Dynamics CRM 2013 - Business Rules

In Dynamics CRM 2013 a new feature that has been added is the Business Rules engine. This has two clear strengths compared to using JavaScript.

1. Allows for "Non Developers" to create them due to the simple to use interface.
2. Business Rules unlike JavaScript work with mobile forms.

There are going to be cases where the business rules won't suit and JavaScript will be required however in most cases a rule that is similar to JavaScript should be possible for minor functions.

For example:

On Address forms we wanted to default the country. The code looked like this

// If its a create form

if (Xrm.Page.ui.getFormType() == 1)

{

    Xrm.Page.ui.controls.get("country").getAttribute().setValue("My Country");

}

Business Rules do not appear to allow you to state what the form mode is. Which does reduce some of the logic that can be used. Below is a screenshot of a Condition.

Business Rules - Condition

A few things to notice about the above form. Firstly you can define the scope for your business rules in case you only want it to work on certain forms. Secondly the structure of a Condition is quite similar to the Advanced Find criteria. This means that staff who have experience with Advanced Find's can now write business rules. 

For my example I want to set the country attribute. The JavaScript was essentially defaulting the value so to achieve this I will say. Where country does not contain data as shown below:

Business Rules - Country Condition

Then I can then select an action from the Action menu shown below:

Business Rules - Action Menu

In this case we want to set the country value to "My Country". Which uses the "Set field value" option.

Business Rules - Set field value

Once I have created my action I can enter my description of my rule and my rule name. Save and close the Business Rule and Activate it.

When you go to the form you will see that My Country will magically appear. If you blank the field then move to another field it will appear again.

Business Rules - Rule in action

Is the above solution perfect? No. If a client would like to leave the field blank then they won't be able to. Ideally we would be able to (as the JavaScript does) only do this on form load or only set it when a user has populated the address. NOTE: If Street 1 is mandatory as above I recommend adding a second condition to only populate when Street 1 contains data.

As of the current release its clear to see the benefits of the Business Rules and the limitations. However its a fantastic starting point long time users of CRM will agree!

A few things of note:

• Conditions appear to currently be AND only. It is not possible to group or OR Conditions.
• As stated above Business Rules are currently based only on a field. You cannot state "On Save", "On Create", "On Load" etc.
• Something from my personal wish list is filtering an Option Set based on criteria. However this might be a fair way into the future!

Dynamics CRM 2013 - What you need to know

With the release of Dynamics CRM 2013 (Orion) brings a re-imagined experience for users. Whether or not this is a better experience remains to be seen however there is significant changes compared to CRM 2011. I'll try and briefly go through these changes.

New User Interface

As per the screen shots below there are significant differences between the two interfaces. Gone is the left hand side navigation and the ribbon has been replaced (more on that soon). Microsoft has also reduced the colour and replaced the icons with more basic designs.

Dynamics CRM 2011 - Dashboard

Dynamics CRM 2013 - Dashboard

Bye Bye Ribbon

The Microsoft ribbon and left hand navigation have been removed from Dynamics 2013 and replaced with a command bar. The command bar now handles all interaction with entities and settings. It's a conscious decision to reduce immediately available links in place of more real estate for the record/dashboard. Time will tell whether or not this is a good decision.

Dynamics CRM 2011 - Navigation

Dynamics CRM 2013 - Navigation

Form Changes

If your clients are used to CRM 2011 - Polaris then some of the changes they may be familiar with. The following are some of the changes for 2013.

• Forms auto save
• Bing Map integration
• Social Window
• Reduced Pop Ups

Dynamics CRM 2011 - Account Form

Dynamics CRM 2013 - Account Form

Form Auto Save

When using the new forms these forms will now auto save. There is no save button in the top left any more. Instead there is a little Save button in the bottom right. When a change is made a status will appear next to the save button stating there are "unsaved changes" then this will change to "saving" and then the status will disappear indicating the change has been made. Changes are also saved when a form is closed.

Bing Map Integration

No longer will developers need to build their own third party map integration.  Map integration is now provided out of the box.

Social Window

With Microsoft's purchase of Yammer (think Facebook for companies) it was only a matter of time before it was included in their products. It allows for the social integrations between team members to display within CRM. Activities such as Emails, and Phone calls also appear in this window.

As the window takes up ALOT of real estate it will be interesting going forward to see how much value this actually provides to clients.

Reduced Pop Ups

While there are some pop ups still within Dynamics CRM they have been greatly reduced. If required you can pop out a record into its own window however by default most open in the one window which for regular CRM users will be a big relief!

Tablet and Phone Integration

Dynamics CRM 2013 has been redesigned from the ground up to allow for it to render correctly on various desktop screen sizes as well as tablets such as iPad. The tablets all use the desktop version which is just re-rendered to suit the screen size.

The phone versions use a mobile client which is great for doing a quick look up of a client details. The editing functionality is a bit clunky so I still wouldn't use it too much for editing purposes.

It appears that Dynamics CRM 2013 has finally sorted out the issues of the past as it successfully works on iPads, iPhones, and Android!

iPad Screenshots

Android Screenshots

Process driven forms

Microsoft rolled out some process driven forms in Dynamics CRM 2011 Polaris however in CRM 2013 it is better designed and better implemented. In the past, forms with a lot of information would be difficult for clients to understand and it made it difficult for applications etc to be filled out in an orderly fashion.

With process driven forms you can change the information available to users and change the information that is required at each step of the way. This will hopefully reduce some of the javascript required in the past.

Dynamics CRM 2013 - Process Driven Lead

Business Rules

One of the best new parts of Dynamics CRM 2013 is the business rules engine, it replaces what in the past had to be accomplished by javascript. Business rules are presented in a simple to use english format which means that clients can do their own business rules if required. These rules also work in the mobile version where javascript does not.

Dynamics CRM 2013 - Business Rules Engine

There is alot more that is new or different in Dynamics CRM 2013. As I discover more I will update this post (or probably create a new one)