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Introduction
This lesson discusses the scheduling process and scheduling service activities in detail since they are key entry points in the scheduling process. The lesson begins with scheduling services, and then discusses the other activities related to scheduling.
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Scheduling Services
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Service Scheduling feature uses the following concepts: Selection Rules: Groups resources into sets. These sets are then used to manage the scheduling and tracking of services. Resources: Includes people (workforce), equipment, facilities, and workforce teams. Resource Groups: Groups Individual resources such that when one resource is scheduled, all other resources belonging to the member group are also scheduled. For example: Users may group a driver and a particular vehicle. Then, when the driver is scheduled for a particular job, the vehicle is also scheduled.
Resources are users, facilities, or equipment that either perform the service or are required to perform a service. Individual resources have work schedules that define when they are available to work. Resource groups and teams are a pool of resources whose individuals can be scheduled in the same way. When the service is scheduled, anyone from the resource or group can be selected. Which resources are required to perform a service is defined in the service's selection rules. To schedule a service activity, users first select the service and then search for an available time. Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses the service's selection rules and the resource's work schedule to present users a list of available times. After users select the time users want, the service activity is added to the schedule.
Scenario
Before implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Adventure Works Cycle's Service Scheduling team manually looked at a schedule to see who is available and when. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the Adventure Works Cycle Service Schedulers can select the Service and an approximate time; Microsoft Dynamics CRM determines which resources are available and when. A service activity is the actual appointment with the customer to complete a task. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Version 4.0 contains a scheduling engine that assists Adventure Works Cycle in scheduling service activities based on the information provided by the Service Scheduler.
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Users can use the service calendar that is available in the Service area to schedule services and appointments for the organization. In the calendar, users can do the following tasks and activities: View the organization's daily, weekly, and monthly schedule of appointments and service activities. View work schedules and service schedules for a variety of resources. Create new appointments and schedule service activities. Change the status of an existing service activity. Search for conflicts in the schedule.
NOTE: Microsoft Dynamics CRM locks the tables for the user so that unintentional overbooking is prevented. For example: More than one Microsoft Dynamics CRM user may attempt to book services at the same time, for the same resource.
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NOTE: Businesses may set up additional views. Users can navigate to the Online Help topics to view a legend of color and statuses used in the service calendar.
Users can use the Zoom scale to change how much of the calendar is viewable. For example, users can set the calendar to display an entire week, or a few hours. To view more of the calendar, click a tick closer to the plus end of the scale. To view less of the schedule, click a tick closer to the minus end of the scale. Users can select specific date ranges to view in the From and To lists.
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After selecting the time the customer wants, schedule the time and save it as a service activity. The service activity appears on the Service Calendar. Users can also create a service activity without searching for an available time. Service Activity Conflicts During scheduling, an alert indicates a potential conflict. Users can choose to select another time, or book the service activity anyway. At any time, users can identify service activities or appointments with conflicts by clicking Show Conflicts on the Actions toolbar on the Service Calendar. Users can reschedule any Open or Scheduled service activity. Viewing Reports and Printing Service Information The default report for service activities is Service Activity Volume Detail. Using this report, you can track patterns in service activities volume. If the default reports do not provide the information you need, try creating an Advanced Find search, and exporting the results to Microsoft Office Excel. Like all other activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, resources can print their individual service activity with all relevant detail. This is especially important for outbound field technicians. The data selected to print is displayed in a Print Preview form. From the Print Preview form, the document can be sent to the printer using the print icon or the Print Preview form can be closed.
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NOTE: There is no direct command to print a list of appointments. Use Advanced Find to search for a list of appointments and then print the search results. Exporting Service Information Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides integration with Microsoft Office products such as Excel. Service records can be exported to Excel, from any screen where the Excel icon is displayed.
Demonstration: Create and Schedule a Service Activity Using the Service Calendar
The Service Scheduler received a telephone call from the owner of A Bike Store. A Bike Store has several bicycles that require a simple tuning, and would like Ben Burton the Eastern Region Bike Service Technician to perform the tuning. A Bike Store has limited availability and would like the service scheduled in the morning, preferably at 8:00 am, so all tunings can be completed before opening for business at 9:00 am. Goal Description Schedule a service activity for A Bike Store in Microsoft Dynamics CRM using the Service Calendar.
