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Service Scheduling in Dynamics CRM part 1

Post Author: Joe D365 |

Service Scheduling (Part 1) – Managing Different Service Types

Business Issue

I need to schedule my people and equipment resources to provide a service to a customer.

Solution

One of the most underutilized areas in Dynamics CRM is its Service Scheduling functionality. Service Scheduling in Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps organizations track the service scheduling process including:

  • Managing different service types and what resources are needed to carry those out
  • Scheduling of those services
  • Reporting on scheduling levels, performance, customer satisfaction

Service Scheduling allows schedulers to be current and informed with calendars views that enable the scheduler to clearly view:

  • Weekly scheduled service activities
  • Monthly scheduled service activities
  • Daily scheduled service activities

The service calendar also saves schedulers time by providing current information about their unavailable days and times. Scheduling services in MSCRM provides the tools that help users organize and keep track of resources, resource schedules, time off, and company closures.

This month is the first of a three part series on Service Scheduling in Dynamics CRM

Part 1: Managing different service types

Part 2: Scheduling

Part 3: Reporting

Terms to Know

Here are some terms that you will need to become familiar with when setting up service types in CRM:

  • Service
  • Resources
  • Resource Groups
  • Sites
  • Capacity Scheduling
  • Effort Required
  • Selection Rule
  • Selection Criteria
  1. Service is a type of work that is delivered to a customer and performed by one or more resources. For example, equipment repair, health services, legal or accounting services. To define a service, enter general information about that service, identify the resources needed and then input these requirements into a selection rule.
  2. Resources are people, facilities and equipment that are used in delivering services. Individual resources have a work schedule that defines when they are available to work.
  3. Resource Groups are pools of similar resources that can carry out a given service. These resources are thought to be interchangeable.
  4. Sites are locations where service operations take place
  5. Capacity Scheduling is used to consider different sized facilities or users' skill levels when setting up services and resources. An example would be a senior technician that can repair 2 copy machines in the same time that it takes a junior technician to repair 1. Or this clinic has 5 patient examining rooms where another clinic may have 8.
  6. Effort defined in a selection rule reduces that resources capacity when they are scheduled to deliver that particular service.
  7. Selection Rule is the list of people, facilities or equipment needed to carry out a service. Each service needs a selection rule.
  8. Selection Criteria helps users determine how resources should be allocated. An example is if you want to have one technician completely scheduled before another technician is scheduled. Or maybe on the other hand you want all technicians scheduled evenly.

Scenario

Let's look at a real life example of a dermatology office needing to schedule their services. This is a complex example that requires scheduling medical professionals who have different skill sets, work with specialized equipment and are located at different sites (clinics). For this scenario, the business must meet the following scheduling requirements:

  1. Various medical professionals have different skill sets, credentials, licenses. Not everyone can do all services.
  2. Employees work different shifts/times.
  3. Employees are working different sites.
  4. Specialized equipment is shared among the medical professionals.

Step 1: Create the Sites (Clinic Locations)

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Settings, click on Business Administration and then click on Sites.


I added the clinical sites and medical professionals that work at each clinic:

  1. Woodbury – Steve and Jesse work at this clinic
  2. Eagan – Chelsie works at this clinic
  3. Oakdale – Alex works at this clinic



Step 2: Set Up Facilities and Equipment

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Settings, click on Business Administration and then click on Facilities and Equipment.


I added in a couple laser machines for the Woodbury clinic and 1 for the Eagan Clinic. I also entered in one surgery room per clinic.


Step 3: Set up your Resource Groups

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Settings, click on Business Administration and then click on Resource Groups.


  1. Click on new and add your resource group names and medical professionals that are part of the group of skilled resources.



Step 4: Create your Services

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service or Workplace depending on your site map configuration, click Services and then click New.
  2. In the Name box, type "Laser"
  3. In the Initial Status Reason box, select Reserved
  4. In the Description box, I typed "Laser"
  5. In the Default Duration box, I selected 1 hour
  6. In the Start Activities Every box, I selected 15 minutes
  7. In the Beginning At box, I selected 8:00 AM
  8. SAVE


Step 5: Define the Selection Rule

For each service, define at least one selection rule by selecting one or more medical professionals, facilities and equipment needed to deliver it.

  1. On the Laser service form created above, click the Required Resources tab, and then double-click the first line in the right pane.
  2. In the Edit a Selection Rule dialog box, ensure that the Quantity box has a value of ALL from The Same Site and then click OK.
  3. Highlight that rule and then in the Common Tasks pane, click Add a Selection Rule to add a sub rule
  4. Choose 1 From Add Resources Groups – Laser Med Professional
  5. Add another sub selection rule Choose 1 From Add Resources Groups – Laser Machines

Should look like this:


Next month we will have Service Scheduling Part 2 – Scheduling Services


Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

One comment on “Service Scheduling in Dynamics CRM part 1”

  1. Do you know if it is possible to change 8:00 as a default start time when scheduling a service activity? By default we have from 8:00 to 17:00, but I do not the way to custom it to start at 9:00.
    Thanks in advance
    Francisco Javier López
    http://www.crm-spain.blogspot.com.es

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