The ‘MB2-876 Extending CRM 2011’ exam covers a ton of technical material and is not for the novice developer or those new to MS CRM.  My notes will help you prepare for the exam but there is no substitute for hands on experience with the CRM SDK and extending the application.  In depth .net experience and web development expertise is also needed. 

Here are my notes:

MB2-876 Extending CRM 2011 Exam Notes.docx (1.92 mb)

Good Luck!

Well I’ve been looking into the ‘MB2-866 - CRM 2011 Customization and Configuration’ exam.  Haven’t taken it because of the financial situation mentioned in my previous post.  In any case, I’ve still prepare for the exam to improve my knowledge of the product.  Here are my notes.

MB2-866 - CRM 2011 Customization and Configuration - Notes.docx (1.72 mb)

I was recently asked why I haven’t gone after the ‘MB2-867 - CRM 2011 Installation and Deployment’ exam to keep my certifications up to date.  The honest truth is that it gets expensive keeping certifications up to date and my employer isn’t inclined to assist me with the expense.  Things being as they are passing the exam was one of my recent SMART goals, thus I have compiled my usual study material to share with the blogosphere.  If you’re going after the exam start with the 80296 – CRM 2011 Installation and Deployment course from Microsoft’s customer source site.  The following downloads should help reinforce that material and help pass the exam.

MB2-867 Exam Study Notes.docx (742.89 kb)

MB2-867 Additional Study Exam Notes.docx (68.76 kb)

Best of luck to anyone looking to take this exam.

We recently ran into a situation where the Contact Full Name field had changed to not searchable.  Since we want to search on the field I opened the customize system made the change and clicked the save button.  To my surprise the form didn’t save, apparently MS CRM blocks the save event for some special fields.  To get around this I did a bulk edit on the Full Name and Fax fields changing them to searchable and saved the record.  That did the trick.

Multiple selected fields in the customization system:

Mulitple field edit wizard:

Sometimes consultants change the system without your knowledge and strange things happen.  This was the case last week when we started receiving the following error message on the Opportunity form when the currency was changed.  Details of the error message are below; the resolution for this is very simple, the Price List field is required for a reason so don’t remove it from the form.   If you don’t use the Price List field simple make it not visible.

Error Details:

Error Message:  There was an error with this field’s customized event.
Field: transactioncurrencyid
Event: onchange
Error: ‘crmForm.all.pricelevelid’ is null or not an object

Resolution: Put Price List field on the Opportunity form.

We've encountered several of these types of things while migrating to MS Dynamic CRM 2011.  I'm planning to document more issues we've seen, hope it comes in handy.

You only need 700 to pass and that’s what I got.  I recently took the 70-503 .NET Framework 3.5 - Windows Communication Foundation exam and passed with a scary 700.  After passing the exam a colleague told me I studied the perfect amount of time because a score better than 700 doesn’t get you anything extra.  Well, that may be true but my stress level was maxing out while I was taking the exam and I was completely sick to my stomach by the time I was done.  I typically block off the day before an exam to study, that didn’t happen this time and the results are apparent.

As I do when taking any exam I have compiled a document of links and notes that helped me prepare.  You may find it useful as you prepare for either the 70-503 or 70-513 exam. 

70-503 Study Notes.doc (518.00 kb)

Best of luck to anyone looking to take this exam.

I’ve been anxiously and impatiently waiting for Microsoft to release Dynamic CRM 2011 for on-premise customers and on February 16th the announcement finally came.  It’s here and it was worth the wait.   Many of the new features such as auditing capability and dashboards have been requested by my users and 2011 provides it without custom code.  Here are the CRM 2011 download links – enjoy!