Demonstration Steps
1. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. User ID: Roger Password: Pa$$w0rd. 2. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar. 3. On the Actions toolbar, click Schedule. NOTE: If you click New and then Service Activity you create a service activity without checking for available times. 4. Enter the following information into the Schedule Service Activity form: Customers: A Bike Store, Service: Simple Tuning, Resources: Ben Burton, Site: Eastern and Central Region Service Center 5. Click Find Available Times. The next available times are displayed. 6. Select 8:00 AM the next day as the Scheduled Start time for the appointment. 7. Click Schedule.
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Procedure: Find and Schedule a Service Activity for a Specific Time Period
Use this procedure to find the next available time based on a specific date, or range of dates, within the next day, week, or month. 1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar. 2. On the Actions toolbar, click Schedule. If you click New, and then Service Activity, you will create a service activity without checking for available times. 3. On the Schedule Service Activity form, enter the following information: Service Locate and select the service to schedule. Select a record from a filtered list in the Form Assistant pane, or click Lookup to search for other records.
4. Select criteria for the times you want under: Duration Do not clear the Use Default Duration check box and change the duration unless you want to schedule more time than the default duration of the service.
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Procedure: Find an Available Time for a Specific Resource, Site, or Other Criteria
Use this procedure to find the next available time in the schedule of a specific user, facility, or equipment. For example, if a customer wants the head mechanic to work on a bicycle, you can search the head mechanic's schedule for the next available time. 1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar. 2. On the Actions toolbar, click Schedule. If you click New, and then Service Activity, you will create a service activity without checking for available times. 3. On the Schedule Service Activity form, enter the following information: Service Locate and select the service to schedule. Select a record from a filtered list in the Form Assistant pane, or click Lookup to search for other records. Resources Locate and select the user, or facility and equipment to schedule. Select a record from a filtered list in the Form Assistant pane, or click Lookup to search for other records.
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4. Click Find Available Times. The next available times in the selected resource's schedule are displayed. 5. Under Available Times click on the start or end time of the time to schedule, and then click Schedule. Click the service or resource links to open the related form. The Schedule Service Activity form closes and Microsoft Dynamics CRM fills in the information from the selected time into the Service Activity form. 6. On the Service Activity form, enter additional information about the service activity. Subject You must enter a subject. The first 12 characters appear on the Service Calendar and the calendar in your Workplace. You can save the service activity now, or continue to add information. Customers If the service activity is for a customer, you can locate and select the account or contact by selecting a record from a filtered list in the Form Assistant pane, or by clicking Lookup to search for other records. Location Enter an address or room number where the service activity will occur. Show Time As To change the initial status of the service activity, select a status from the list. If you select any of the statuses under Scheduled, that block of time on the schedule is set so that another service activity or appointment cannot conflict with it during automatic scheduling. Potentially, forced service activities and appointments may conflict. Site Changing the Site after selecting a time for the service activity is not recommended. Resources are assigned to sites. If the selected resources are not available at the selected site, conflicts may occur. To record the specific room or address of the service activity, enter that information in the Location box on the Service Activity form. Notes Add additional (optional) information about the customer and service activity in this area. For example, enter the symptoms of a problem, special requests by the customer, or any messages to pass on to the resources providing the service. 7. On the Details tab, you can select and locate a record in the Regarding box to link to this service activity. You can also set a Priority for the service activity and record a Category and SubCategory. 8. Click Save or Save and Close.
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Demonstration Steps
1. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. User ID: Roger Password: Pa$$w0rd. 2. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar. 3. Enter the following information to locate the service activity for A Bike Store: Look for: bicycle, Type: Appointment and Service Activity, View: My Activity. 4. Click Find. 5. Open and review the service activity. 6. On the Actions toolbar, click Reschedule. 7. On the Schedule Service Activity form, change the Scheduled Start time to 2:00 pm on the following day. 8. Click Schedule. 9. Click Save or Save and Close. 10. Navigate to the Service Calendar and enter the following information to locate the service activity: Look for: bicycle, Type: Appointment and Service Activity, View: Search results. 11. Click Find. 12. Open and review the service activity to confirm the service for A Bike Store.
