Chapter 1, Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365, introduces you to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and shares the details of various apps, solution elements, buying choices, and complimentary tools. You will get an insight into the various tools, offerings, and options provided by Microsoft in Dynamics 365.

Chapter 2, Implementation Methodology and Tools, explores various implementation methodologies, such as CRP, agile, and waterfall, with a comparative summary of the key attributes to evaluate the best fitting methodology for your project. This chapter also introduces Lifecycle services, various tools for implementation, and the sustenance of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.

Chapter 3, Architecture and Deployment, starts with introducing the conceptual architecture and deployment architecture. It then goes on to explain various application components and architectures, such as identity, data layer, platform, application, client, and so on. This chapter also explains different deployment choices: cloud, local business data (on-premise), and Cloud and Edge (Hybrid), with a detailed comparison to help you decide the best-suited deployment choice for your implementation.

Chapter 4, Project Initiation and Kickoff, covers the details and importance of solid project initiation through various topics, such as project team composition, project plan, project charter, the kickoff meeting, project initiation and LCS tools, project deliverables, and best practices in project initiation.

Chapter 5, Requirements, Business Process Analysis, and Traceability, explains requirements, processes, and solution blueprints, emphasizing their needs and various other moving parts in managing the scope for your project. It also covers how to use the LCS business process modeler and VSTS to manage your requirement lifecycle throughout the project.  

Chapter 6, Configuration and Data Management, explores configuration management and data migration through topics, such as strategies for managing configuration, data migration, configuration management, data migration management, data management framework, data management scenarios, and best practices for managing configurations and data migration.

Chapter 7, Functional and Technical Design, covers the solution design phase of the implementation project, including finding the right app for your business needs. It discusses common features that can be leveraged as part of your custom solution and also discusses the planning and execution of a functional and technical design.

Chapter 8, Integration Planning and Design, covers integration planning, integration technologies, and integration design/development. It explores topics such as integration architecture, basic integration concepts, integration tools and scenarios, Dynamics 365 data integrator, integration design and development, best practices and recommendations, and so on.

Chapter 9, Building Customization, explains the development process and tools in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. It starts with introducing the development architecture, concepts, and development environment. Then it goes on to cover development planning and process. The chapter also covers the automated build and testing process of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.

Chapter 10, Analytics, Business Intelligence, and Reporting, discusses the powerful reporting and analytics features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. The chapter covers various reporting and analytics topics, for example, Power BI, Cortana intelligence, Office integration, modern reports and SSRS, electronic reporting, and financial reporting.

Chapter 11, Testing and Training, discusses what goes on during the testing and training phase of an implementation project. On testing, it covers various topics such as the importance of testing, types of testing, automated testing strategies, and test planning guidelines and recommendations. On training, it covers topics such as the importance of training, training and the help system, planning and executing training, and change management.

Chapter 12, Go Live, explains the Go Live phase of a project through topics such as production environment and responsibilities, Go Live activities, organization readiness to Go Live, and Go Live planning and execution.

Chapter 13, Post Go Live Support, covers post Go Live activities, spanning support, issue identification, tracking, resolutions, and managing the support Lifecycle.

Chapter 14, Update, Upgrade, and Migration, covers activities involving evaluation and processes to get on the latest version from prior versions of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. This includes updating to the latest platform releases, applying hotfixes, and upgrading or migrating from previous major versions, such as Dynamics AX 2012 and AX 2009.

To get the most out of this book, you need to have a basic understanding of the ERP implementation process, IT project management, and software development lifecycle. In addition, you should have access to the Lifecycle Services (LCS) portal and the development environment of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.

This book is written from multiple perspectives, encompassing all the areas that any customer, partner, learner, or industry can use to be more successful in the implementation and adoption of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. Solution architects, functional consultants, technical consultants, subject matter experts (SMEs), super users, IT managers, project stakeholders, and technology leaders who are in the process of buying, planning, or undergoing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition implementation are expected to directly benefit with the insights in the book.

For readers completely new to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, or who have worked on prior versions, such as Dynamics AX 2012, this book is a perfect start to learning Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. The book helps you understand the basic concepts, tools, technologies, best practices, and recommendations. The book will help you during every phase of implementation with what to expect, deliverables across phases, roles/skill set involvement, common pitfalls to avoid, and some tips and tricks learned from our experiences. 

Every business has its unique business model and organizational culture, and this brings unique challenges for ERP implementation. While going through this book, you will encounter many recommendations, guidelines, and experiences; however, you may need to fine-tune the recommendations as per your specific needs, based on the particular project size, timeline, business organization structure, and industry.

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning. Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "The OData protocol supports many advance filtering and querying options on entities such as $filter,  $count, $orderby, $skip, $top, $expand, and $select."

A block of code is set as follows:

"phoneNumbers":[
{
"type":"home",
"number":"212 555-1234"
},
]

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "Setup is available under System administration | Setup | Azure Active Directory applications."

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