What’s new in the July 2017 update for Field Service and Project Service Automation

Applies to: Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation, Dynamics 365 for Field Solution, Dynamics 365 for Universal Scheduling Solution, Dynamics 365 for Resource Scheduling Optimization

 

With the goal of continuously improving quality, performance, usability, and responding some customer feature feedbacks, we’re excited to announce the release of July 2017 update for Dynamics 365 for Field Service, Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation, Connected Field Service, Resource Scheduling Optimization solutions. Below are the new features and capabilities introduced in this update.

 

Field Service (v7.0.0.213) Enhancements

1. Productivity features
   • Substituting a resource that is booked by finding the resource(s) that fulfill the resource requirements that was used to book the resource
   • Quickly reassigning a resource with another named resource
2. Scheduling feature enhancements, refer to below Universal Resource Scheduling Enhancements section
3. Field Resource Hub on mobile devices for Field Service
   • Refreshed and simplified navigation
   • New controls to simplify Service tasks and product
   • Offline capabilities for Field Service: when a device doesn’t have connection a field resource can continue working with the app to complete the common tasks like updating service tasks or adding products.

 

Project Service Automation Solution (v2.0.0.273) Enhancements

1. PS- major functional bug fixes
   • Clicking on confirm on Invoice has a lag and clicking multiple times creates multiple billable actuals has been fixed.
   • Errors on Opportunity when customer customize BPFs have been fixed
   • Actuals creation for Expenses has been fixed to take taxes entered by the user into account
   • Bug fixes in Quote line detail grids and form switching behavior between PS and CRM Opportunity/Quote/Order
   • Project price list support null start or end dates
2. Scheduling feature enhancements, refer to below Universal Resource Scheduling Enhancements section
3. Show both project WBS task ID and project task name when user report time entry
4. Performance improvements on
   • WBS/estimate bulk operations (I.e. project copy, project move, create from large project template)
   • Auto team generation
   • Time Entry forms
5. Project Resource Hub on mobile devices for Time & Expense
   • Performance improvement based on UC mobile client
   • Launch camera capture expense receipt directly

 

 

Universal Resource Scheduling Enhancements – for both Project Service Automation(v2.0.0.273) and Field Service (v7.0.0.213) and other schedulable entities

 

1. Extensibility story for schedule board: Enabling users to add custom attributes or entities to resources and resource requirements and make use of them in schedule board to filter resources or resource requirements.

 

1. • Summary of flow

    

   

 

1. • How to extend?

    

   

 

2. Universal Resource Scheduling(URS) fulfillment enhancement

 

1. •  Fulfillment Enhancement Feature Overview

 

 

 

1. • Fulfillment Enhancement: Requirement Breakdown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. • Fulfillment Enhancement: Progress Display

 

 

 

 

1. • Fulfillment Enhancement: Display Associated Resources

 

 

1. • Fulfillment Enhancement: Seamless Zooming

 

 

1. • Fulfillment Enhancement: Substitute Resource

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connected Field Service (v1.0.17222.3) Enhancements

1. Enable customers to use their existing Azure resources when provisioning CFS, users can bring the following Azure resources that they have:
   • IoT Hub
   • Storage account
   • Service bus
   • Azure SQL Server
   • Azure SQL DB
2. Enable users to import devices that are registered in Azure IoT hub to Dynamics 365
3. Enabling users to use an existing resource group to provision required Azure resources

 

Resource Scheduling Optimization (v1.5.17262.1) Enhancements

1. With schedule Board Interaction this new capability, user can
   • better understand optimization scope
   • View optimization results in a visualized way
   • Easier analyze failed optimization requests
   • Create a new schedule on the fly

 

 

2. New Analytic charts and reports for optimization results

 

 

 

3. Better messages and error handlings to help user troubleshooting and fixing optimization errors
4. More secure and reliable oAuth authentication for Resource Scheduling Optimization deployment app, also reduce the administrative tasks for maintaining Dynamics 365 user credentials

 

 

 

5. RSO Other Feature Enhancements
   • Improve detection rules of invalid Bookable Resource
   • Enabled business rules for work location in resource requirement
   • Set default scheduling method based on metadata record
   • Make create, update and deleted operations visible to the user once all the parallel operations finished correctly
   • Display message in the optimization request if a route falls back to as the crow flies
   • Show booking statuses in the schedule optimization scope so that user can easily identify if any booking status accidentally set the wrong value

 

 

 

 

5. • Modify the status of optimization schedule to indicates setup not in sync

 

 

 

 

5. • Add time zone setting on schedule filters so that user can easily configure their local time which is processed from an UTC referential

 

 

 

 

 

For more information:

• Use Resource Scheduling Optimization to schedule multiple booking requirements on a recurring basis
• Scheduling anything in Dynamics 365 with Universal Resource Scheduling
• What’s new in Dynamics 365 for Field Service and Project Service Automation
• Dynamics 365 for Field Service – User’s Guide
• Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation – User’s Guide

 

Feifei Qiu

Program Manager

Dynamics 365, Field Project Service Team