Becoming a solution architect for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform

The Solution Architect leads successful implementations and focuses on how solutions address the broader business and technical needs of organizations.  This module covers what it takes to get started as a Solution Architect and as key member of the overall project team.

• Introduction to becoming a solution architect
• Existing product and platform skills
• Expectations of a solution architect
• Solution architect role during project phases
• Pillars of a great architecture

Discover customer needs as a Solution Architect for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform

Learn how to ask customers questions about their business processes and feature requirements to create a viable solution.

• Introduction and discovery overview
• Initial customer discovery
• Customer discovery meetings
• Customer communication strategy

Propose a solution as a Solution Architect for Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365

Learn how to propose a solution.

• Introduction and overview to proposing a solution
• Identify solution components
• Develop and validate a demo
• Identify potential third-party components
• Recognize strengths and weaknesses in a solution

Work with requirements for Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365

It's important to capture the customer’s needs accurately. This module explains how to capture requirements and identify functional and non-functional items.

• Lead requirement capture sessions
• Identify functional requirements
• Identify non-functional requirements
• Confirm and finalize requirements

Perform fit gap analysis

A fit gap analysis identifies the difference between the known requirements and the proposed or current solution. This module covers performing a fit gap analysis.

• Introduction to fit gap analysis
• Determine feasibility of requirements
• Refine requirements from proof of concept insights
• Categorize business requirements and perform gap fit analysis
• Evaluate Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform apps

Get started with Lifecycle Services for finance and operations apps

To install and maintain finance and operations apps in the Microsoft Azure cloud or on-premises, you must use Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services to manage the process. Let's get started by looking at the overall functionality and tools.

• Understand the functionality and tools of Lifecycle Services
• Determine licensing requirements
• Lifecycle Services security
• Reuse existing assets, copy, and share data
• Perform actions in the Asset library
• Work with the Task recorder
• Business process modeler (BPM)
• Support options
• Get product updates from Lifecycle Services
• Exercise - use the Task recorder to create and edit a recording
• Exercise - create a business process in the business process modeler
• Exercise - create a support incident

Design and plan an implementation of finance and operations apps

With proper planning, your finance and operations apps implementation will be a success. After a customer signs the agreements to purchase licenses for finance and operations apps, your job as a functional consultant starts by managing the application lifecycle and moving toward predictable, repeatable, high-quality implementation.

• Use implementation methodologies for a successful implementation
• Cloud implementation - analysis
• Cloud implementation - design and develop
• Cloud implementation - test
• Cloud implementation - deploy and operate
• On-premises implementation - analysis
• On-premises implementation - design and develop
• On-premises implementation - test, deploy, and operate
• Gathering and analyzing the requirements
• Create functional design documents (FDD)

Prepare data for migration to finance and operations apps

When it is time to migrate data, the more you know, the easier it is to control operational complexity and reduce costs. Your customer's business continuity must be your priority. Learn how to prepare data for migration, by using the data management framework to manage data entities and data entity packages in finance and operations apps.

• Select a data integration (import/export) strategy
• Common migration scenarios and tools
• Bring your own database (BYOD)
• Test a data migration and validate output

Work with data management in finance and operations apps

You can export or import data in finance and operations apps by using the Data management workspace. Validate the data by staging the source data, and then move it to the target tables in the finance and operations apps database.

• Data management concepts
• Use data entities for data management and integration
• Work with the Data management workspace
• Using Standard and Enhanced views for tiles
• Use templates in data management
• Export, import, and copy data into a legal entity
• Lab - Explore the Data management workspace
• Lab - Export data using the Data management workspace
• Database movement operations
• Data sharing framework

Perform user acceptance testing in finance and operations apps

After all customer requirements have been handled by either configuration, customization, and integration, you need to know how to perform user acceptance testing (UAT) in finance and operations apps to validate the solution. User acceptance testing is an important step in the go-live preparation. You can perform automated tests by using the Regression suite automation tool (RSAT).

• Create user acceptance test libraries
• Record test cases and save to the business process modeler (BPM)
• Synchronize and configure your test plan in Azure DevOps
• Run user acceptance tests
• Data task automation
• Exercise - Build test scripts to test business functionality

Prepare to go-live with finance and operations apps

All your hard work becomes a success by moving the implemented solution in finance and operations apps to the production environment. You want a happy customer, a quality solution, and peace of mind during this important phase, which is known as go-live. Learn how to prepare to go live with a finance and operations apps project by using Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services.

• Understand the go-live process
• Complete the Lifecycle Services methodology
• Manage environments in the Implementation portal
• Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) for your solution
• FastTrack go-live assessment
• Request a production environment

Get started with a finance and operations implementation project

The implementation lifecycle for finance and operations will help you to understand the best practices recommended to accomplishing a successful journey through a finance and operations implementation, the roles involved, and the tools available to support it.

