CRM 2011 – CRM Developer Technical Skills

Whilst studying for my Extending CRM 2011 exam and going through a chapter which details the different ways you can access the CRM data, it had a section with the title “Helpful Skills”, which basically details the technical knowledge/skills a CRM Developer needs to be able to interrogate CRM and extract the data.

These would probably be a good tick list for CRM developers (and recruiters) to work to.  I appreciate there are of course other skills and qualities needed and by merely have the technical skills it doesn’t tell you anything about the quality of the work etc but as a broad list of technical knowledge this was pretty good.  A good starting point

The quoted text below comes from the Microsoft training - 80295AE: Extending Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.  Free online training for Microsoft Partners and is excellent studying material for anyone taking the exam

Helpful Skills
Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a flexible platform to extend an application.
However, it is not necessary for a developer or customizer to be familiar with
each of the wide array of customization techniques, tools, and languages offered.
These include the following:
• .NET-connected applications in Visual Studio
• JScript
• XML
• Transact – SQL
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Customization features
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM web services
• Silverlight
• HTML
• Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0
• REST and SOAP Endpoints
• Windows Azure Platform
• Microsoft SharePoint Server
• Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
What is important is for a customizer and developer to have knowledge of the system. Without knowledge of the system, a developer can find himself/herself spending time developing a solution that might already exist.