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View a summary of an appointment or service activity. On the calendar, place the cursor over the appointment or service activity. 3. View or edit the details of an appointment or service activity. On the calendar, double-click the appointment. The Appointment form opens. 4. Change the dates displayed on the service calendar. On the Calendar control, click the arrows or a specific date. 5. View today's appointments and service activities. On the calendar control, click Today. The calendar displays the hourly list for today. 6. Refresh the calendar. In the top-right corner of the calendar, click Refresh.
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NOTE: Closing a service activity causes the activity to become read-only and cannot be edited. Procedure: Check the Schedule for Schedule Conflicts Microsoft Dynamics CRM indicates service activities with conflicts on the Service Calendar by outlining them in red. 1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar. 2. On the Actions toolbar, click Show Conflicts. The button label changes to Hide Conflicts and any service activities, appointments, or resources that have scheduling conflicts are outlined in red.
Summary
Service Scheduling allows for schedulers to be kept up-to-date and informed with calendars views that enable the scheduler to clearly see: Weekly scheduled service activities Monthly scheduled service activities Daily scheduled service activities
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Information Search
3. What is the minimum amount of information users need to search for an open? ( ) a. Customer name ( ) b. Resource name ( ) c. Service to be provided ( ) d. Date of service
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Data Entry
6. What is the result of entering more information about the service activity? ( ) a. The more information, the greater the customer satisfaction ( ) b. The more information, the better the resource ( ) c. The more information, the fewer available timeslots ( ) d. The more information, the more available timeslots
Rescheduling
8. What kind of flow does rescheduling a service activity mimic? ( ) a. Canceling a service activity ( ) b. Closing a service activity ( ) c. Scheduling a service activity ( ) d. Putting a service activity On Hold
Activity Changes
9. What can users change about service activities? (Select all that apply.) ( ) a. Resource ( ) b. Time and date ( ) c. Status ( ) d. Priority
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Customer Preferences
11. How are customer preferences considered when a new service activity is scheduled? ( ) a. They need to be updated ( ) b. They need to be selected ( ) c. They are defaulted ( ) d. They are left blank
Customer Preferences
12. What can customer preferences include? (Select all that apply.) ( ) a. Preferred Service ( ) b. Preferred Facility/Equipment ( ) c. Preferred Payment terms ( ) d. Preferred User
Advanced Find
13. What are some of the features of Advanced Find? (Select all that apply.) ( ) a. Users can choose Criteria ( ) b. Users can specify Properties ( ) c. All records become the basis of the Advanced Find ( ) d. Users can sort the resultant records
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Challenge Yourself!
Using the information above, create the service activity from the case. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. Login Username Password Notes: The labs in this chapter depend on a user Roger who has scheduling privileges based on his role. This user may or may not have these privileges and depends on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on. See your instructor for specific instructions. Depending on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on, you may or may not have any services listed in the test data set. You may have to add a couple of services to you system to complete the lab exercises. See you instructor for specific instructions. Roger Pa$$w0rd
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Step by Step
1. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. User ID: Roger, Password: Pa$$w0rd. 2. In the Navigation Pane, click Service. 3. Click Cases. Change filter to Active Cases. 4. Open the case titled Wheel Alignment Problem the case number is: CAS-01035-GWF0S8, for the customer Eleventh Bike Store. 5. To schedule a service activity for this case, click Activities on the left side of the case window. 6. Click New Activity. From the options available in the dialog box that displays, select Service Activity. 7. Fill in the subject as Overhaul activity for Eleventh Bike Store for the service activity. Select Total Overhaul as the service. 8. Click Schedule on the top menu bar. 9. Set the start date as As soon as possible and the start time as Any time. Click Find Available Times. 10. The search results show a list of possible service scheduling options. Select the topmost slot and click Schedule. 11. Save and close the activity window. The activity has been scheduled for this case and assigned to Chris Perry, the Bike service technician.
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Challenge Yourself!
