One of the most unusual aspects of our IPM development is the componentised approach provided by the Dynamics environment. We find we can develop sophisticated new functionality without risking our existing components because every document stands alone. This is one of the most difficult adjustments I have had to make as the architect of our product set. Each time we add a new feature the approach to QA is completely different to development work we were doing 10 years ago. In those days, a change in one part of the application could easily impact a number of different parts of the application. In the Microsoft Dynamics xRM environment, this is not the case.
As I write this, our QA testing crew are putting a new dynamic task summary panel through its paces, checking the accuracy of the calculations and logic. This component, although packaged up as part of a new revision could be deployed as a single file copied from our ftp site if this was required.
This component based development allows us to target particular areas of functionality for development. In the next 2 months our new RFQ process will gradually evolve. As it does it will be released in a series of iterative releases, inviting feedback from users throughout the process. The componentised development approach will allow us to release these iterations without any concern of compromising functionality in any other area of the application.
For news about this exciting development work watch this space.
