Plug-in is a .NET assembly written to intercept the events generated from CRM system so as to modify or augment the standard behavior of the platform. When we talk about registering a plug-in it implies that we are subscribing to the events from the CRM system.

Scenarios where plug-in can be used:

• Legacy system integration
• Extending or customizing the behavior of the CRM system.

In the most simplest scenario we can consider a record created in Account entity as an event.

There are two execution modes available for plug-in’s in CRM platform viz., synchronous and asynchronous.

Synchronous Mode: Blocks the CRM application from start of the event until it is completed.

Asynchronous Mode: Release the application process so the user can continue to work with CRM application. Asynchronous Service (Asynchronous Processing Service) of the CRM platform does the execution of the plug-in configured in this mode.

The event pipeline is configurable and we can specify when in the event the plug-in code will execute. In this context there is Pre-Event and Post-Event stages(before and after scenarios). The stages are now part of SQL transactions and rollback can be performed.

The Developer Toolkit that comes as part of CRM 2013 SDK allows integration into VS2012 IDE providing templates to create solutions comprising of Plug-in’s, Workflow, Silverlight components.

Once the template is selected a dialog appears to allow connection to CRM system

The Organization and Solution Name drop down lists provides the option of selecting a available solutions for Organization. The final solution structure looks like below:

Important files in the above solution snap shot include:

CrmPackage: Contains the RegisterFile.crmregister hold the information regarding the plugin in xml format. The details available are used to deploy the plug-in to CRM

Plugins , Workflow: .NET Assembly projects

In Part 2 I will be implementing custom logic to create a Task on creation of Account.

Dynamics CRM platform provides two approaches to create entity records via the UI:

• Go to the required area and select the entity to create a new record for example Marketing > Contact > New Record
• Use quick create forms

Dynamics CRM platform performance can be quantified by looking at the following attributes:

• TTFB (a.k.a Time to First Byte) the time it takes for the first byte of information to be returned from the server to client once request is made.
• DOM Content Loaded: An event is triggered when the page’s DOM is ready and when the document is completely parsed and loaded. As an example look at http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/HTML5/DOMContentLoaded/
• Page Load Time: An event triggered when the entire page is loaded.

For good performance consider the following:

• A lot of customizations on the form imply more time it takes to load and change.
• Ribbon customization causes performance issues. The xml written behind the ribbon needs to loaded.

The following check list can be used to as a general guide:

• Optimize Form Load Experience
• Minimize the number of fields on the Form
• Minimize usage of Scripts
• Minimize Ribbon Customizations
• Use collapsed sections where possible, use sub-grids where required more sub-girds increase page size quickly.
• Disable or reconfigure OOTB CRM jobs, there is a Job Editor tool that can be obtained at http://crmjobeditor.codeplex.com/
• Rebuild indexes.

SQL Server Performance Tuning:

For the OOTB entities in CRM indexes does exists, given additional custom entities can be added or new fields can be created on system entities to take advantage of xRM capabilities, indexing management becomes our responsibility. Some tools/places that can point to problem queries include:

• Event viewer under “Application” where there will be warnings under Source MSCRMPlatform regarding performance of query execution.
• Checking activity monitor of SQL server to look at Long Running Queries, use SSMS to display estimated execution plan.

Additional Reading:

• http://blogs.technet.com/b/dynamicspts/archive/2013/08/20/performance-optimization-for-dynamics-crm-2011-clients.aspx
• http://www.dynamicscrmpros.com/dynamics-crm-2011-performance-tuning-part-1/
• http://www.dynamicscrmpros.com/microsoft-dynamics-crm-2011-performance-tuning-part-2/
• http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=27139

The various tasks/functions that can be performed on data in Dynamics CRM platform are available under System > Data Management

Duplicate Detection Settings : Applicable at the organization level

Duplicate Detection Jobs: Set up schedule jobs to run in the background

Data Maps and Templates for Data Import: Facilitate data import/export

The scheduled jobs can be controlled and the options available are as shown below:

UI Enhancements:

• No more left-side navigation menu, the items are moved to the top menu

• Web Client uses Command bar

• Bing Map Integration while entering Address information on a form
• The interface flow now uses left-to-right consumption rather than the traditional top-to-bottom.
• Records are automatically saved every 30 seconds. The status being displayed at the bottom right of the screen. Autosave works only after a new record has been first saved manually and then any subsequent edits are autosaved.
• Image association to an entity record.
• Business Process Flows(BPFs) enable utilization of guided business rules to the application.
• BPF’s can be used on several out-of-box entities viz., Account,Email,Fax etc.
• BPF’s on Custom entities can be used by enabling the option.

Benefits of BPF’s

• Define the steps needed for desired outcome
• Track where a particular record is in the process
• Stage demarcation (a.k.a “stage-gating”) to enforce data entry before proceeding to next step
• Maximum of 5 entities in a BPF
• Maximum of 10 active BPF’s per entity and 30 states per BPF.
• Controlled by security to enable editing of BPF to incorporate new rules in real time.

Dynamics CRM platform uses the term Entity (commonly known to developers as Tables) to store the information about specific type of record. The platform installation creates about 260 system entities. Custom entitie(s) (aka Custom Table(s)) can be created to address the needs of the organization.

There are two options available for Entity Ownership viz., User or Team and Organization.

User or Team Ownership > This will add a new field called Owner that facilitates assigning the Entity between Users and Team.

Organization Ownership > There will no Owner filed created and hence cannot be assigned between Users and Team.

Activity Entity: While creating a custom activity there is the option to create the entity as an activity. This allows the entity to appear in UI in other locations.

The following screen shots show form for creating new Custom entity and the table created in [Organization]_MSCRM database:

The following section demonstrates configuring user access to individual Case records.

The Business Unit structure setup considered is:

Three users are set up in AD viz., AWC User1, AWC User2, AWC User3

1. With CRM organization I have created three custom security roles viz., AWC CSR, AWC Marketing and AWC NPD

2. Once the users are created in AD, go to CRM and add the users by going to Settings > Administration > New User

After the saving the information entered attach a security role by choosing Manage Roles menu option

3. Go to Service > Cases and create a New Case

4. Now open IE and choose the option “Run as different user”, if you  logon using CORP\awcuser1 or CORP\awcuser2 or CORP\awcuser3 you should the see case as applicable to the Owner.

In Dynamics CRM platform there is clear distinction when it comes to management of security in CRM from how the user actually signs into the system. Dynamics CRM platform does not provide a password management or an authentication mechanism.

Once the users are authenticated into CRM system the following user maintenance functionality can be performed:

• Create Users
• Enable and Disable Users
• Identify managers for Users
• Create Teams
• Delete Teams
• Assign Users to Teams
• Assign Security Roles to Users and Teams
• Move Users and Teams between Business Units.

The User management function can be accessed by going to

Settings > Administration > Users

Every user needs to be attached to a security role. If they are not then the Dynamics CRM platform prompts the administrator to attach security roles otherwise further functions cannot be performed.

Example of creating a New Case and adding a Owner (User) without a Security Role attached.

There are two types of teams owner Teams and access Teams. 

Owner Team: Can be assigned Security Roles and therefore own records.

Access Team: Cannot have Security Roles and hence cannot own records.

Team Management feature is accessed from Security > Administration > Teams