Using the information above, create a new service and add resource, site, and time information. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. Login Username Password Notes: The labs in this chapter depend on a user Roger who has scheduling privileges based on his role. This user may or may not have these privileges and depends on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on. See your instructor for specific instructions. Depending on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on, you may or may not have any services listed in the test data set. You may have to add a couple of services to you system to complete the lab exercises. See you instructor for specific instructions. Roger Pa$$w0rd
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3. Click Schedule. 4. Use the following table to complete the form. Duration Start Date Start Time Customer Use Default Duration As Soon as Possible Range of Times Judith Walker
Step by Step
1. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Roger Van Houten. User ID: Roger. Password: Pa$$w0rd. 2. Navigate to the Calendar area. Use this page to view or create appointments by the day, week, or month. 3. Select Create a New: Service Activity. The Service Activity form opens.
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5. Click Schedule. 6. Use the following table to complete the form and then click Find Available Times. Duration Start Date Start Time Resources Use Default Duration As Soon as Possible Range of Times Judith Walker
7. Schedule the Service to start at 1:00 PM one week from today's date, and the schedule ends at 4:00 pm. To find an available time select the arrow to move to the records displayed on Page 2. 8. Save and close the Service Activity form when finished.
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Lab 21.3 - Following Up on Appointments, Adding Notes, and Changing Service Statuses
In this Lab users add notes and change the status of a service activity. Scenario Chris Perry is a bike service technician in the field. He has a schedule of service appointments prepared by the service manager. He executes service appointments and updates the status. When the calendar loads, Chris will see all his scheduled (but not yet completed) appointments. Goal Description Chris has completed a service appointment Removing and Replacing the Cogs for the customer More Bikes! And he wants to change the status and add his notes to this appointment. Steps
Challenge Yourself!
Using the information above, add notes and change the status of the service activity. Log on to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Chris Perry. Login Username Password Notes: The labs in this chapter depend on a user Roger who has scheduling privileges based on his role. This user may or may not have these privileges and depends on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on. See your instructor for specific instructions. Depending on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation or VPC you are working on, you may or may not have any services listed in the test data set. You may have to add a couple of services to you system to complete the lab exercises. See you instructor for specific instructions. Chris Pa$$w0rd
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Step by Step
1. Log on to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Application as Chris Perry. User ID: Chris, Password: Pa$$w0rd. 2. Chris has completed the service appointment Removing and Replacing the Cogs for the customer More Bikes! And, he wants to change the status and add his notes to this appointment. 3. In the Activities view, you will find the activity Removing and replacing the cogs. 4. Open the service activity. Add the note Successfully replaced cogs in the Notes section. 5. Click Actions on the top menu, and click Close Service Activity. Select Completed from the Status drop-down list and click OK to save the changes. 6. Close the window.
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Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
Service Activity Calendar
1. What does the service activity calendar supply? (Select all that apply.) () a. Ability to view, edit, create, and delete items on the calendar. ( ) b. Ability to see the resource's Outlook Calendar. () c. Ability to see monthly view a primary view for Work Calendars for an individual resource. () d. Ability to easily distinguish between various types of calendar tasks.
Information Search
3. What is the minimum amount of information users need to search for an open? ( ) a. Customer name ( ) b. Resource name ( ) c. Service to be provided () d. Date of service
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Data Entry
6. What is the result of entering more information about the service activity? ( ) a. The more information, the greater the customer satisfaction ( ) b. The more information, the better the resource ( ) c. The more information, the fewer available timeslots () d. The more information, the more available timeslots
Rescheduling
8. What kind of flow does rescheduling a service activity mimic? ( ) a. Canceling a service activity ( ) b. Closing a service activity () c. Scheduling a service activity ( ) d. Putting a service activity On Hold
Activity Changes
9. What can users change about service activities? (Select all that apply.) () a. Resource () b. Time and date () c. Status ( ) d. Priority
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Customer Preferences
11. How are customer preferences considered when a new service activity is scheduled? ( ) a. They need to be updated ( ) b. They need to be selected () c. They are defaulted ( ) d. They are left blank
Customer Preferences
12. What can customer preferences include? (Select all that apply.) () a. Preferred Service () b. Preferred Facility/Equipment ( ) c. Preferred Payment terms () d. Preferred User
Advanced Find
13. What are some of the features of Advanced Find? (Select all that apply.) () a. Users can choose Criteria () b. Users can specify Properties ( ) c. All records become the basis of the Advanced Find () d. Users can sort the resultant records
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