Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile is a robust and scalable mobile application created for your frontline workers. With the capabilities of Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse, you can customize and configure the mobile application to meet your unique business needs. In this post, we’ll explore the most important things you can do—and not do—to create the best possible experience for your frontline workers when you implement Field Service Mobile.

5 “Dos” when you implement Field Service Mobile

Do use “mobile offline“ for frontline workers

Frontline workers often perform tasks in areas with variable network connectivity. Online-only applications can experience slow performance when network connections are poor. Responses can be delayed or even fail when the network isn’t available.

Using offline-first mode with Field Service Mobile provides a consistent user experience for frontline workers regardless of network conditions. Even if the network is often available, offline mode has advantages for your organization.

• The offline-enabled application stores and retrieves data from a local database on the device. App performance improves without the dependency on network calls to fetch data from the server.
• When a network is available, the offline application automatically synchronizes data with the server. Without a network connection, the sync pauses until the device is back online. Frontline workers can focus on completing their tasks without worrying about network connectivity.
• Frontline workers’ job progress is not delayed by long waits or networking errors in cases when they temporarily lose network access.

Learn more about offline mode:

• Field Service offline overview
• Offline profile guidelines
• Offline capabilities and limitations

Do keep the mobile workflow simple

When configuring Field Service Mobile, you have control over the precise layout of forms and fields. It’s important to keep core user scenarios in mind when defining the layout of your forms to create a streamlined experience. Focus your customizations on making the interface intuitive and efficient. This is especially useful for new employees to help them familiarize themselves with the necessary processes and steps to complete their work.

Here are some suggestions to simplify the application:

• Use fields in a logical sequence. Avoid forcing users to move between forms.

• Consider performance when you lay out form fields and tabs. Fields that are off-screen are loaded on a delay to avoid impacting the user accessing data that’s visible on the screen. However, sub-grids and charts are loaded with the initial form and can have an impact on performance if they’re added to the form’s default tab.

• Use Work Order Service Tasks, Services, and Products. These out-of-the-box tables help guide frontline workers to complete a work order.

Do minimize customizations

Field Service Mobile provides much of the necessary app experience out of the box, but there are times when business requirements necessitate business logic unique to your organization.  When customizations are necessary, follow best practices and use common Power Platform capabilities. This enables your organization to get the latest new features and enhancements sooner. It also helps to improve supportability and lower maintenance costs.

We recommend documenting your customizations. This helps you to understand changes and set yourself up for success when making future revisions.

Do train users and use feedback for improvements

Training your users on how to use the app and any unique workflows leads to higher productivity and satisfaction. Training should include a feedback loop to assess user satisfaction and be responsive to misunderstandings or requested changes that will improve the frontline workers’ workflow.

Do take advantage of documentation and the Field Service community 

A wealth of information is available in Field Service documentation and learning sites. Help is also available in the community-driven Field Service forum. Use these resources to build solid understanding of Field Service, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform.

General documentation:

• Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app overview

Customization:

• API reference for model-driven apps
• Debug JavaScript code for model-driven apps
• Client-side scripting for model-driven apps
• Best practices for client-side scripting

Community support and feature requests:

• Dynamics 365 Field Service – Forums, Blogs, Support
• Field Service Mobile ideas

5 “Don’ts” when you implement Field Service Mobile

Don’t skip user acceptance testing 

Assessing the end-to-end application in real-world scenarios with your organization’s customizations and data is critical to a successful rollout. This can be a challenge when introducing diverse Field Service scenarios in addition to complex online and offline capabilities.

• Focus testing on the “happy path” workflow through the application. Make sure frontline workers can complete that workflow without error in various situations.
• Test with the same set of devices that users will have.
• Test with the same security role and data access that users will have.
• Test with production-level amounts of data.
• Test offline mode in variable network conditions emulating real-world usage.
  • Strong network access: Wi-Fi or stable cellular networkNo network access: Device disconnected
  • Intermittent or ‘flaky’ network access: Weak or variable cellular signal or areas of high latency
• Test customizations and make sure they work well on different devices with the network and in offline scenarios.
• Enable a feedback loop with your tests. Listen closely to actual users who are taking part in user acceptance testing. Plan a phase to incorporate feedback, which will help users during the final rollout.

Don’t use low-performance hardware or outdated software 

Mobile devices evolve quickly, and it’s best to keep up to date by using recent hardware with sufficient memory and processing power. Using modern, high-performance mobile devices increases productivity through faster access to data and better battery life. Additionally, apps on modern devices are more reliable and less prone to slowdowns or crashes.  

