I was working with a Dynamics 365 instance where I did not have full SA access to the SQL Server instance. My deployment administrator account was able to connect to Deployment Manager ok, disable organizations ok and delete Organizations, however, when I tried to re-import an organization I had already deleted, I got the below error. “The Import Organization Wizard cannot… Continue Reading brianilland’s Article on...