• Implementation project overview
• Roles in a Dynamics 365 implementation
• Project phases
• Implementation planning and architecture
• Combining tools and solutions for impactful implementations

Feature management in finance and operations apps

Features are added and updated in every release. The Feature management experience provides a workspace where you can view a list of features that have been delivered in each release. Then, you can use the workspace to view feature documentation and to enable or disable features.

• Feature management workspace
• Feature states
• Enable a feature
• Reschedule a feature
• Disable a feature
• Features that must be enabled
• Enable all features
• Check for updates
• Assign roles
• Features that use configuration keys
• Data entities

Design and plan an implementation of finance and operations apps

With proper planning, your finance and operations apps implementation will be a success. After a customer signs the agreements to purchase licenses for finance and operations apps, your job as a functional consultant starts by managing the application lifecycle and moving toward predictable, repeatable, high-quality implementation.

• Use implementation methodologies for a successful implementation
• Cloud implementation - analysis
• Cloud implementation - design and develop
• Cloud implementation - test
• Cloud implementation - deploy and operate
• On-premises implementation - analysis
• On-premises implementation - design and develop
• On-premises implementation - test, deploy, and operate
• Gathering and analyzing the requirements
• Create functional design documents (FDD)

Implement application lifecycle management in finance and operations apps

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is the management of computer programs, which includes managing requirements, software architecture, software development, software maintenance, change management, continuous integration, project management, and released management. Learn about ALM to plan, create, test, and implement code for finance and operations apps.

• ALM methodologies
• Design and create models
• Plan the build, test, and quality control processes
• Identify upgrade scenarios and appropriate tools
• Plan the release, change, and risk management processes

Get started with Lifecycle Services for finance and operations apps

To install and maintain finance and operations apps in the Microsoft Azure cloud or on-premises, you must use Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services to manage the process. Let's get started by looking at the overall functionality and tools.

• Understand the functionality and tools of Lifecycle Services
• Determine licensing requirements
• Lifecycle Services security
• Reuse existing assets, copy, and share data
• Perform actions in the Asset library
• Work with the Task recorder
• Business process modeler (BPM)
• Support options
• Get product updates from Lifecycle Services
• Exercise - use the Task recorder to create and edit a recording
• Exercise - create a business process in the business process modeler
• Exercise - create a support incident

Plan and implement security in finance and operations apps

If you understand the security architecture of finance and operations apps, you can customize it to fit the requirements of your business. finance and operations apps, helps keep your sensitive data safe, and users focused on their roles.

• Understand the security architecture
• Encryption in finance and operations apps
• Manage users and security
• Set up and apply segregation of duties
• Run security reports
• Stay compliant with user licensing requirements
• Security diagnostics for task recordings
• Extensible data security policies
• Exercise - Import a user and assign security role
• Lab - Work with security

Implement role-based security in finance and operations apps

Finance and operations apps use role-based security to assign access to components in the system. A user who is assigned to a security role has access to the set of privileges that is associated with that role.

• Create and modify duties, privileges, and permissions
• Enforce permissions policy
• Extensible data security framework
• Apply security permissions
• Lab - Create a new security role and add duties
• Microsoft Entra ID and OAuth 2.0 authentication

Perform user acceptance testing in finance and operations apps

After all customer requirements have been handled by either configuration, customization, and integration, you need to know how to perform user acceptance testing (UAT) in finance and operations apps to validate the solution. User acceptance testing is an important step in the go-live preparation. You can perform automated tests by using the Regression suite automation tool (RSAT).

• Create user acceptance test libraries
• Record test cases and save to the business process modeler (BPM)
• Synchronize and configure your test plan in Azure DevOps
• Run user acceptance tests
• Data task automation
• Exercise - Build test scripts to test business functionality

Upgrade from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance

Upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance is a significant step towards modernizing business systems, involving thorough planning, data and code preparation, testing, and cutover. This module provides a comprehensive guide to ensure a smooth transition with minimal downtime, covering best practices, toolkits, and tips for a successful upgrade.

• Upgrade analysis report
• Pre-upgrade checklist and estimation tools
• Data upgrade
• Cutover testing
• Functional testing
• Prepare for go live
• Go live

Updates and upgrades for finance and operations apps

The world of enterprise resource planning (ERP) is continuously evolving and helping customers scale up in productivity and streamline their operations. The evolution of finance and operations encourages customers to upgrade their earlier versions to the finance and operations cloud service.

