Here are some additional D365 best practices to keep in mind :

• Decide on your software development lifecycle tool. It’s important to know where you’ll house all the work that’s being done – from code repository to task management. Once you decide on a tool (we recommend Azure DevOps), determine the licenses you’ll need to acquire going into the project.
• Determine how you’ll measure the health of the implementation. How will you know it’s going well? Consider the ongoing health of your budget, team engagement, and timeline.
• Ensure that you have dedicated team members. Remember, it’s important for your implementation team to truly commit to the process (and have your leadership team’s support in doing so).
• Make sure you understand your end-to-end business process. From start to finish, each line of business needs to continue functioning on your new platform. Having a thorough understanding of their processes will help ensure no step is missed.

The size of your team and the duties of each person will depend on your company, but here are the major players you want your implementation team:

• Executive sponsor: The executive sponsor will possess ultimate ownership of the implementation. They must be a highly visible champion throughout the implementation, helping to articulate the “why” behind it to all organizational stakeholders. Executive sponsors will offer guidance and oversight, and though they may not get into the details, they will have a comprehensive understanding of the implementation process, impact, and goals.
• Implementation project manager: This person will monitor the budget, resources, risks, and timeline of the project.
• Business analyst (BA): This role is often filled by a person from outside your business who thoroughly reviews your current processes and procedures to understand what works — and what doesn’t. The BA will help draft requirements and identify efficiencies in your business processes.
• Subject matter expert (SME): Usually a senior team member, the SME has in-depth knowledge about a particular line of business or department, and represents it as a member of the implementation team.
• Technical architect: When it comes to hooking up the “plumbing” of D365, it is critical to identify an architect from the IT team to aid in designing integrations, architectures, and sustainment planning.
• Test lead: Before your Dynamics system goes live, it must undergo one of the most important aspects of the whole process: testing. A designated test lead ensures that the solution runs smoothly and catches issues before going live.
• Super users: These team members should be identified and recruited during the implementation process. Super users are typically “early adopters,” and are willing to take the time to thoroughly train on D365. They’ll then share their knowledge with other individuals in the organization, and can provide user support for not technical requests.

Once you have the right team members in place, you need to think about the skills you’ll need to launch the new software solution.

First, look at the skills you already have on hand, and then determine what you’re missing — a process known as a skills gap analysis. This will help you figure out if you need to bring in resources.

As we’ve mentioned, business analysts are extremely helpful. Think about people in your organization who have those skills, such as business process engineers, that translate to technical teams. You also want subject matter experts who have the authority to make decisions of behalf of their appropriate business units.

Determine the capabilities for each role and create a skills assessment table to see if you have the right fit.

After performing a gap analysis, you may discover that you don’t have all the skills and capabilities within your organization to guarantee a successful D365 implementation. This means you need to consider an experienced outside partner.

You want a partner who has done this before — not just someone who comes in, implements D365, and leaves. You want a partner who will help you plan and prioritize, and can recommend and implement industry best practices, especially when it comes to process engineering and refinement.

There are numerous benefits to teaming up with a partner for D365 implementation, including:

• Industry knowledge
• Change management expertise
• Implementation experience
• Integration expertise
• Training and support services
• Ensuring quality and best practices

Q: What are the benefits of using Microsoft Dynamics 365?
A: With D365, you can achieve seamless connectivity, realize valuable insights from data, shorten the sales cycle, enhance social engagement, improve customer service, deploy and scale easily, and increase your ROI.

Q: How can I prepare for a Dynamics 365 implementation?
A: There’s a lot that goes into implementation, but it’s important to review and evaluate your current systems, plan accordingly, and assemble the right team.

Q: Why should I consider an implementation partner?
A: The right implementation partner can offer consulting and implementation expertise, training and support services, and help ensure quality and best practices.