Field Service Mobile recommends evaluating the device based on CPU benchmark scores as given in the system requirements documentation.  

Don’t implement offline mode without understanding data needs

It’s highly recommended that you use offline mode with Field Service Mobile. When implementing offline mode, plan based on your scenarios and data needs for a successful experience for your users.

Include only the required data. It’s important to take a minimal amount of data offline as required for frontline workers to perform their work. Reducing data helps with the sync time, cellular data usage, device battery usage, and device storage. It’s important to understand users’ true data needs and how security roles influence data access.

Minimize the number of relationships between tables to reduce query complexity. The amount of data isn’t the only factor to consider. Complex queries with multiple joins against large tables can also have a high impact on offline sync time.

Avoid frequent schema changes. Schema changes may force the redownload of tables that had changes, resulting in longer sync times.

Be aware of server-side business logic. The offline-enabled Field Server Mobile application syncs data from the server at regular intervals. If part of a workflow depends on interaction with the server, the response may take minutes to return to the client when the network is available and not at all if the user is truly offline. It’s recommended that you move as much business logic to the client as possible to reduce wait time and dependency on the network.

Understand limitations. There are limitations on the offline capabilities of the Power Platform.

Refer to the offline profile guidelines for more information.

Don’t design a workflow that includes switching applications or context 

Try to bring as much of the Field Service workflow into the Field Service Mobile application as possible so frontline workers don’t need to switch between multiple applications. Maintaining multiple applications is time-consuming and frustrating for the user and increases organizational overhead. Use the Power Apps Component Framework (PCF) to build custom experiences, bringing in other data sources when necessary.

If alternate applications are required, try to ease the burden of context switching by using deep links to navigate between the apps.

Don’t reuse web forms on mobile devices 

A benefit of working on the Power Platform is being able to reuse forms on both web and mobile. This capability can make development of your form more efficient, reduce maintenance, and provide a common user experience regardless of how the form is accessed.

However, a form intended for use on a larger-screen device may have information that’s not necessary for a technician using the mobile application. For this reason, we recommend creating mobile-specific forms in some cases to provide an optimized experience that contains only the data that’s necessary for the user.

Conclusion

Field Service Mobile is a powerful application that brings the robust capabilities of Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform into the field. Following these best practices and avoiding common mistakes will help you implement Field Service Mobile successfully.

Not yet a Dynamics 365 customer? Take a tour and get a free trial.

The post Top 5 “dos and don’ts” when you implement Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

We are thrilled to announce the general availability of Collaboration spaces in Viva Sales, transforming the way sales teams collaborate. Collaboration is essential for sales success, yet many organizations struggle to stay organized and find the right digital tools to bring them together. In the pursuit of closing deals, sellers find themselves collaborating with an average of over 15 cross-functional teams within their organizations, while simultaneously serving their customers. This intricate web of interactions adds a significant layer of complexity to their already demanding work.

With Collaboration spaces, sellers now have an organized and effortlessly created space, tailored to their needs, where they can collaborate seamlessly with their colleagues and customers.

Collaboration made easy with Sales templates

Sales templates in Viva Sales simplify the process of creating purpose-built Collaboration spaces in Microsoft Teams, directly linked to D365 or Salesforce accounts or opportunities. Collaboration spaces are set up with predefined channels and pinned apps, providing a ready-made environment for effective collaboration built on the secure and trustworthy framework provided by Teams.

Once set up, sales teams can conveniently access these Collaboration spaces from the Viva Sales app in Outlook or directly from the Sales app, within the context of their accounts or opportunities. This eliminates the hassle of searching for the right place to collaborate, saving valuable time for the sales team.

We are excited to offer two sales templates as part of this release:

1. Account team template: The Account team template is designed for seamless collaboration within account teams and with customers. Applied at the team level and linked to a CRM account, this template provides a comprehensive solution. It comes equipped with predefined channels and pre pinned apps, ensuring a smooth and efficient workflow for effective collaboration.

2. Deal room template: The Deal room template is tailored for focused collaboration on deal related activities. Applied at the channel level and linked to a CRM opportunity, this template provides a dedicated space for efficient teamwork. With predefined channels and pre pinned apps, it streamlines communication and enhances productivity, allowing sales teams to effectively collaborate and drive successful deal outcomes.

Eliminate set-up overhead for effortless teamwork

Setting up a Collaboration space is now easier than ever. With just a few clicks, sellers can create their own space for collaboration. By clicking on the ‘Set up account team’ or ‘Set up deal rooms’ button from Collaborate in Teams card in Viva Sales app within Outlook, sellers can quickly get the set up going. The process involves three simple steps: choosing a new/existing team, reviewing default team/channel names, and adding recommended team members to new teams.

