Introduction

The two-day Microsoft CRM Customization course examines the various ways in which you can customize the application to meet your business requirements. Customization can take on many forms – from workflow, to customizing the application and database schema, to report customization, to extended customization via the Software Development Kit (SDK). Workflow Manager allows you to automate your company’s business policies by creating workflow rules that can be automatically and/or manually applied to selected objects. Workflow Manager also includes the ability to create Sales Processes, which automate the activities associated with prospecting, qualifying, and closing sales opportunities.

The Microsoft CRM Customization tool allows you to customize the form, views, and preview panes associated with each object. Used in conjunction with the Schema Manager utility, you will learn how to modify the database schema, and then apply those customizations to the application. This course will also introduce you to the Software Development Kit, or SDK, which is a tool used by developers for creating vertical solutions that can interface with the CRM application. And finally, from a reporting standpoint, you will be introduced to the Crystal Report Designer tool, which allows you to create new reports and modify any of the existing reports that were shipped with the application.

Audience
The Microsoft CRM Customization course is designed for partners and customers who will be customizing the application. This typically includes implementers, consultants, developers, systems administrators, project leaders, etc.

At Course Completion
After completing this course, students will understand:

Microsoft CRM’s architecture and how it facilitates customization via the SDK
Workflow rules that can automate your company’s business policies
Sales processes that can automate the activities required to prospect, qualify, and close sales opportunities
Microsoft CRM’s Customization Tool that allows you to modify forms, views, and preview panes
Microsoft CRM’s Schema Manager tool that allows you to customize the database schema by adding custom fields to each object as well as creating custom database mappings
Publishing your customizations to your production environment
Microsoft CRM’s Software Development Kit (SDK) that allows you to create external customizations that leverage the platform layer’s class libraries
Crystal Designer reporting tool that allows you to create new reports and modify existing reports.

Prerequisites
Before attending this course, students must have:

An understanding of the Microsoft CRM application

Microsoft Certified Professional Exams
No Microsoft Certified Professional exams are associated with this course currently.

Course Materials
The student materials include comprehensive courseware and other necessary materials for this class.

Course Outline
Chapter 1: Architecture
This chapter examines Microsoft CRM’s architectural design. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the design goals for Microsoft CRM, discuss how these goals evolved into the system, platform and application functionality that define the Microsoft CRM product, and review Microsoft CRM’s four architectural layers - the Presentation layer, Application layer, Platform layer and Database layer. Please note that this is a high-level discussion of the product’s architecture with the intent on introducing the student to each layer of design. Focus of this discussion centers around how the platform layer and the metadata design facilitate extensibility of the application.

Main Topics
Presentation layer (web client and Sales for Outlook client)
Application layer
Platform layer (primary focus, specifically touching on the 800+ class libraries used to extend the application via web services)
Database layer

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

Identify the similarities and differences between the two methods of accessing Microsoft CRM (via web client and the Sales for Outlook client).
Understand how the platform layer of the product architecture plays a key role in all product functionality, including extension of product functionality by ISV’s through the use web services that access class libraries at the product layer.
Identify the four databases created with each Microsoft CRM installation and understand the purpose of each.
Understand why the application was designed to prohibit direct access of application logic and databases by developers.

Chapter 2: Workflow
This chapter examines how you can automate your organization’s business policies, tasks, and sales processes using the Microsoft CRM Workflow tools. This chapter will review the core concepts and terminology related to the Workflow manager, which is the tool used to create, modify, and activate workflow rules and sales processes. You will learn how to create rules that will be automatically triggered based on selected events, and how to build conditions and actions within those rules. You will also learn how to create workflow templates, which can be used as the basis for future rules that have common characteristics. In addition to workflow rules, you will also learn how to create sales processes, which are specialized workflow rules for sales opportunities. And finally, you will learn how to administer rules and sales processes via the Workflow Manager tool.

Main Topics
Workflow Manager
Workflow Rules
Workflow Templates
Events
Conditions
Actions
Sales Processes
Workflow Monitor
Workflow Best Practices

Lab: Creating Workflow Rules
Creating a workflow rule template
Creating a workflow rule
Testing the rule automatically and manually

Lab: Creating Sales Processes
Creating a sales process template
Creating a sales process rule
Testing the rule automatically

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

Understand how business processes can be automated in Microsoft CRM.
Understand the core concepts and terminology associated with Microsoft CRM’s Workflow Manager – including: Rules, Events, Conditions, Actions, Rule Templates, Sales Processes and Workflow Monitor.
Use the Workflow Manager to create, modify, and activate Rules and Sales Processes.
Administer Rules and Sales Processes with the Workflow Monitor.

