MS Dynamics 365: A Comprehensive Testing Guide

Traditionally, CRM and ERP solutions have been considered two separate systems for managing entirely different functions of office work.

However, an integrated CRM and ERP can seamlessly spread data and information across customer service, sales, field service, finance and accounting, operations, marketing, and project management functions to streamline decision-making processes for maintaining a hassle-free business globally.

The integration of both platforms empowers employees to deliver fast, well-informed, and personalized customer service. A company can reduce revenue leakage, increase the accuracy of quotes, coordinate effectively between sales and inventory, simplify data entry, and absorb more authentic information about each customer with increased 360-degree visibility into the customers’ journey.

The leadership team always wanted to regulate both systems from one platform to streamline workflow and engage their customers in an unparalleled manner.

Microsoft has developed MS Dynamics 365 by combining all the features of CRM and ERP into one platform.

About MS Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a combination of both CRM and ERP software applications. It is a NEXTGEN cloud-based business application with advanced intelligence that seamlessly unifies CRM and ERP capabilities.

This combination of technology helps simplify the process of creating apps and sharing data across all Dynamics 365 applications.

MS D365 applications give value and a real productive impact to the organizations through:

• Omnichannel recurring and interactive applications
• Intelligent and prescriptive guidance to achieve the best business outcomes
• Integrated cloud platform, unified processes, and a 360-degree data view of operations and customers
• Flexible solutions, enabling businesses to scale up

Key Benefits of MS D365

• Improve security, privacy, and reliability
• Enable scalability and flexibility
• Free up IT resources
• Bring all your data together
• Adapt to your business needs
• Increase collaboration and productivity
• Empower your organization to do more

High-level outline of Dynamics 365 Products and Solutions

Testing in MS Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 is a complex web application that comprises nested iFrames, dynamic IDs, and deep object trees, which makes it difficult to write and maintain Selenium scripts. There are lots of challenges during its implementation phase.

How to Overcome MS Dynamics 365 Challenges

Microsoft Dynamics 365 has become essential for modern business organizations to function effectively, integrate business plans, and manage critical workflows, third-party applications, or back-end systems.

To ensure that the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform supports and meets the business objectives, a company must thoroughly test Dynamic 365 before starting to use it.

The challenges listed below should be addressed and overcome to guarantee that your Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform is fit for its purpose.

1. Configuration: All organizations have their unique business process requirements, so the business unit needs to configure it on a case-to-case basis while implementing it in sync with the specific domain.
2. Customization: Implementation should be customized using APIs and bespoke code as per the requirements.
3. Migration: While implementing Dynamics, a company needs to migrate its data intact from its existing legacy solutions to its new Dynamics installation.
4. Managing Updates: Regular Dynamics 365 updates may impact its implementations with customization, configuration changes, and integration. Testing implementations amidst frequent updates coming from Microsoft can be an onerous task.
5. Tedious Task: It requires combining Microsoft Dynamics 365 with the existing ERP and CRM, integrating various essential tools like Office 365, and adding various third-party applications to gain more functionality and innovation in the workflow.
6. No support for Soap API: Outdated soap API will have to be rewritten for the currently in-use WebAPI, which needs a perfect testing environment and expertise.

Key Business Drivers for Testing

• Improve organizational efficiency through end-to-end business processes
• Improve business relationships with customers
• Ensure MS D365 Apps Integrations are aligned with 3rd party systems
• Ensure that ERP business processes align with the organization’s business goals
• Maintain a single version of the truth across the entire business process
• Ensure the MS D365 periodical version upgrade patches do not affect BAU
• Reduce the operational cost of maintaining the application
• Continuous Integration with up and downstream systems
• Ensure the data storage and process in case of BYOD and Entity Store’s

Key Factors of MS D365 Which Needs Testing

End-to-end testing is therefore critical in ensuring that all integrations – Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Jira, and support for custom workflows – across the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform and external systems are flawless.

The implementation part of this software is highly complex and needs the experts’ supervision, as even a single glitch or bug can cost millions and damage the brand value in the market.

More importantly, when the personal and professional data of employees and clients is at stake, even specialists find it challenging to handle.

Dynamics 365 Testing Best Practices

1. Test Strategy workshops
2. Identify Scope
3. Map Project Scope to Test Scope:

• Business processes
• Business requirements
• Design requirements
• Data (for functional use, migration, interfaces, reporting/BI, and so on)
• Geography
• Customized areas
• Process changes
• Security
• Regulatory requirements
• Project goals

4. Define Test Plans
5. Checklist of Entities
6. Define Test Phases and types: Key test phases and types that could be covered include:

• Unit testing
• Functional/Process testing
• System integration testing
• End-to-end testing
• User acceptance testing (UAT)
• Regression testing

7. Key non-functional test types that could be covered include:

• Performance testing
• Data validation
• Security testing

8. Introduce Test Automation
9. Model based Approach
10. User perspective testing
11. Questionnaire to follow as per testing best practices
12. Identifications of the tools being used and their purpose

What is Cigniti’s Offering

As the world is rapidly migrating to cloud and digital technologies like Microsoft Dynamics 365, with the above-stated complexities, niche areas of MS D365 cloud products, and functional workflows, testing plays a crucial role.

As a QA leader, Cigniti Technologies has emerged as a trusted business partner for many enterprise organizations that are seeking to make a transformational shift from traditional to conventional modern processes.

We bring the best testing approach, practices, and methodologies suitable for all types of projects, like Migrations, transformations, Enhancements, Production Support, Implementations, and Rollouts.

Cigniti MS D365 Testing Approach/Methodology

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is one of the finest and top-notch solutions on the market today for CRM and ERP, helping thousands of organizations accelerate businesses, expedite communication, and improve customer relationships.

A significant number of businesses are implementing Microsoft D365 and are aware of its complexity and the challenges of MS Dynamics 365 in the testing phase. Without having the product expertise and proper testing practices, it becomes hard to implement.

Cigniti comes up with the best testing practices, approaches, and methodologies for the benefit of its clients across the global business landscape. We make Migrations, Enhancements, Transformations, Production Support, Rollouts, and Implementations more effortless and flawless.

Need help? Talk to our ERP Testing experts to learn more about how testing overcomes the implementation challenges of MS Dynamics 365.