Customer Success with Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step -- Table of Contents -- Customer Success with Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step -- Credits -- Foreword -- About the Author -- Acknowledgments -- About the Author -- Acknowledgments -- About the Author -- Acknowledgments -- About the Reviewer -- Acknowledgments -- About the Reviewer -- Acknowledgments -- About the Reviewer -- Acknowledgments -- www.PacktPub.com -- Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more -- Why Subscribe? -- Free Access for Packt account holders -- Preface -- What this book covers -- What you need for this book -- Who this book is for -- Conventions -- Reader feedback -- Customer support -- Downloading the color images of this book -- Errata -- Piracy -- Questions -- 1. Background and Concepts -- The business solutions market -- Building a solution strategy with pace layering -- The two-tier approach, cloud computing, and workloads -- The importance of a methodology -- The importance of a methodology for solution selection -- Introducing Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step -- Microsoft Dynamics overview -- Understanding what a project is -- Implementing the solution -- ERP and CRM implementations and statistics -- Summary -- 2. Solution Selling and Driving Due Diligence -- Driving value for the customer and solution provider -- Value realization and measurement -- What it means to be solution centric -- Solution selling concepts -- Solution selling - the buyer's perspective -- Building trust -- Building a vision -- Determining the right time to demo the solution -- Staying aligned with the buyer -- Vision processing - creation and reengineering -- The Microsoft Solution Selling Process -- Summary -- 3. Solution Envisioning with Sure Step -- The Sure Step Diagnostic phase -- The concept of Decision Accelerator (DA) Offerings -- Diagnostic for a new Dynamics customer.

Starting the discovery process -- Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services tools and alignment with Sure Step -- The first step to envisioning the future state -- Identifying the right solution -- Determining infrastructure implications -- Estimating delivery costs, approaches, plans, and roles -- Phased approaches and staging options for multiple site deployments -- Reducing risk perception -- Estimating the Return on Investment -- Developing the project charter and proposal -- Closing the sales cycle -- Initiating the delivery cycle -- Other aspects of the Decision Accelerator Offering services -- Diagnostic leveraging of the Accelerated POC with the CRM Online service -- The Diagnostic phase for a current Dynamics customer -- Assessing the upgrade requirements -- Applying the other Decision Accelerator Offerings services to upgrade engagements -- Supporting the customer's buying cycle -- Defining organizational needs -- Determining the right solution -- Understanding and mitigating risks -- Approach to upgrade existing solutions -- Positioning solutions for specific industries -- Industry/vertical solutions -- The manufacturing industry -- The public sector industry -- Use case - Decision Accelerator for a local government council -- The retail industry -- Service industries -- Cross-industry / horizontal solutions -- Cross-industry customer care solutions -- xRM or extended CRM solutions -- Future industry and cross-industry solution content -- Quick reference -- Summary -- 4. Managing Projects -- About projects and project management -- Myths and resistance -- Is project management an overhead? -- Is project management an obstacle to flexibility? -- Is project management unsalable? -- Why project management? -- The alternative -- Using our own methodology -- Why quality-driven companies prefer project management.

The four pillars of project success -- Communication matters -- Rule number 1 - communication requires interaction -- Rule number 2 - e-mail does not equal project communication -- Rule number 3 - be brief -- Rule number 4 - set clear expectations -- A proactive attitude makes the difference -- Rule number 1 - look ahead and prevent -- Rule number 2 - be proactive with interactions -- Rule number 3 - a measure for early warning signals -- Creating a guiding project culture -- The importance of closing -- Project management essentials -- A project life cycle and its phases -- What is a phase? -- Respecting the phase-based approach -- Project management processes -- Breaking it up! -- From estimate to follow up -- WBS as an estimation instrument -- Follow up based on WBS -- WBS as a central concept -- Adopting project management -- The tireless quest for the perfect espresso -- Embracing change -- Indispensable organizational benefits -- A core competency for your company -- Profitable projects -- Satisfied customers and happy employees -- Summary -- 5. Implementing with Sure Step -- Implementation approaches in Sure Step -- The notion of phases and cross phases -- Waterfall-based implementation project types -- The Rapid project type -- The Standard project type -- The Enterprise project type -- Setting up a program for solution rollout -- Phased solution rollouts -- Multisite engagements -- Sure Step waterfall implementation phases -- The Analysis phase -- The start of the project -- Start your engines -- Expect some delays -- A chance to establish the project culture -- A look back -- A good project charter is priceless -- Project planning sessions -- Kick off your communication culture -- Wrapping up -- To train or not to train? -- The uncontrolled Analysis phase -- Scenarios for real-life analysis -- Back to square one -- Scope creep sneaking in.