Chapter 3: Customization
This chapter will discuss the different components and processes that can be used to customize Microsoft CRM’s appearance and behavior. This chapter will instruct you on how to use the System Customization Tool to customize views, forms, preview panes, and all other customizable areas of the application. You will examine which components can be customized to satisfy different business needs. This includes an examination of the Deployment Manager’s Schema Manager and Mapper tools, both of which can be used for customizing the database schema. Finally, you will learn how to modify the properties of existing forms, views, Advanced Find views, Associated Views, and Preview Panes in order to meet your business’ needs.

Main Topics
System Customization tool
Modifying forms
Modifying views, advanced find views, and associated views
Modifying preview panes
Schema Manager
Adding custom fields to the database
Mapper tool
Adding custom field mappings
Publishing customization changes
Customization Best Practices

Lab: Customizing Views
Creating a new view
Modifying an existing view
Setting the default view for a record type

Lab: Adding Customized fields to the database schema
Schema Manager
Attribute Manager
Add custom fields to the database
Publishing database schema changes
Export XML configuration

Lab: Record Type Customization
Form Editor
Adding custom fields to a form
Modifying field properties
Modifying form layout
Modifying preview panes
Publishing form and preview pane customizations

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

Identify which Microsoft CRM components are customizable using the Microsoft CRM System Customization Tool.
Extend the database schema by adding new fields and exposing them in the application.
Use the System Customization Tool to customize views, forms, preview panes and all other customizable areas of the application.
Modify the properties of existing forms, views, Advanced Find views, Associated Views, and Preview Panes – as well as all other customizable areas of the application.
Publish customizations into Microsoft CRM using the Deployment Manager Tool.

Chapter 4: Introduction to the Microsoft CRM SDK
This chapter will introduce the Microsoft CRM Software Development Kit, or SDK. The SDK is used for advanced customization beyond the capabilities of the application customization tools that were covered in the previous chapter. The SDK is a valuable reference for software developers to extend and enhance the functionality of Microsoft CRM. Because the nature of these customizations are very diverse and require programming skills that are not a prerequisite for this course, this will not be a “How to” course. This chapter will only serve to introduce the SDK and describe the features that developers will be able to use in order to create solutions that leverage Microsoft CRM.

Lessons
Understand the capabilities for customization with the SDK
Understand the benefits of the SDK
Understand the intended audience of the SDK
Understand the contents of the SDK

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

Understand the capabilities for customization with the SDK. The chapter will provide a simple scenario to illustrate how the SDK can be used by developers to create a solution to solve a business problem.
Recognize the benefits the SDK provides to the solution developer and how it helps extend and preserve some of the key benefits of Microsoft CRM.
Recognize the intended audience of the SDK and understand which skills developers will need in order to take advantage of the benefits the SDK offers.
Successfully navigate the SDK contents. The chapter will provide a brief tour of the contents and explain how developers can use the SDK to learn more about techniques they will use to create solutions.

Chapter 5: Customizing Crystal Enterprise reports
This chapter will introduce Crystal Enterprise reporting with Microsoft CRM. In this chapter, you will examine the planning resources available to you, some of the reporting challenges you may face, and various approaches to overcome those challenges. You will also examine Crystal Enterprise for Microsoft CRM, including the components of the Crystal Enterprise for Microsoft CRM system, how licensing is implemented, how reports are presented, and how security is implemented. Finally, you will learn how to create and modify custom reports, how to make reports available to users, and how to use existing reports as templates for new reports. While this chapter is not a Crystal reporting primer, it does cover the basics on modifying existing reports and creating new reports.

Main Topics
Planning Considerations (including the importance of planning, planning resources, and challenges and approaches)
Crystal Enterprise for Microsoft CRM (including report presentation, licensing, and security)
Custom reports (including customization requirements, creating custom reports, modifying existing reports, and publishing report customizations)
Reporting Best Practices

Lab: Modifying an Existing Report
Add a new label to the report
Add a new field to the report
Preview the report changes
Publish the report and test it

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

Recognize the importance of reporting to your Microsoft CRM implementation.
Use the Microsoft CRM Implementation Tool Kit planning resources in order to plan your Microsoft CRM reporting solution.
Recognize and overcome reporting solution challenges.
Identify licensing considerations in regards to Microsoft CRM reports.
Understand how security is implemented in regards to Microsoft CRM reports.
Understand how reports are presented.
Identify the requirements needed in order to create or modify Microsoft CRM reports.
Create, modify and publish Microsoft CRM reports.
Use existing reports as templates for new reports.

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