What version of Dynamics Project Operations is right for my company and how do I find a Microsoft Partner who can help me implement it?

Microsoft (MS) folks keep on coming up with groundbreaking features in their apps. On the one hand MS offer app interoperability but on the other they duplicate similar features in various apps.

MS Partners are supposed to help clients find a suite of solutions that best suit client’s needs. But there is a catch: MS Partners tend to have a strong focus on a particular solution and this may sometimes cloud their judgement: if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.

What kind of MS Partner do I need to improve my Project Management process? Let us make a couple of assumptions first. Let us assume that you already use Office 365 for collaboration and Dynamics Sales for opportunity management. Maybe your IT department uses Azure DevOps for software development and your Project Managers plan projects in Project Professional. Now, let us look at a couple of scenarios.

Professional Service firms e.g. Management and IT Consultancies with fewer than 300 employees

Your company will most likely need a number of information systems: first and foremost Professional Services Automation (PSA) system accompanied by Corporate Financial Management (CFM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Human Resources Management (HRM) systems. Dynamics Project Operations Lite offers both PSA and CRM functionality on one platform. Many consultancies of this size do not need own CFM and HRM systems as they often outsource finance and HR functions. You should engage a Microsoft Partner specializing in Dynamics Customer Engagement (CE) with experience in implementing Project Operations (ProjOps) in CE and with capabilities in Office 365, Power BI and third party systems for document generation e.g. Document CorePack or Dox42. Ideally the MS Partner should also be an expert in SharePoint, Teams, and Azure DevOps integration (ideally not just integration but should also offer expert advice how to use these tools in conjunction with Dynamics CE and ProjOps).

Professional Service firms e.g. Management and IT Consultancies with more than 300 employees

These companies tend to require a software suite encompassing CFM, CRM, PSA and HRM systems on one platform such as Dynamics. You should engage a MS Partner with several specialties. The partner must specialize in Dynamics Finance and Operations (F&O) with experience in implementing ProjOps on F&O and relevant third-party tools and it must also specialize in Dynamics CE with experience in implementing ProjOps in CE and relevant third-party tools. Confirm their credentials carefully: check number and clout of their consultants using LinkedIn, read case studies published on their website, and request references from their existing clients. If no such partner is present in your location, look abroad or hire a consortium of partners with the F&O Partner as the leading one. Either way expect that F&O and CE teams/partners will not follow same implementation methods and plan for additional expenditure to tackle that. For each process that spans across CE and F&O e.g. Account Management, Project Setup, Project Execution, Project Controlling you will most likely need 2 consultants working together and an integration consultant specializing in DualWrite. Using both CE and F&O will mean that you will need 2 teams of consultants, 2 developers, 2 solution architects and most project roles will come in twos.

Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) company with fewer than 300 employees

Professional Services firms tend to run projects on behalf of their clients. AEC companies also run projects: some may be internal investment and business development projects, and some may also be run on behalf of firm’s clients. Large proportion of work is often delivered by contractors. How can these AEC companies improve their Project Management function? 1. If main focus is on internal projects, you should concentrate efforts on a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) system such as Microsoft Project for the Web (P4W). There is a rich ecosystem of Microsoft Partners that specialize in PPM. You need to ensure that they have experience in implementing P4W. Microsoft is recommending that new clients focus their investments on P4W rather than on the older version of Project Online know as Project Web App (PWA). 2. If more emphasis is placed on client-facing projects, you should concentrate on Project Operations Lite. Many AEC firms of this size do not need own CFM and HRM systems as they often outsource finance and HR functions. 3. If tight integration with accounting processes is required, consider implementing Project Operations for Resource / Non-Stocked scenarios. As explained above, carefully gauge Microsoft Partner’s experience: they should not only be experts in F&O and ProjOps on F&O, in CE and ProjOps in CE but also offer relevant AEC know-how.

Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) company with more than 300 employees

Yes, these companies will often require a software suite encompassing CFM, CRM, PSA and HRM systems on one platform but this depends on their priorities and focus (see above, as advise offered in paragraph above for scenarios 1, 2, and 3 applies here as well). Additionally if tight integration with inventory and warehousing functionality is required, you need to consider Project Operations for stocked/production order scenario implemented on F&O only with full Project Management and Accounting (PMA) functionality. Some AEC companies can also take into account implementing Project Operations for Resource / Non-Stocked scenarios for some of their legal entities and Project Operations for stocked/production order scenario for other legal entities. Industry and process experience here is as important as functional and technical competency in CE, F&O, Project Operations, and/or PMA. If full software suite is to be implemented, find a local Partner with all these capabilities; if not available, look abroad or hire a consortium of local Partners with the F&O Partner as the leading one. Expect that a team of 15-20 specialists from the MS Partner will be required to complete the project.

Scenarios above may not describe 100% of cases where Dynamics Project Operations is considered but the vast majority of cases fall into one of four categories described above. The threshold of 300 employees is a bit arbitrary but based on my experience at approximately that level many companies in above industries decide to opt for implementing an integrated suite of systems on one platform or opt for integrating their existing systems.

As always comments, suggestions, and recommendations are highly appreciated. Please keep them coming!