Schedule API GA Release in Project Operations
Problem Definition: Unlike PSA where the users were not restricted to use the crude operations (Create, Update and Delete) CUD on entities like Project, Project Task, Resource Assignment, Project Team Member and Project Task Dependency, Project Operations (PO) blocks the user to perform these basic operations. Often these requests are at peak while we do projects with customers, as PO does not go OOB for all the needs and requirements coming from customers. Of lately a huge demand was seen for this. Solution: Microsoft has come up with custom API’s know as Schedule API in CDS to enable these CUD operations. The reason why these had to come via Schedule API was that the WBS was managed by P4W (Project for the Web) which is a different team from the PO Team. To do a seamless communication between PO and P4W Schedule API was born. The following entity with its logical names were enabled via Schedule API Entity Name Entity Logical Name Project msdyn_project Project Task msdyn_projecttask Project Task Dependency msdyn_projecttaskdependency Resource Assignment msdyn_resourceassignment Project Bucket msdyn_projectbucket Project Team Member msdyn_projectteam See the table below for all the operations Microsoft currently enabled support: Just a small note: Note, Microsoft don’t update Resource Assignments, instead they delete the existing one and create a new one. So, there is no support for Update Resource Assignment. Same thing applies to Task Dependency. These APIs can be called with entity objects that including custom fields. The Id property is optional, if you provide one, Microsoft will try to use it. Microsoft will throw an exception if they cannot use the id you provide. If you don’t provide one, Microsoft will generate one. Scheduling API would be available in the following release of ProjectOperations 4.9.0.188.
Teams collaboration with Project Operations
An often ask functionality to collaborate from Dynamics 365 Project Operations with Teams is now functional, thus helping in effective communication and team collaboration by avoiding series of emails. There are many ways in which Teams can be used for this purpose. The following blog with explain you how the collaboration works. 1. Adding a Dynamics 365 App in Teams. By adding Dynamics 365 App to Teams you can use the entire app inside teams. There is no need to step out of Teams for anything related to Dynamics work. How do we add the Dynamics 365 App to Teams? Step 1: Click on the elipses as shown in the screen shot below and select the Dynamics 365 App. Step 2: Select the App and Click on Add button as shown below. Step 3: Navigate to Setting Tab and Select, Environment and Dynamics 365 App that you wish to load inside and Save the settings as shown below: Step 4: Once you are done, click on the My Dashboard button and your app is loaded in Teams. Now you can run the entire App inside your Teams environment. 2. By Adding a Teams and loading a specific project for that team, so that the entire team can collaborate on that Team. Step1: Click on the Teams Tab and Click on Join or Create a team as shown below and then Create a team: Step 2: Select any option that suits you best from the below. I would recommend selecting “Manage a Project” since it has all the Wiki and Files options enabled by default. Step 3: Click on Start Step 4: Click on Public or Private Group as per your choice. I would recommend keeping it Private, since it is your project group. Step 5: Name the project team and click on Create button. It takes a while post that to create a team. Once the team is created you will be notified by Teams about the successful creation of your project team. Once your Project Team is created you will see it in the left navigation bar of Teams as shown below. Once you click that you will see a couple of options in the project team. Step 6: Once you Click on the + Icon, you can add the Dynamics 365 Project you wish to add to the project team you created to collaborate on the same. Step 7: Next you click on Add Step 8: Select the Entity Selection Tab and Select from the Right Drop Down Menu as Shown, select the appropriate project and click on Save. Your project is added as the tab on the tab as shown and you can then collaborate also with the team from Posts. Collaborate from Posts 3. You can also add the entre website by adding the URL on the Teams site of your application. Step1: To add via URL, click the + Icon on any chat or Team that you have created and select Website Step 2: Name the tab and add the URL of your Dynamics 365 Environment. Then you are set to your application inside Teams. Your Project Tab comes on the top as shown and you can use your D365 App from within Teams seamlessly. There is a Collaborate Button provided in the Dynamics 365 app to collaborate with Teams, I shall discuss more about that option in my upcoming blog. THE END
How to do split billing in D365 Project Operations?
Often there is a need to split the bill which can be paid by 2 parties for a project. For e.g. if we are getting a project executed and there are 2 customers involved, for whom the project is getting developed, they can decide on who should pay what percentage bill should be borne by whom. Project Operations comes with this functionality known as Split billing. The following steps illustrates how to achieve that: Step 1: Login to your Project Operations CE environment. Step 2: Create an Opportunity by Navigating to Salesà Opportunities Module and by clicking on +New button from Ribbon control. Step 3: Create a Quote, by clicking on the Quote Tab and then click on +New Quote as shown in the screenshot below: A Quote filled with all the details from the opportunity form is created. Step 4: Navigate to the Customers Tab in the Quote. Here is where you can add another customer who shall split the bill with the other customer. Click on +New Quote Customer as shown below, add the details and decide the percentage of billing as per need basis between each customer. Step 5: Add Quote Lines to the Quote as per shown in the screen shot below: Step 6: Add Quote Line Details as per shown in the below screenshot: Step 7: Once the Quote is Ready Mark the Quote as Won as shown in the screenshot below: Step 8: Once the Quote is marked as won a Contract is created with all the detail pre-filled (picked up form Quote). Then mark the Contract as confirm as shown in the screen shot below: Step 9: Navigate to the Billing Milestones and Open a milestone for Invoicing: If you observe, after opening the billing milestone, it has 2 lines in each for different Quote Line customers that we added. The amounts are also calculated based on the percentage of the split billing decided for both. Step 10: Change the status of both the lines to Ready for Invoicing as shown below: Step 11: Navigate to the Contract and click on the Create Invoice button from the ribbon as shown: Step 12: Navigate to the Invoice Entity from Sales Module as shown below. You will observe there are 2 different invoices created for both the customers: That ends the process. Here on the Accounts Manager can send out the invoice individually to each of the customer. The entire process briefed above is how the split billing works.