Understanding Out Of Box Entities
What Are Out Of Box Entities?
When diving into Dynamics CRM, one of the first concepts you’ll encounter is out of box (OOB) entities. These are standard entities that come with the system right out of the box, ready for you to use without any extra configuration. Think of them as the core building blocks of the CRM. They include accounts, contacts, leads, etc.
It’s important to know which entities are OOB because they often have standard behavior and are subject to updates from Microsoft. This means any modifications or customizations you make may have to be taken into account when updating your CRM environment.
Understanding these entities helps you strategize on how to customize your CRM effectively, ensuring that your modifications don’t conflict with the existing functional architecture of Dynamics CRM.
Examples of Common Out Of Box Entities
Some of the most common out of box entities include the likes of Account, Contact, Opportunity, and Case. Each of these entities serves a specific purpose and is designed to help you manage specific elements of customer relationship management.
For example, the Account entity is tailored to help businesses manage organizations and their associated contacts, while the Contact entity focuses on individual persons. Knowing these distinctions can significantly improve the way you implement and use Dynamics CRM.
Another example is the Opportunity entity, which tracks potential sales or project contracts. It’s critical to these processes and can drive a lot of your CRM efforts. Understanding how these entities work together will enable you to tailor them to your business’s needs.
Why You Might Want to Exclude Them
Excluding OOB entities from your solution can streamline your deployment, decluttering the solution and focusing it on what truly matters for your organization. Perhaps you’re building a very niche application that doesn’t use these standard entities at all.
Another reason could be the desire to avoid conflicts when updating the CRM. Each update may bring changes to the OOB entities, and if they’re closely integrated with your custom solutions, it might lead to system instability or breaks.
Lastly, data privacy and security are top of mind for many businesses today. By excluding entities you don’t use, you reduce the potential data exposure, thus enhancing security protocols. Plus, it’s just a more efficient way to manage your solutions!
Preparing Your Solution for Changes
Analyzing Current Entity Usage
Before diving into the exclusion process, take some time to analyze which entities you currently use. This step is crucial. You don’t want to accidentally exclude something essential that your users rely on.
You can start by running reports to see how frequently each entity is being accessed. Check CRM dashboards or use analytics tools available within Dynamics to gather this information.
Knowing your current usage patterns will help define which out of box entities are truly of no value to your solution. By having this data, you can make an informed decision on what to exclude.
Communicate with Stakeholders
Once you have a good grasp of the entity usage, it’s time to get feedback from your users and stakeholders. Create an open dialogue where they can voice their needs and concerns.
Ask them which entities they feel are redundant or unnecessary. This step is vital for fostering a collaborative environment where everyone feels heard and valued, which always improves team morale.
Sometimes, users may be using OOB entities in unexpected ways. Their feedback could reveal particular use cases that you weren’t aware of. Ignoring this could lead to a drop in productivity post-exclusion.
Planning Exclusion Steps
With all your analysis and communication done, you’re now in a position to draft a plan for excluding the entities. Your plan should outline what entities will be excluded and the reasoning behind it.
Make sure to include specific steps on how you will carry out the exclusion process. Will you do it through the solution explorer in Dynamics, or use plugins? Define this clearly to prevent confusion down the line.
Also, consider creating a backup of the solution before starting the exclusion. Just in case something goes awry, you want to be able to restore your previous setup and avoid any loss of crucial data.
Executing the Exclusion Process
Accessing Solution Explorer
To actually exclude the out of box entities from your solution, you’ll need to open Solution Explorer within your Dynamics CRM environment. It’s like the control center for your custom solutions.
Once you’re in, navigate to your existing solution. You’ll see a list of all entities included in that solution. This is a good time to recall the analysis and feedback you collected to identify which entities should be excluded.
Familiarizing yourself with the Solution Explorer interface can make this process greatly smoother. Don’t rush it; take your time to get comfortable here before proceeding with any changes.
Selecting Entities for Exclusion
Now comes the moment of decision—you’ll select the OOB entities you want to exclude. Click on the specific entities, and once you have your selections ready, you can remove them from your solution.
As you select these entities, keep your plan in mind, ensuring that you’re sticking to what was decided based on data analysis and stakeholder feedback.
Be mindful that this action can’t be undone easily, so double-check everything before confirming the exclusion. Once you’re confident, give it a go!
Testing the Adjusted Solution
With exclusions done, the next step is testing your solution to ensure everything functions as expected. After all, you’ve made some significant changes, and you want to make sure they didn’t disrupt your workflows.
Create a test environment mirroring the live environment if possible, running through typical user scenarios. This practice will help identify any potential issues without the risk of affecting actual users.
Additionally, gather user feedback once they have a chance to work with the updated solution. This input is invaluable, revealing any unforeseen hiccups or opportunities for further improvement.
Maintaining Your Excluded Entities
Keep Documentation Updated
After excluding the unnecessary out of box entities, it’s crucial to keep your documentation up to date. Make a note of which entities were excluded and the rationale behind each decision.
This documentation will prove invaluable for future team members or anyone else who might work on the solution down the line. New team members will find this particularly helpful since it gives context behind the decisions made.
Include any lessons learned from the exclusion process as well. How did it impact your solution? What changes did users experience, and did it lead to increased efficiency? These reflections will guide future improvements.
Monitor Solution Performance
As with any changes, monitoring your solution post-exclusion is essential. Observe how the solution performs without those OOB entities. Is it faster and more efficient, or did it introduce unexpected hiccups?
Your monitoring efforts should also include user satisfaction. Regularly check in with your team to gather feedback on their experience with the modified solution.
Based on this data, continue refining your solution as necessary, making additional exclusions or modifications as your business needs evolve.
Stay Informed About Updates
Lastly, stay informed about any updates from Microsoft regarding Dynamics CRM. These updates can impact your existing entities, whether OOB or custom. Being proactive ensures you’re never caught off guard by changes that could affect your solution.
Regularly participate in community forums or user groups focused on Dynamics CRM. These platforms are a treasure trove of information and can keep you in the loop about best practices and pitfalls other users face.
Knowledge is power, and by staying engaged, you’ll ensure that your CRM solution remains optimized, benefiting both your processes and your users.
FAQ
1. What exactly is an out of box entity in Dynamics CRM?
An out of box entity is a standard entity that comes predefined with the Dynamics CRM system. These include common entities like accounts and contacts that do not require additional setup to use.
2. Why would I want to exclude these entities from my solution?
Excluding out of box entities helps streamline your solution by eliminating unnecessary components, reducing the risk of conflicts during updates, and enhancing security by minimizing data exposure.
3. How can I determine which entities to exclude?
You can analyze current entity usage, communicate with stakeholders for feedback, and draft a plan based on reports to understand which entities are truly utilized.
4. Is it possible to undo the exclusion of entities?
Once excluded, you may need to add the entities back manually since exclusions are generally irreversible without a backup. It’s crucial to document your decisions and maintain a backup of your solutions.
5. How do I ensure that updates from Microsoft won’t disrupt my customizations?
Staying informed about Microsoft updates and actively participating in user communities helps ensure that you’re well-prepared for changes that may affect your solution.