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011
• CRM Outlook Client
• CRM Email Router
  The E-mail Router is an interface between the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system and one or more Exchange servers or POP3 servers for incoming e-mail, and one or more SMTP or Exchange servers for outgoing e-mail. E-mail messages come into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system through the E-mail Router.
• CRM Report Authoring Extension
  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Report Authoring Extension is required to author custom Fetch-based reports for Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using Business Intelligence Development Studio. Report Authoring Extension is a plug-in that obtains the metadata and data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• CRM List Component for SharePoint
  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 List component for SharePoint makes your Microsoft Dynamics CRM documents that are stored on SharePoint available to you in a format that has the look and feel of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This component also enables Microsoft Dynamics CRM to automatically create folders that will be used to store documents related to Microsoft Dynamics CRM records on SharePoint.
• CRM 2011 Language Pack
  Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Language Packs contain translated text, such as labels, error messages, and Help. This lets you view Microsoft Dynamics CRM in a language other than the base language.
• CRM SDK
  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Software Development Kit (SDK) is for developers, system customizers, and report writers.This SDK documentation contains information for developers writing server side code, custom business logic, integration modules, workflow assemblies, and plug-ins. It provides an architectural overview of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the entity model, security model, and Web services. Sample code and walkthroughs are provided to guide you through the new features. It also contains information for developers customizing the Web client or Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, including scripting, integration of custom Web pages, and lots of sample code.
• CRM Implementation Guide
  This guide contains comprehensive information about how to plan, install, and maintain Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.
• CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit
  This training kit is for .NET developers to learn the development features of Dynamics CRM and help them build applications using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and CRM Online. Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses familiar components such as WCF & oData web service endpoints, JavaScript, Silverlight, .NET 4, Workflow Foundation 4, SQL reporting and more; making it a general purpose framework for line-of-business applications. This kit drills into the details of such development and explains how developers can connect, extend, and embed their applications with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.The training kit includes various resources to help you learn the development features of Dynamics CRM. It includes:
  • Presentations - Presentation decks in PowerPoint (.pptx) format that you can use to learn the concepts.
  • Videos - Video recordings of the presentation along with demos delivered by expert trainers.
  • Hands-on Labs - Hands-on labs with detailed instructions and source code that will walk you through various development features.

A few months back my little brother decided to enter the blogosphere and as always I couldn’t be prouder of what he’s created.   Aaron’s passions are .net development and video editing; his blog combines these stills to make an educational site that is also very entertaining.   To date his videos have been:

• .NET Development Basics Video Tutorial – posted back in October this was Aaron’s first adventure into blogging.  It’s a nice little introductory video for anyone interested in learning about .net development.
• Understanding the .Net Compiler and CLR Video Tutorial – In this video Aaron provided an entertaining look at how .net code is transformed into a working application.
  This is my favorite video, got to love the Futurama analogy.
• Creating a Web Form App with the .NET Framework – in November Aaron continued his video series with an introductory look at asp.net development.
• Using the MultiView control – Aaron’s latest video looks at a very useful asp.net control.

Hope you enjoy the videos as much as I do. If you have any ideas for future videos make sure to contact Aaron and let him know.

During the summer I enjoy biking to work.  A few weeks back my typically quiet ride turned into a trip to the ER when I hit a slick of mud and my bike went out from under me.  I walked away from the accident with a dislocated index finger and a custom brace to keep my fingers straight for the next 3 weeks.  With a project due early next month I needed to figure out how to improve my productivity with VS and make up for my lose in typing speed.  So I quickly read Visual Studio Tips – 251 Ways to Improve Your Productivity by Sara Ford.  Several of Sara’s tips have been very helpful in keeping my hands off the mouse and on the keyboard.  Here are some of my favorites:

