This article is the part of our new Dynamics 365 features series. In this article, we are going to discuss new enhancements in Business process flow. Business process flow is one of the process categories that we can use to automate our business related activities. Business process flow is different from other processes in terms of the visualization. It visually represents the current status of our business process and provides many other features. If you are new to business process, you can refer to msdn KB for more details. Now, let’s see what is new in business process flow.
Business Process Type
Now, if you design new business process flow, you will find two options for selection. One option is to design task flow, which is Mobile only and the second option is for other clients. In Dynamics CRM 2016, task flow has been a preview feature and was only available if preview is enabled for your organization.
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But now, this option is available as a full feature in Dynamics 365.
New Designer
Similar to the business rules designer, business process flow also has a new designer equipped with a completely new look and feel, and drag and drop feature.
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A new Toolbar is introduced with edit buttons, connector, and a new snapshot button to take screenshots of your business process flow design which can be used in technical documentations.
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Now, business process flow controls can be added using "Add" menu or we can drag them from "Components" tab. Once controls are added, we can set their property using "Properties" tab.
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Workflow
This is an awesome feature added to the business process flow. There has been a common requirement to implement some logic on stage changes and if you have similar requirements, then there is good news for you. Now, we can initiate workflow on Stage Entry or Stage Exit. We can select workflow from workflow lookup or can create workflow on the fly, using New button. Keep in mind, we can only select on-demand workflow to use in business process workflow, so your automatic workflow won’t be available under workflow lookup.
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Stage Active Duration
This was very common requirement in CRM implementation to know the total time for a stage being in active state. Now, we have this feature out of the box. You can see the duration details in business process flow itself. The "Next Stage" button is also in a new place now. You will also notice a new color for business process flow bar.
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Run Business Process Flow Simultaneously
Dynamics 365 allows us to use more than one business process flow simultaneously. We can have more than one business process flow and can select them. Similar to earlier versions, we can switch to a different process and the CRM will remember the details about our old business process. We can see the details about another process, like whether it is already started or not.
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We can also see "Archived Processes" details, which will list out all the completed and abandoned business process flows.
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Now, we can abandon business process flow any time, based on the requirement, and reactivate them if required later.
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That's it for now. Stay tuned for more Dynamics 365 New features !!