Posted by: Paul Haag
Almost everyone has some sort of process that makes their company the best at what they do. Tracking information that no one else tracks (and following a process that no one else follows) can make you different.
It can make you better.
But tracking information that no one else tracks (and following a process no one else follows) means that no one makes software to help you track that process.
Almost everyone has some sort of process that makes their company the best at what they do. Tracking information that no one else tracks (and following a process that no one else follows) can make you different.
It can make you better.
But tracking information that no one else tracks (and following a process no one else follows) means that no one makes software to help you track that process.
Inevitably, people in operations create Excel spreadsheets to track their brainchildren and (unfortunately) that means you end up with critical information spread all throughout the organization, with no good method to consolidate it or enforce that the process is being followed correctly, especially if when you introduce a change.
However, just like Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you track and monitor your sales, marketing and customer service processes, it also has a bundle of tools to help you track the unusual, peculiar and awesome processes that make your company stand out from the crowd.
However, just like Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you track and monitor your sales, marketing and customer service processes, it also has a bundle of tools to help you track the unusual, peculiar and awesome processes that make your company stand out from the crowd.
Integrated Task Management
Task management is the first in a series of posts focused on tracking anything with your Microsoft software.
Without spending a dime on additional software, Dynamics CRM allows you to add company-wide activity tracking to any record you want.
Let’s look at a process we use at InterDyn Artis:
Before we perform an upgrade to the software, we complete what we call a “Technical Readiness Assessment,” or TRA, which is designed to let us and our client re-visit the client’s current software environment so that we can be sure their server or servers meet the requirements necessary to keep Dynamics CRM running smoothly once the next version has been installed.
Here's a walkthrough:
From the activity feed on the main Account form for the desired customer, I can simply click Add Task and then quickly add some basic information for completing the task.
Once I’ve added the task, it not only displays in the main Activity feed for the account I added it to, but also in my Activities (because I’m the Owner) in a consolidated list of all activities assigned to me across all accounts.
Furthermore, if the Activity is one of the built-in Task types and I have the Dynamics CRM connector for Microsoft Outlook (free with your software), the task will display in my To-do List in Outlook.
It'll even pop up a reminder.
If I need, to, I can re-assign the task to another user. Once I’ve done that, the task will similarly appear in their Activities list and Outlook, but I can still check up on their progress by re-visiting the Account’s form and viewing the task in the Activity feed.