• Continuous updates (One Version)
• Service updates
• Upgrade your finance and operations version
• Apply updates to cloud environments
• Data upgrade
• Update development tools

Prepare to go-live with finance and operations apps

All your hard work becomes a success by moving the implemented solution in finance and operations apps to the production environment. You want a happy customer, a quality solution, and peace of mind during this important phase, which is known as go-live. Learn how to prepare to go live with a finance and operations apps project by using Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services.

• Understand the go-live process
• Complete the Lifecycle Services methodology
• Manage environments in the Implementation portal
• Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) for your solution
• FastTrack go-live assessment
• Request a production environment

Work with performance and monitoring tools in finance and operations apps

Learn how to use performance tools and Lifecycle Services environment monitoring tools to enhance your validation and testing experience in finance and operations apps.

• Diagnose performance issues by using Trace parser
• Load testing by using the Performance SDK
• Monitor performance by using SQL Insights
• Create a SQL trace by using the SQL Profiler
• Monitor server health metrics in Lifecycle Services
• Exercise - Use the Environment monitoring tool in Lifecycle Services

Explore extensions and the extension framework in finance and operations apps

Finance and operations apps are customized by using extensions, which let you add functionality to model elements and source code in the Application Object Tree (AOT) by using Visual Studio.

• Customization models
• Assess the extensibility of code
• Extension points for frameworks
• Develop code to extend a framework
• Create pre-event and post-event handler classes
• Implement the SysOperationSandbox framework
• Implement the workflow framework
• Lab - Extend an EDT

Work with analytics and reporting in finance and operations apps

Business leaders can make important decisions in their company if they have accurate insight into the underlying financial and operational data. Without data visibility, business leaders are challenged with a nearly impossible task. By using analytics and reporting in finance and operations apps, you can empower every business user, depending on their security rights, to get the insights they need to make those important decisions.

• Understand different types of reports and inquiries
• Financial reporting
• Find inquiries and reports
• Generate and consume inquiries and reports
• Configure finance and operations apps for Microsoft Power Platform
• Lab - Work with reports

Get started with Success by Design for Dynamics 365

Success by Design is the prescriptive guidance (approaches and best practices) for designing, building, and deploying a Dynamics 365 solution.

• Overview of Success by Design
• Reasons to use Success by Design
• Success by Design phases
• Implement Success by Design
• Track Success by Design activities and progress

Create a solution blueprint for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Solution blueprint workshop is part of Success by Design. This module focuses on creating the blueprint, and conducting the workshop to create it.

• Solution blueprint review workshop overview
• Prepare for the Solution blueprint review
• Solution blueprint review participants
• Conduct the Solution blueprint review workshop
• Solution blueprint follow-up

Plan a testing strategy for your Dynamics 365 solution

Testing strategy, identifying gaps in testing plans, and potential risks are discussed in this module.

• Overview of the Test strategy review workshop
• Prepare for the workshop
• Workshop implementation and follow-up

Design data models for Dynamics 365 solutions

A data model workshop is part of Success by Design. This module will provide a basic description of data modeling for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and insight into how you can conduct a data model workshop.

• Data modeling overview
• Entity relationship diagram
• Out-of-the-box vs. custom tables
• Table configuration

Business intelligence and analytics design for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Business intelligence and analytics design workshop allows you to spend time reviewing the overall business intelligence and analytics planning, fit-gap analysis, design blueprint to provide guidance on maximizing the use of standard features, alignment to product roadmap, and general design guidance. This workshop isn't intended as a fit-gap review.

• Business intelligence and analytics design workshop overview
• Prepare for the Business intelligence and analytics design workshop
• Conduct the Business intelligence and analytics design workshop
• Business intelligence and analytics design follow-up

Gap solution design for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Gap solution design workshop is designed for implementations that have critical requirements that the standard system doesn't support.

• Gap solution design workshop overview
• Prepare for the Gap solution design workshop
• Conduct the Gap solution design workshop
• Gap solution design follow-up

Create a data migration strategy for Dynamics 365 solutions

The overall goal of the Success by Design framework is to ensure a successful customer outcome for each implementation. The Data migration strategy workshop is designed to help ensure that the approach to data migration is heading for success.

• Data migration strategy overview
• Prepare for the Data migration workshop
• Conduct the Data migration strategy workshop

Review the security model for your Dynamics 365 solutions

A security strategy is key to solutions, and a Security model workshop will help verify that the customer’s security model is comprehensive and that it will support their long-term security strategy. This module primarily focuses on customer engagement applications.

• The importance of security in Dynamics 365
• Key considerations of a strong security model
• Security module overview
• Business units and teams
• Implemented-security-mechanisms
• Scalability, performance, and maintainability
• Security module overview

Plan and implement security in finance and operations apps

If you understand the security architecture of finance and operations apps, you can customize it to fit the requirements of your business. finance and operations apps, helps keep your sensitive data safe, and users focused on their roles.