Convenient access within sales workflows

Once set up, sales teams can conveniently access these Collaboration spaces from the Viva Sales app in Outlook or directly from the D365 Sales app, within the context of their accounts or opportunities. This eliminates the hassle of searching for the right place to collaborate, saving valuable time for the sales team.

Next steps

New to Viva Sales? Sign up here: Microsoft Viva Sales | Microsoft Viva
Learn more about Collaboration spaces: Introducing Collaboration spaces for sales teams

The post Purpose built Collaboration spaces in Viva Sales appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Join me, Lori Lamkin, and my esteemed colleague Nathalie D’Hers, as we take you on an extraordinary journey through the development, deployment, and continuous improvement of Microsoft Viva Sales. As the Corporate Vice President (CVP) of Dynamics 365 Customer Experiences, I bring extensive leadership experience and strategic vision to guide the product team responsible for Viva Sales. Viva Sales is a tool that maximizes Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Salesforce seller teams’ productivity with AI-assisted experiences in Microsoft 365 apps. Nathalie, another accomplished CVP, leads the deployment efforts across Microsoft, positioning the Microsoft sales field as customer zero. Together, we bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to revolutionize the way sellers engage with customers through Viva Sales. In this Q&A session, we will share our insights, experiences, and the remarkable story of Microsoft’s journey in unlocking the full potential of Viva Sales. Get ready to be inspired!

Rapid deployment: Unleashing the potential of Viva Sales

Lori: It’s been six months since you’ve deployed Viva Sales, what results are you seeing? What key considerations did you have when rolling out a generative AI tool like Viva Sales on a global scale?

Nathalie: Viva Sales is deployed across Microsoft. Being customer zero has been invaluable in this process. It has allowed us to confirm the product, learn important insights, and make improvements along the way. We’ve been focused on turning on Copilot features to enhance the seller experience, and the feedback we’ve received from our own teams has been instrumental in refining and perfecting the deployment. I’m so excited to partner with our teams to see the first commercial solution at Microsoft to combine Copilot and Viva Sales.

Since the launch of Copilot in March, we have seen incredible adoption with nearly 4,000 users taking advantage of its capabilities. The impact has been significant, with approximately 37,500 draft emails generated through the power of generative AI. It’s encouraging to see the positive response from our users and the value they are experiencing. In fact, during a recent customer conversation, the Senior VP of Sales expressed their enthusiasm to partner with us as early adopters, emphasizing their willingness to invest in any technology that enhances the productivity of their sellers. It’s a testament to the effectiveness of Copilot and its ability to drive tangible benefits in the workplace.

Nathalie: It’s been quite the journey since we launched Viva Sales to our Microsoft sellers. What were the main goals your team hoped to achieve with this product?

Lori: We’ve been focused on seller productivity gains through taking advantage of conversation intelligence, enabling Copilot features, and ultimately improving customer connection, job satisfaction, and revenue for our sellers. Microsoft being customer zero has provided us with a unique advantage. It has allowed us to test these features within our own organization, gather valuable feedback, and fine-tune the experiences before rolling them out to more customers.

In the new update, we are adding some exciting capabilities to Viva Sales that have been influenced by your team’s customer zero work. Sellers can get real-time suggestions and guidance as they craft emails, pulling insights from automated email summaries. It’s like having a virtual assistant right at their side, helping them to generate compelling content and ensuring that no opportunity is missed. Our sellers have embraced these features with enthusiasm, recognizing how it significantly boosts their productivity and enables them to focus on building strong customer relationships.

Nathalie: Speaking of Copilot, how does your organization ensure that the implementation of Copilot features align with Microsoft’s ethical and responsible AI principles?

Lori: Supporting ethical and responsible AI practices is of paramount importance to us and our customers. As we use generative AI, we are committed to helping our customers be transparent, fair, and accountable to their employees and their customers.

As you know, one of the ways we do this here is with our works councils, where a few of our colleagues volunteer to help us protect the privacy of all our employees when we deploy new technology like Viva Sales. More importantly, they make sure we follow privacy laws in each of the countries and regions where we operate. We roll the feedback that we get from them directly into our products, which helps our customers protect their own employees. It’s this kind of thinking—and these kinds of checks and balances—that helps with the ethical use of AI in Viva Sales.

