Applies to: Dynamics 365 Organization July Update with Project Service Automation and/or Field Service Solution

With the goal of continuously improving quality, performance, usability, and responding to some customer feature feedbacks, we recently released Resource Scheduling Optimization v1.5.17284.2 update, below are the new features and capabilities introduced in this release.

NOTE: Resource Scheduling Optimization v1.5.17284.2 update is backward compatible with Dynamics 365 v8.2 organization, can be deployed on either Dynamics 365 v9.0 organizations or Dynamics 365 v8.2 organizations, but ‘Schedule Board Integration’ feature is only available on Dynamics 365 v9.0 organization

Contents

Required Configuration Post Resource Scheduling Optimization Deployment

How to Setup Demo Data for Resource Scheduling Optimization

New features for Resource Scheduling Optimization July 2017 Update Release

• Schedule Board Integration
• Introduced Simulation status for Resource Scheduling Optimization
• Resource Scheduling Optimization Deployment App Enhancement
• Other Resource Scheduling Optimization Feature Enhancements

Required Configuration Post Resource Scheduling Optimization Deployment

1. Go to ‘Resource Scheduling Optimization’ -> ‘Administration’-> ‘Resource Scheduling Parameters’, set ‘Enable Resource Scheduling Optimization’= ‘Yes’

NOTE: Only user with ‘System Administrator’ role has permission to enable this

2. Go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Security’ -> ‘Users’, Navigate to ‘Application Users’ view, assign ‘Field Service - Administrator’ security role to ‘Resource Scheduling Optimization’ application user
3. Go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Security’ -> ‘Field Security Profiles’, open ‘Field Service – Administrator’, add ‘Resource Scheduling Optimization’ into this Field Security Profile
4. Go to ‘Resource Scheduling Optimization’ -> ‘Settings’-> ‘Booking Statuses’, configure ‘Scheduling Method’ for Booking Status

How to Setup Demo Data for Resource Scheduling Optimization

Need some sample data to get familiar with resource scheduling optimization? Check this blog post

New features for Resource Scheduling Optimization July 2017 Update Release

Schedule Board Integration

NOTE: This feature is only available when you have Dynamics 365 organization with version 9.0+, if you are still using old Dynamics 365 organization with version 8.2, you won’t be able to see schedule board integration feature

Feature Overview: with Schedule Board integration this new capability, user can:

• better understand optimization scope
• View optimization results in a visualized way
• Easier analyze failed optimization requests
• Create a new schedule on the fly

How to get there: Navigate to your Optimization Schedules, select your schedule, click ‘SCHEDULE BOARD’ button on the grid view, or open Optimization Schedule record form, click ‘SCHEDULE BOARD’ button on the form

Feature Details:  After click ‘SCHEDULE BOARD’ button, able to see below view

• On filter section, system pre-populated data for Territories which matches scope territory selection
• ‘Open and Eligible for Optimization’ tab shows all eligible unscheduled requirements which matches scope territory, requirement range, and requirement state setting
• ‘Eligible for Optimization’ tab shows all eligible unscheduled requirements as well as any eligible bookings to be re-optimized which matches scope territory, requirement range, and requirement state setting
• ‘Excluded from Optimization’ tab shows any eligible requirements or bookings fail to be optimized due to certain reason (e.g.: invalid longitude/latitude)
• Icon and tooltip indicates resources not in optimization scope

• Lock icon and tooltip indicate that booking has been locked

• Yellow lines indicate the start and end time for optimization range

• From / To date and time matches the time range defined on optimization scope, user can continue modify and then save the changes back to original scope, if the same scope being referenced by multiple optimization schedules, change will apply to all these schedules with the same scope.

• Select a goal, click ‘Run Now’ button to on demand trigger an optimization request

• Optimization Request shows the status and details if any exception happens, click to open specific optimization request, user can view booking details as well as analytic charts showing how many hours of travel time vs how many hours of working hours scheduled for this run

Introduced Simulation status for Resource Scheduling Optimization

Feature Details:  If any exception/error happens when optimization schedule still running, user might see overlapping on schedule board because there are some bookings created/updated from latest run while there are still some bookings belong to previous run which supposed to be deleted by latest run but failed to be deleted due to exception.  To avoid this issue, we are making optimization process atomic and transactional by introducing a Simulation status.  During optimization process, create, update and deleted operations are visible to the user now, all new/updated/to be deleted bookings are in a staging stage called ‘Simulation’, only if the whole optimization request completed and correctly, these simulation bookings will be flipped into real bookings ,  before optimization request complete, user can see some simulation status(transparent) bookings moving around schedule board until run completed , then all simulation bookings will be flipped into real bookings (solid blue color). If exception happens, optimization request failed, these simulation booking will remain Simulation status for troubleshooting purpose, unless user manually deletes them or system job will delete them as well automatically every 2 weeks.

Resource Scheduling Optimization Deployment App Enhancement

More secure and reliable oAuth authentication for Resource Scheduling Optimization deployment app, also reduce the administrative tasks for maintaining Dynamics 365 user credentials

Other Resource Scheduling Optimization Feature Enhancements

• Show booking statuses in the schedule optimization scope so that user can easily identify if any booking status accidentally set the wrong value

• Modify the status of optimization schedule to indicates setup not in sync

• Add time zone setting on schedule filters so that user can easily configure their local time which is processed from an UTC referential

• Improve detection rules of invalid Bookable Resource
  1. Location Agnostic Resource will not be scheduled by RSO as of today even though Optimize Schedule=Yes

• Set default scheduling method based on metadata record
• Display message in the optimization request if a route falls back to as the crow flies

For more information:

• What’s new in the July 2017 update for Field Service and Project Service Automation
• Dynamics365 for Field Service and Project Service Automation Sample Data
• Use Resource Scheduling Optimization to schedule multiple booking requirements on a recurring basis
• Scheduling anything in Dynamics 365 with Universal Resource Scheduling
• What's new in Dynamics 365 for Field Service and Project Service Automation
• Dynamics 365 for Field Service - User's Guide
• Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation - User's Guide

Feifei Qiu

Program Manager

Dynamics 365, Field Project Service Team