No issues, no risks -- Analyze what? -- Go for interim analysis deliverables -- Managing scope creep during the Analysis phase by means of Fit Gap Analysis -- Do not forget about data migration -- Interact with the infrastructure department -- The Design phase -- Do we really need a Design phase? -- The risk of a passive Design phase -- All activity in the Sure Step Design phase -- We are implementing a standard package solution -- From requirements to design -- Document and implement -- Initiate testing -- Interact with the infrastructure department -- Don't give up on data migration -- Start planning the deployment -- The Development phase -- Developers only? -- Develop and freeze custom code -- Complete the testing -- Last call for changes -- Can process models still change? -- Start finalizing -- Finalize the system configuration and ISV solution setup -- Finalize design updates -- Hand over non-production environments -- The Deployment phase -- What is critical for a successful deployment? -- Trainers' evangelists for change -- Conduct end user training -- Compose the trainer team -- What about the data? -- The Go-Live as the user acceptance test -- Your continued key user interaction will now pay off -- Early planning and commitment making the difference -- The focus of the user acceptance test -- Document and analyze the results -- Execute performance tests -- Infrastructure readiness -- Check and cross-check -- Ready to take off -- The Operation phase -- Provide post-Go-Live support -- Some things to do -- Clear pending items -- Finalize knowledge transfer -- Conduct performance tuning and optimization -- Transition the solution to support -- To close or not to close -- Closing - a nice little job? -- Building it up -- The core challenge -- Sign please! -- The Agile Implementation project type.

Use case: Agile project type for a multinational chemicals customer -- Use case: Rapid project type for a GP customer -- Use case: Enterprise project type usage by a global advertising organization -- Summary -- 6. Quality Management and Optimization -- Understanding the quality management manifestation in Sure Step -- Controlling quality within project types -- Quality activities embedded in program management -- Key quality and testing cross-phase activities -- Feature Testing -- Unit Testing -- Function Testing -- Sub-Process Testing -- Process Testing -- Data Acceptance Testing (DAT) -- Integration Testing -- Performance Testing -- User Acceptance Testing (UAT) -- The Sure Step Optimization Offerings -- Optimization Offering for Microsoft Dynamics AX -- Optimization Offering for Microsoft Dynamics CRM -- Optimization Offering for Microsoft Dynamics GP -- Optimization Offering for Microsoft Dynamics NAV -- Optimization Offering for Microsoft Dynamics SL -- Understanding key Proactive and Post Go-Live services for AX and CRM -- Architecture Review -- Design Review -- Customization Review -- Performance Review -- Upgrade Review -- Health Check -- Project Governance and Delivery Review -- Optimization Offerings and their benefits -- Use case - Technical Review services usage by Global Advertising Organization -- Use case - Project Governance and Delivery Review service usage by partner -- Summary -- 7. Upgrading with Sure Step -- Decision Accelerator Offerings and the Diagnostic phase -- Phase 1 - Need Determination -- The Upgrade Assessment Decision Service -- Phase 2 - additional services and when to avail them -- Phase 3 - Risk Evaluation -- Determining the Upgrade approach and release schedule -- Delivering Upgrade -- The Analysis and Design phases -- The Development, Deployment, and Operation phases.

Use case - Microsoft Dynamics Upgrade by a nondurable products manufacturer.