Lori: We were so excited to be the first Microsoft product to bring Copilot to our users; the feedback we have received from sellers has been incredibly positive! How have our newest Copilot in Viva Sales features influenced your thinking about supporting the employee experience?

Nathalie: It helped a lot! Seeing a tangible implementation of Copilot with real value opened our eyes to what was possible and is influencing ways that we’ll incorporate generative AI into our own employee experience. Kudos to you and your team for dreaming big and acting fast to bring that experience to the market!

Lori: Thank you. So, tell me more about this employee experience and how deploying Viva Sales Copilot in Microsoft has given your team insights and learnings that shaped your approach to using AI?

Nathalie: Just like Viva Sales provides conversation summaries and next actions for sales opportunities, we’re thinking through scenarios that will enable us to transform the way employees interact with our different services—like support and HR—to make them more personalized and efficient.

Broadly, our efforts fall into three categories—AI for IT, AI for the hybrid workplace, and AI for the employee experience. AI for IT includes investments to help us proactively detect and remediate issues in our employee services and IT infrastructure. AI for the hybrid workplace includes investments to help us perfect space planning and to enhance the experience when employees come into the office. Finally, AI for the employee experience is all about transforming the ways that Microsoft employees interact with our services and support. Across each of these investment areas, Viva Sales provided us with a great benchmark for how AI can really propel employee productivity.

Microsoft Viva Sales

Learn more about our internal deployment of Microsoft Viva Sales.

Read here

Talking about works councils and deployment

Lori: Nathalie, as the leader responsible for deploying Viva Sales across Microsoft, I understand that your team has been actively engaging with works councils. Can you provide insights into the impact of working with works councils during the deployment process?

Nathalie: Absolutely, Lori. Works councils play a critical role in standing for the interests of employees within our organization, particularly in European countries where they are prevalent, and they make sure that whatever we deploy internally within the company protects the privacy of the employees who live in that region. Engaging with works councils ensures that we consider the perspectives and concerns of the workforce during the deployment of Viva Sales. Their input is valuable in addressing compliance, privacy, and employee relations matters, making our deployment process more robust and aligned with local regulations.

Lori: What have you found to be some of the challenges in managing a global-scale deployment of Viva Sales?

Nathalie: Deploying any new technology globally has challenges, but the speed and efficiency with which we were able to roll out this transformative product was truly remarkable. We are working on a brand-new solution that is revolutionizing the way generative AI changes the workplace, and being customer zero has given us some unique advantages. We’ve had to navigate compliance and obtain necessary approvals for deploying AI features on a global scale. Our active engagement process, which includes working closely with works councils, has been instrumental in streamlining the deployment process and ensuring that our global teams can receive help from Viva Sales. Despite the challenges, the feedback from sellers has been incredibly positive, especially with the AI-generated email content enhancements we’re introducing. The best part is how easy and painless it is to enable Viva Sales, allowing our teams to quickly harness its productivity-boosting capabilities and experience a seamless transition to a more efficient way of working.

Lori: It seems like building an effective approval process is crucial. How replicable has Microsoft made this process for other companies?

Nathalie: At Microsoft, we have developed a globally recognizable, efficient process for enabling Copilot scenarios. By supporting open dialogue, we can gather feedback, address emerging concerns, and align our deployment approach with evolving regulations. We recently set up a framework with European works councils to supply valuable insights into employee needs and expectations, enabling Microsoft to tailor the product and deployment process accordingly. We encourage all companies to get connected with their respective works counsels to achieve a balance between rapid implementation and compliance, ensuring that their employees are protected, and the organization meets regulatory requirements.

Lori: It’s truly exciting to see the transformative power of Viva Sales in action and see the positive impact it’s having on our organization!

Learn more about Viva Sales

To learn more about our internal deployment of Viva Sales, read about how we’re simplifying sales with Viva Sales. You can also read more about our internal deployment of Viva at Microsoft by visiting our “Viva la vida! Work life is better at Microsoft with Viva” content suite. Learn more about other applications and capabilities in Dynamics 365 Sales and Viva Sales using the links below:

• Learn more about tips Microsoft has for working with works counsels.
• Take a look at Dynamics 365 Sales and Viva Sales release wave documentation on Microsoft Learn.
• Watch the Copilot in Viva Sales demo.
• Stay up-to-date on Viva Sales features and updates on the Viva Sales Blog.

If you’re not yet a Dynamics 365 Sales customer, check out our Dynamics 365 Sales webpage where you can take a guided tour or get a free 30-day trial.

The post The power of AI in Viva Sales: Insights from Lori Lamkin and Nathalie D’Hers appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.