MS CRM 2011: Jscript Upgrade plan from v4

Since i'm going through a few upgrades, I will be sharing with you my wonderful experience. First, we will start with our beloved jscript, which should work until the next rollup upgrade, so it is better to invest some time now and fix it all, then spending sleepless nights later. What do you need to analyze a Jscript? You will need a one blond girl and a jscript expert. Preferably  thejscript expert, who has a knowledge of all customizations implemented as well as new features that can be replaced by old ones. Why a blond girl? Developers are also human beings, they need attention and a cup of coffee brought by a cute blond girl can cheer them up before such an important task as an upgrade. Here we go

Jscript Analysis Steps

1.       Export Jscript with a tool.

http://blogs.infinite-x.net/free-utilities/

2.       Sort out JS by size and type to see the effort. JScripts that are on change are usually the shortest.

3.       Make a list of all jscript codes.

 Example:

Entity	Attribute	Event	Comment
account		onload	SW filtered lookup - replace w/ OOB; user role web svc call
account		onsave	Minor - account name validation
account	new_slcustomertype	onchange	Minor
account	customertypecode	onchange	Minor
account	address1_postalcode	onchange	Yahoo Web svc call to populate City/State from Zip - Remove

4.       Verify that there are no unsupported customizations present.

5.       Identify what base xml or current customizations can be replaced by native CRM features

Pay attention to:

o    filtered lookups

o    field level security scripts 

o    forms with sub-grids

o    custom audit

6.       Create a list of unsupported customizations and plan to migrate your scripts from using crmForm to Xrm.Page.

You can read more about migration at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg509046.aspx

7.       Convertor jscripts, using the tool below.

http://crm2011scriptconvert.codeplex.com/

Dev Upgrade JS Process

Remove jscript -> Upgrade Dev -> Bring back converted Jscript  -> Clean -> Test

Cleanup:

-          Remove duplicated functions and use library to call one function at each entity.

After a trial upgrade test every entity.

Resources:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg554717.aspx
http://blog.sonomapartners.com/2011/04/upgrading-to-crm-2011-our-story.html
http://weblogs.asp.net/pabloperalta/archive/2010/11/01/step-by-step-installing-crm-2011-on-premise-and-migrating-from-dynamics-crm-4-0-32-bits-on-premise.aspx
http://crmentropy.blogspot.com/2011/10/upgrade-crm-4-to-2011-for-itdiots.html

MS CRM: Where can you learn MS CRM for free?

It is not a secret that becoming a true CRM expert requires years of experience. But for any of your practical endeavors, you will need some  theoretical knowledge as well, so I'm going to share some links to videos / reading materials that will help you to build MS CRM knowledge for free.  The materials below will also be helpful for people who want to get familiar with MS CRM or get a knowledge refreshment.  

Videos
 

On Line Courses

Pluralsight

Pluralsight offers a What is Dynamics CRM? course that you can take under a Trial Version. It is a good course that walks you through most important MS CRM 2011 features. On-line training includes slides and demos, and if you think its too slow for you, you can change a course speed and go through the course faster.

 You Tube

 

PythagorasCRM

More and more consulting companies jump into media channels such as YouTube to educate their customers.  Thus Youtube is full of videos on MS CRM. Some videos are full, some are just demos, some are great quality, some homemade, but this is usually a good start for anyone looking for a visual experience.

Microsoft Resources

Video Resources

This website has a very high level well done videos on MS CRM as well as some deep dives on particular modules and features. Videos are short and sweet, so you will not get bored going through them.

Community Videos 

MS CRM Community has very good dip dives videos on particular CRM features.
 

Reads

Blogs

CRM Lady
David Yack and Julie Yack
There are multiple blogs out there to read and learn from. Good things about blogs, there are real authors behind them, which means, you can comment, ask questions and request additional explanations if needed. Use Gmail Reader to consolidate all your subscriptions in one place for an easy read.

Microsoft Resources

MS Library

This library includes MS CRM 2011 Implementation Guide, Software Development Kit and technical articles. It is a good read for people implementing and customizing CRM.
 

MS Community

MS CRM Community site contains a lot of information on CRM, you can browse blogs, forum, network and check other related communities.
 

LinkedIn

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft CRM Online

You can use LinkedIn CRM Groups to stay updated on fast changing CRM world as well as jump into discussions on hot topics.

White Papers

Infinity Info Systems
Microsoft

If you want to learn real life examples of CRM implementations, you can search for CRM white appears and case studies. Software consulting companies usually post them on their websites .

Practice

Trial MS CRM

Remember, you can start a 30 days full CRM on-line  trial to have a hands on experience. This Trial comes with lots of sample data, so you will have more room for different scenarios.
 
CRMUG
CRMUG made Microsoft Hands-on Labs available to you with no cost. These labs are great for going through product features and learning new tricks.

IMHO: Dream Force vs MS World Partner Conference

I have not posted anything on my blog for a while but these two events above made me boiling, so here it is, my new post.

Note: I have not been at any of these famous conferences physically. Why bother increase CO2 emission when you can watch everything online? I hope you agree. Here is my small recap of what is happing in these crazy world of CRM technology.

