Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations: Requirements analysis best practices

Editor's Note: This article is adapted from the authors' new book, Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.

After defining a project charter and a project plan for implementing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Enterprise edition system, the next step is to build the foundation of your project by collecting requirements and performing analysis. Key objectives of the requirement gathering and analysis phase of the project typically include identifying the organization's business process and goals, defining project scope, finding fit gaps, and developing a solution blueprint.

Analysis of requirements

Requirement analysis is supposed to be done by people who already have expertise in the Dynamics 365 solution. The expert could be external advisors/partners or internal team members and should bring in vital experience with solution guiding options.

Customers must push their advisors/partners/consultants to seek solution options, both in the form of workarounds and in the form of customizations or extensions when a requirement can't be met with out-of-the-box capabilities. Even when requirements are envisioned to be met out of the box, their mapping must be documented and should be validated during the learning/prototyping phase in the conference room pilot (CRP) approach.

When a requirement can't be achieved with out-of-the-box capabilities in a Dynamics 365 solution, then the solution analysis stage starts. Poor analysis will add more time, effort, and cost to the project. Every time you get a requirement that needs customization, consider how the other Dynamics 365 ...