Scrum with CRM Solutions

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Hi, We currently using Dynamics CRM Online 2015 at the moment for one of the projects. We have started Scrum methodology. I would like to check the best practices involved in Solution/configuration management along with Deployment to production environment.

At the moment we have initiated with one solution per Sprint (2 Weeks). Given the volume of sprints we might have in next 6 months it might result in too many solutions and managing them it would be tough.

Any thoughts or best approaches?

Thanks

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Community Member on at

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Hi,

Please refer below.

community.dynamics.com/.../crm-project-management-methodologies-which-one-is-the-best

Mansoor

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ScottDurow 21 on at

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Hi!

Your solution shouldn't really be linked to your sprint - solutions are about moving customisations from dev-uat-prod. I would recommend having a single solution that you simply add to with each sprint so that deployments are simpler.

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Rickard Norström on at

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Hi,

I agree with Scott, and since you're online you will soon move to 2016 and then you should be able to utilize the new solution "framework" so you only move the changes you've done and merge them to the solution in production.

As a side note I might mention how we have been working with solutions up until now and that is to split them into different areas, most often into "customization of the platform" and "code" so I have one solution with schema and js and one with plugins and custom workflow activities for example, that way you don't need to move any schema changes if there are none which might make the solution moving a bit easier.

Regards

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Community Member on at

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Thanks everyone for your inputs. We have now stepped away from Sprint based solutions as it increases complexity during deployment

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Neil Benson 7,369 User Group Leader on at

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My Scrum teams take a different approach to solutions.

We create a solution for each product backlog item in our development instance. These are 'item solutions'.

We then create a 'release solution' which is the combination of all the item solutions that have passed unit testing. We publish the release solution into our downstream instances all the way to production.

It's a practice that has worked well on multi-year enterprise Scrum projects.

You can check out this video from my course: https://youtu.be/yJ9VYDJVUTU.

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Rickard Norström on at

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How do you handle several back log items that is on the same entity? That could mean that they overwrite each other.

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Neil Benson 7,369 User Group Leader on at

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In 5,000 stories it has never happened (we use user stories to describe product backlog items). Perhaps that's just good luck!?

If I need to update an option set, then that's the only component in my item solution.

The trickiest component is an entity form, which has the potential to be worked on by more than one dev in a sprint and the hardest to isolate.

In sprint planning we try and identify stories that need to touch the same components (which has been very rare), and call it out during the daily scrum to that the other devs are aware of those customisations.

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Rickard Norström on at

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Haven't you ever had more than one backlog item on the same project that handles the same entity? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad way of doing things, I'm curious of how others are doing this.

As I wrote earlier, as of 8.2 (or 8?) you can have just one field in a solution but I get the impression that you've done this for quite some time now. What do you do with the solutions after a sprint?

Regards

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Neil Benson 7,369 User Group Leader on at

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Yes, there are often many backlog items on the same project that customise the same entity. But since CRM 2015 we've been able to add just the entity components that are being customised. Our development instance has hundreds or even thousands of solutions, one for each user story in our increment. The upstream instances (test, rehearsal, production) have one solution for each release and usually we release every sprint.

You can find out more in the Product Increment video, which is an excerpt from my Scrum for Dynamics 365 course.

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NaveedAkhtar 80 on at

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You need to use Solution Patching for any sprint.

If you are developing a product / starting a new project or phase, you need to start with a Solution first and then for any subsequent sprint, you need to deliver via solution patching. Once you are done with major delivery, let's say 4 sprints or so, then clone the solution which will merge patch into a solution.

For details, please see the below link for Solution patching/cloning;

docs.microsoft.com/.../use-segmented-solutions-patches-simplify-updates

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