First of all watching WPC was an easy task, just go to a Microsoft page and stream the video for free. DreamForce decided to charge for their amazing remote experience and the price was…. your "Like" on Facebook. Do you realize how much "Like" is worth nowadays? Now all my friends will know what I watch, and Facebook page will bombard me with ads on CRM theme. Unbelievably expensive! However, my curiosity won, so I clicked "Like".

Both events were happening on a 360 degree stage, which probably tells a lot about the size of these events. DreamForce gathered 90 000 attendees, around 350 partners, where Microsoft WPC was attended by 14 000 memebers, including 9 000 channel partners. I think SaleForce did a pretty got job of attracting attention, especially for a just one product venue. Well, they are selling a sales force product, they better be good at what they do.

Back to the venues. Two similar stages and two the most important speakers: SF CEO Marc Benioff vs MS CEO Steve Ballmer and here are two major points of their key notes in my mind:

SalesForce - Social revolution. Get into your customer's mind by using the most popular social platforms and drive your sales force from there.
Microsoft - Technology revolution. Integrate and extend software experience to other surfaces, and use it for a limitless collaboration and sharing.

Both directions are pretty impressive and make me excited. I know MS CRM is lacking that social flavor but trust me, Microsoft will catch up on this pretty soon. What is good about SalesForce, it is very flexible and adjusts well to the market demand, but their CRM product is pretty expensive and doesn't have seamless integration with Outlook or robust reporting like Microsoft CRM does. Also SalesForce doesn't provide the ability to go on-premise and getting all your data out can be pretty tough.

However, users love SalesForce interface, it is pretty intuitive and highly customizable. Microsoft can be a little confusing and limited in terms of customization, but a lot of work is being done. I expect great results in the nearest future, since a lot of changes have been made recently. For example, making MS CRM a multi browser application opened doors to such opportunities like tablets, and with a new Microsoft tablet coming out MS CRM future gets even more exciting. I can defiantly see a spike in CRM sales after a new tablet comes out.

Short term I think SaleForce wins, it has trendy features, cool looks, and everyone is talking about it, but long term I think Microsoft has more capacity to grow, due to already establish market for Microsoft products, plus introducing all new recent collaboration features makes me believe it will catch up with SalesForce pretty soon.

  * A little note about Microsoft; WPC was not CRM focused but we can defiantly see what the trend is and where the company is going with its products.

Clouded by Sale Force :)

Gossip Corner: ExactTarget is failing to work with Dynamics CRM 2011

Bad news for someone with Dynamics CRM 2011 and a desire to have a working version of Exact Target. Based on the latest news Exact Target is still working on getting their product ready and there is no date set for the release yet. Nothing is left then to patiently wait. Here are some issues identified:

• Subscriber Key required for individual tracking in Dynamics CRM 2011
• Smart Capture not currently supported
• Profile Center not currently supported
• Subscription Center not currently supported
• No migration scripts available to transfer ET tracking data from 4.0 to 2011
• Outlook Toolbar not working properly
• Issues with high-volume sends (30,000+) with Dynamics CRM 2011 Online (NOTE not an issue with on-prem)

MS News: Sure Step 2012

Microsoft has just recently announced a "new and improved" Sure Step 2012. The main difference in this release is the focus on Dynamics AX 2012 and new content for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 On-premises and Online. Here are the main points:

• Accelerated Proof of Concept with CRM Online service – Provides scripts, demos, Delivery Guide, and related content for building a quick proof of concept or demo for a customer using the CRM Online 30-day trial. This supports rapid requirements definition and solution decision-making. Find this in the Decision Accelerator offering.

• Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 – tools and templates to support the Upgrade project type, reflecting an Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 upgrade scenario.

• Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Implementation tools and templates are updated to reflect an Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 implementation scenario, including Fit/Gap analysis worksheet, estimator tool, requirements questionnaire, security configuration requirements template, and other valuable templates.

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Updates – new CRM artifacts including Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Upgrade Assessment, Database Sizing Tool, and Design Best Practices.

• Sure Step Optimization Offering – These services have been repackaged across all products to represent either discrete stand-alone services such as Developer Workshop or bundled services available to customers, such as Architecture Review, Project Governance and Delivery Review, and Upgrade Review.

You may find Sure Step 2012 with the latest tools, templates, and content on PartnerSource.

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MS CRM 2011: Can I use Firefox with CRM?

If you are not a fan of Internet Explorer and Firefox is your only browser, you can still use MS CRM with it. The trick is an extension, called IEtab. What it does, it embeds IE in a Firefox tab by using the XUL extension and the XPCOM plugin. It is compatible with the latest Firefox 3.0, free and easy to install.
Check it out!

Do Dynamics GP Year-End Closing Procedures Stress You Out?

Are you worried about the problems, steps, reports, and documents you need to process? MIG & Co is giving a free breakfast seminar where you can find out how CFOs, Controllers, and Accounting Managers can leverage Microsoft Dynamics GP to make year-end procedures run as smoothly as possible. Please come, I'm going to cover troubleshooting part as a speaker there.

MIG Breakfast Seminar:
Year-End Closing - Best Practices in Dynamics GP
Register Now
Date:
Wednesday,
September 28th
Location:
Microsoft Corporate Office
1290 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY
Cost:
No Charge
Agenda:
* Subject to change

8:30-9:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast

9:00-10:00 AM
Year-End Closing Procedures
& Best Practices

10:00 AM-10:30 PM
Q&A, User Group Discussions