MS CRM 2011: User Off-Boarding

It happens a lot in this life, that one day, one person has to leave a company.  Let's have a look at some off-boarding situations:

Left for good with no replacement

In MS CRM you cannot delete a user, but you can successfully deactivate him or her. Deactivation will  free one license and disable CRM access for this user. All  historical record ownership will stay intact.

To deactivate a user:

1. Click Settings -> Administration in the Navigation Pane.

2. Click Users.

3. Open the user record for the former employee.

4. Click Disable.
5. Click OK.

Note:

• Make sure to reassign the workflows from a former user to another user before deactivation.
• If you have created a test user in a test system and want to delete it, you will have to delete your test CRM organization and start all over again.
• If you are using MST Office 365 to manage your subscription, just remove a user on the Office 365 portal Users page.
• You can disable Users that belong to the same Business Unit all at ones, by disabling this Business Unit.

• Removing a User Role from a user will disable the access to the system. However, this will still keep the account active. In this case all records owned by this user will still by owned by him or her. This situation may lead to other users experiencing security error messages when working with these ghost owned records.

Nothing is irreplaceable

One person is leaving and another is ready to take over the duties. In this case, we will first  need to do reassign previous owner's records to a new person. MS CRM makes it possible by using the bulk record reassignment or manual record reassignment features.

To  do bulk record reassignment:

1. Click Settings -> Administration in the Navigation Pane.

2. Click Users.

3. Open the user record for the former employee.

4. Click Reassign Records.

5. Choose Assign to me or Assign to another user or team.

6. Click Ok.

To do manual record reassignment:

1. Go the entity's records or run Advanced Find with specific criteria.

2. Select all records to be reassigned.

3. Click Assign on the Ribbon.
4. Select a User to assign these records to.

5. Click Ok.

Note:

• Bulk record reassignment should be used with care since it reassigns records' ownership of all completed activities, qualified leads, resolved cases and so on. This action will affect historical reporting.

• To make ownership  changes flow from Account to related cases, orders and so on, consider changing entity Relationship Behavior to Cascade All.

• Reassignment will not change appointments, where this user is an attendee.

Moved to a different location but under the same company

When one person stays in the company but moves to another department (business unit), you can easily reassign this user to a new unit.

To reassign a user to a different Business Unit:

1. Click Settings -> Administration in the Navigation Pane.

2. Click Users.

3. Open the user record for the former employee.

4. Click Change Business Unit.

5. Select a new Business Unit.

6. Click OK.

Note:

• Security roles will have to be assigned again to a user in a new Business Unit.
• If there is a large amount of records owned by users to be reassigned, the Business Unit change process might error out due to a timeout issue. In this case, you can increase server timeout or reduce the database size

MS CRM 2011: New 2011 Privileges & Access Levels

I've created a visual representation of what has been added to CRM 2011 security roles. This can be helpful during upgrade analysis, where you can decide what security roles have to be changed to match client’s requirements. Below priviliges and access levels are out of the box.

MS CRM 2011: Upgrade from 4.0 - Security Roles

Security Roles Removed from  CRM 4.0

 

Business Management

• License
• Organization Settings
• Role

Business Management Miscellaneous

• Assign Role

Service Management

• My Work Hours

Customization

• Attribute
• Form
• Workflow

Security Roles Added to CRM 2011

Core

Application File

Connection

Connection Role

Document Location

Follow

Import Source File

Post

SharePoint Site

User Chart

User Dashboard

User Entity UI Settings

UserEntityInstanceData

Web Wizard

Web Wizard Access Privilege Core Miscellaneous Bulk Delete Delete Audit Partitions Manage User Synchronization Filters Organization View Audit History View Audit Partitions View Audit Summary Marketing Miscellaneous Configure Internet Marketing module Use internet marketing module Sales Miscellaneous Override Opportunity Pricing Override Quote Order Pricing Business Management Field Security Profile Field Sharing Goal Goal Metric Organization Rollup Query Security Role Business Management Miscellaneous Act on Behalf of Another User Approve E-mail Address for Users or Queues Assign manager for a user Enable or Disable Business Unit Enable or Disable User Override Created on or Created by for Perform in sync rollups on goals Queues Read License info Records during Data Import Reparent Business unit Reparent team Reparent user Service Management Create own calendar Delete own calendar Read own calendar Customization Attribute Map Configuration Customizations Dialog Session Entity Map Field Import Job Option Set Plug Plug Process Publisher Sdk Message Sdk Message Processing Step Sdk Message Processing Step Image Sdk Message Processing Step Secure Service Endpoint Solution System Chart System Form Web Resources

MS CRM 4: Enable a disabled Root BU

Some things should never happen. Like following a saying  " Don't Cut The Branch On Which You Sit", you should never disable a Root Business Unit. Because if it happens, you cut yourself from the system. Disabling the root BU, will disable your security access.  Life is life, and your root BU is in an inactive mode. And then what? Well, if you are lucky, you might just restore the system from the most recent backup. But what if you don't have a recent backup or backup at all? Here is the solution:

Actions to troubleshoot:

1. Make a backup of your current database calling it "Date_Company_BeforeBaseUnitUpdate".
2. Run an update script for businesunitbase table to change isdisabled to 0 for a root unit and other units if required.

update businessunitbase

set isdisabled =  0

Where businessunitid = 'enter your business unit id'

3. Restart IIS.

Note: with a new windows run prompt as admin

Note: this action will kick all users out of the system

 

C:\Documents and Settings\company\iisreset

 

4. Restart Microsoft CRM Asynchronous Processing Service.

5. Make a backup of your database after change calling it "Date_Company_AfterBaseUnitUpdate".

 

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 :)