• Understand the security architecture
• Encryption in finance and operations apps
• Manage users and security
• Set up and apply segregation of duties
• Run security reports
• Stay compliant with user licensing requirements
• Security diagnostics for task recordings
• Extensible data security policies
• Exercise - Import a user and assign security role
• Lab - Work with security

Integration design for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Integration workshop is part of Success by Design. This module discusses integration strategy and how the Integration workshop will help verify that the project's integration plans are comprehensive and will support initial implementation and long-term needs.

• Integration design review workshop overview
• Prepare for the Integration design review
• Conduct the Integration design review
• Integration design review workshop follow-up

Dual-write implementation for Dynamics 365 solutions

Dual-write offers an out-of-the-box infrastructure that can provide customers near real-time interaction between Customer engagement apps and finance and operations apps. The Dual-write implementation workshop guides you through key points to help identify and resolve potential blockers to a successful dual-write implementation.

• Dual-write implementation workshop overview
• Prepare for the workshop
• Workshop implementation and follow-up

Implement a performance strategy for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Solution performance workshop provides guidance and best practices for solution design in respect to performance. The workshop will increase awareness of the impact that certain types of configurations and/or customizations have on the overall performance and user experience.

• Solution performance workshop topics
• Define performance benchmarks and success criteria
• Timing of the Solution performance review
• Prepare for the workshop
• Workshop implementation and follow-up

Cutover strategy for Dynamics 365 solutions

The goal of the Cutover strategy workshop is to help ensure that a good approach is in place for the planning, incremental readiness, testing, and implementation of the cutover. You need to consider many different areas when you discuss a cutover strategy, and this workshop provides the necessary framework to review those key topics.

• Purpose of the Cutover strategy workshop
• Timing of the Cutover strategy review
• Cutover strategy workshop overview
• Prepare for the workshop
• Workshop implementation and follow-up

Post go-live strategy for Dynamics 365 solutions

The Post go-live workshop gives the implementation team the opportunity to confirm that the solution has delivered the objectives that were initially set.

• Timing of the Post go-live workshop
• Post go-live workshop overview
• Prepare for the workshop
• Post go-live workshop implementation and follow up

Get started with configuration and personalization in finance and operations apps

In this module, learners are introduced to the idea of personalizing finance and operations applications to fit their business needs.

• Set up your environment
• Explore personalization functionality

Configure your user interface in finance and operations apps

In this module, learners were introduced to the idea of personalizing the finance and operations user interface to fit their business needs. They learned how to change menus, forms, and reports.

• Manage menus: Favorites
• Manage menus: Dashboards by role
• Manage menus: Key performance indicators
• Manage forms: Fields
• Manage forms: Filters and ranges
• Configure reports
• Knowledge check
• Exercise – Create favorites
• Exercise – View role-based dashboards
• Exercise – Change form fields and queries
• Exercise – Change report output

Configure your data in finance and operations apps

We learn that there are different options in updating data. Dynamics is made to integrate seamlessly with Office products.

• Create entities
• Manage security
• Integrate with Microsoft Office
• Knowledge check
• Exercise – Add a field to a data entity
• Exercise – Use Excel to view and update data

Propose a solution as a Solution Architect for Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365

Learn how to propose a solution.

• Identify solution components
• Develop and validate a demo
• Identify potential third-party components
• Recognize strengths and weaknesses in a solution

Discover customer needs as a Solution Architect for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform

Learn how to ask customers questions about their business processes and feature requirements to create a viable solution.

• Introduction and discovery overview
• Initial customer discovery
• Customer discovery meetings
• Customer communication strategy

Perform fit gap analysis

A fit gap analysis identifies the difference between the known requirements and the proposed or current solution. This module covers performing a fit gap analysis.

• Introduction to fit gap analysis
• Determine feasibility of requirements
• Refine requirements from proof of concept insights
• Categorize business requirements and perform gap fit analysis
• Evaluate Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform apps

Implement application lifecycle management in finance and operations apps

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is the management of computer programs, which includes managing requirements, software architecture, software development, software maintenance, change management, continuous integration, project management, and released management. Learn about ALM to plan, create, test, and implement code for finance and operations apps.

• ALM methodologies
• Design and create models
• Plan the build, test, and quality control processes
• Identify upgrade scenarios and appropriate tools
• Plan the release, change, and risk management processes

Challenge project - Architecting solutions for a new product line for customers

In this challenge project, your chosen company may or may not exactly fit the guidelines here, use creative license to evaluate and architect solutions for the new product line they're planning.

• Prepare
• Exercise - Conceptualize the design