Hello, this is ohya.

Last time, we talked about "business rules," which allow you to control input in forms without coding.
This time, we will go a step further and introduce a function to unify the "way of proceeding with the entire business" Business Process Flow (BPF) I will challenge it.

🛠 This time's wall

"Different people have different ways of working...I want to make sure everyone follows the same procedure!"

In practice, it is common

• ・Salesperson A: "Create quotation → Approve → Contract"
• ・Salesperson B: "Contract → Approval → Estimate Creation (!?)"
• ・The order and missing entries vary depending on the person in charge

This can lead to confusion in project management, affecting quality and speed.
In such a case, it is useful to Business Process Flow (BPF) .

1. 1.What is a Business Process Flow?

BPF isA system that visualizes the steps of work progress and provides on-screen guidance.
A bar called a "stage" is displayed at the top of the Dynamics 365 screen, and users are prompted to proceed with tasks in a set order.

Features

• ・Up to 5stage(Can be split across multiple entities)
• ・For each stageRequired Fields,条件can be set
• ・Stage transition history is recorded (also useful for audits)
• ・Can be created and edited without coding

2. 2.BPFComponents of

• ・Stage
  Major process milestones (e.g., lead acquisition, sales negotiation, contract)
• ・Step
  Fields to be entered and confirmed within the stage
• ・Conditional branching
  Skip or branch stages depending on conditions
• ・Entity switching
  Move to another table while the matter is in progress (e.g. lead → opportunity)

3. 3. Practical examples

Example 1: Sales process unification

• ・Stage 1: Lead Acquisition (Required: Customer Name, Contact Information)
• ・Stage 2: Negotiation (Required: Estimated amount, Delivery date)
• ・Stage 3: Contract (Required: contract date, person in charge signature)

Example 2: Branching by case type

• ・Condition: Amount over 500 million yen → Add approval stage
• ・Condition: Amount less than 500 million yen → Skip approval stage

4. 4. Scope Settings (for BPF)

BPF also has "scopes", but this isSecurity roles to applyRefers to.
In other words, it is a mechanism to control "who can use this BPF".

💡 In practice, we often prepare separate BPFs for each department or role and use them according to their scope.

5. 5. Advantages and disadvantages of BPF

6. 6. Pitfalls

• ・If you add too many required fields, users disliked it and it became a mere formality
• ・If the conditional branching becomes complex, the maintenance of the BPF itself becomes difficult.
• ・UI may break when used on mobile devices, so testing is required

7. 7. Summary

• ・BPF can display the business flow as a guide on the screen
• ・Applicable users can be narrowed down by scope, allowing for department-specific operation
• ・Keep required fields and conditional branches simple and prioritize ease of use

(I.e. Next notice

Next time we will cover "Cloud Flow (Power Automate)".
We will explain how to connect Dynamics 365 with external services and automate your business processes all at once!