• #1.1 How to not accidentally copy a blank line: Ok this isn’t really a tip that improves my productivity it just keeps me sane.  Under Tools – Options – Text Editor – All Languages – General you will find a ‘Apply Cut Or Copy Command To Blank Lines When There Is No Selection’ checkbox.  Uncheck it!
• #1.16 How to navigate forward and backward in the editor all because of go-back markers:  Love this tip, to navigate backwards press Ctrl+Minus, and to navigate forward use Ctrl+Shift+Minus.  Using these in conjunction with F12 which drills into a command makes navigating thru methods quick.
• #1.18 How to reach the navigation bar via the keyboard: This has been a great tip because it keeps my hands off the mouse.  To jump to the navigation bar via the keyboard, press Ctrl+F2.
• #2.1 How to use box/column selection in the editor:  To do this all you have to do it hold down Shift+Alt+Arrow key.  You can also use box selection using the mouse by holding down the Alt key while you select text. 
• #2.5 How to quickly comment and uncomment code using keyboard shortcuts:  I use this one all the time, just select the text you want to comment and type Ctrl+K,Ctrl+C.  To uncomment something type Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U. 
• #2.12 How to collapse and expand code:  Another great tip, by pressing Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M anywhere within the code block, you can toggle between collapsing a given block of code.  To collapse and expand the entire file press Ctrl+M, Ctrl+L.
• #2.19 You can remove unused using statements:  Most of my development is done in VB so I don’t get to enjoy this tip but thought I would include it for the C# developers out there.  To remove unused using statements right click in the editor choose Organize Usings – Remove Unused Usings.
• #2.27 How to set bookmarks and navigate among them: Keeping with the theme of leaving my hands on the keyboard by pressing Ctlr+K, Ctlr+K I can toggle a bookmark.  Additionally by pressing Ctrl+K, Ctrl+N I can navigate to the next bookmark and Ctrl+K, Ctrl+P will take me back to the previous bookmark.

In June Sara did a 101 Visual Studio Tips in 55 Minutes Challenge for channel9, it touches on these tips and many more.   Make sure to download the cheat sheet that accompanies Sara’s demo - it's good.  
I’m not going to be able to type at full speed until I get this brace off, but until then these tips have helped to keep me productive and once I get the brace off I’ll be better than I ever was. 

I recently read Pragmatic Thinking & Learning by Andy Hunt, it was a very interesting book.  To start with it spent a significant amount of time digging into how your brain works and what you can do to facilitate better learning based on this.  Like all pragmatic books it offers several tips to help concisely summarize the material.  From this book my favorites were:

#1) Always consider the context:  This can be really hard to follow because it forces you to take a step back and try to look at everything surrounding an event and when you’re crunched to deliver a project this gets even tougher.  In the book Andy gave an example of generational context when he choose to leave his first job.  I can relate to this because like Andy I worked with an older professional who had spent his entire career with the same company.  Similar to Andy’s experience when I announced I had accepted a position outside the company my mentor saw it as being disloyal and breaking the rules.

#5) Keep practicing in order to remain expert: Sounds easy enough, use it or lose it.

#8) Capture all ideas to get more of them: When we write our ideas down it keeps them around so we can expand on them.  The more ideas we keep track of the more ideas we’ll get.  That seems to make since.

#19) Be comfortable with uncertainty: Moto of the Agile programmer, personally I like to know what’s coming up next and prepare accordingly.  Realistically that isn’t possible so be comfortable with uncertainty and control what you can and acknowledge what you can’t.

#25) Create SMART objectives to reach your goals:  I really like this tip, SMART stands for – Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Boxed it is a process for determining where you are and getting to where you want to be.  For me I want to become better at SharePoint development.  To get to where I want to be I’ve created a simple SMART objective plan, here is the jest of it.

1. Specific – I want to become proficient with SharePoint 2010 Development.
2. Measureable – To measure this proficiency I will get certified in SharePoint 2010 Application Development.
3. Achievable – I already have SharePoint installed on my personal server and work with it on the job.  Channel 9 has laid out a training program which I will follow to expose myself to more aspects of SharePoint development.  Additionally several books are available on the topic.
4. Relevant – SharePoint is a really slick technology and it really plays well with Dynamic CRM.
5. Time-Boxed – 6 months, that’s what I’m giving myself to get thru the training material and pass the 70-573 certification exam.

If you’re looking for an interesting read I recommend picking up this book.  At 250 pages it doesn’t take long to read this said working thru the activities does take some time but they are worth doing.