Modern cloud-based ERP systems are complex distributed software applications. These systems became more powerful over the last decades and provide more features to satisfy user needs than previous generations of ERP systems. Furthermore, they are integrated with other cloud-based systems. [Question/problem] The resulting increase in complexity leads to a higher probability of failures within this integrated system. This makes it difficult for users to fully understand these systems and even qualified key users don’t have an overview of possible system issues anymore. As a result, the number of support calls and diffuse support ticket requests have increased in the last years. Moreover, ERP partner organizations such as insideAx experience that users lose trust in their systems. [Principal idea/results] The goal of our work is to foster the trust of ERP users in cloud-based ERP systems and to reduce the number of unnecessary support requests, by enhancing existing user feedback and monitoring mechanisms and provide a visualization of system health indicators to users. Overall, these visualizations and explanations of the system health status need to be easy to understand by users. [Contribution] In this workshop paper, we provide insights from industry on how to foster user trust in complex software systems and depict a conceptual solution which makes use of system monitoring data to communicate the system status to users in a simple and understandable way. Our conceptual solution, for which we also provide a first implementation architecture proposal, foresees that simple modifications to the software and ambient light devices allow to build such visualizations.
A common requirement during an ERP upgrade project (e.g. from AX 2012 to D365 Finance) and transition phase is to include both systems in the BI or reporting environment. Because of its tight integration with Dynamics, in many cases PowerBI is the preferred reporting and BI platform. PowerBI is capable to combine different data sources like OData feeds from D365 and SQL connections via gateway. However, for the person developing reports, it will become complicated to integrate cloud and on-prem datasources. For example, to create a sales report, one would need to include the Customers, SalesInvoiceHeader and SalesInvoiceLine entities as well as the CustTable, DirPartyTable, CustInvoiceJour and CustInvoiceTrans tables.
Different data sources in one PowerBI report
One way to address this issue can be to separate ETL logic from report design. PowerBI supports this approach by using dataflows. By using dataflows you can place PowerQuery logic direct in the Microsoft cloud and offer reuseable data artefacts. People designing reports simply connect to the dataflow but are not concerned with the ETL logic required to combine data from the old AX installation and a new Dynamics 365 ERP cloud environment.
Use PowerBI dataflow to decouple ETL logic from report design
Example
From PowerBI workspace create a new entity using dataflow. Choose the OData feed for Dynamics 365 and provide the URL for the CustomersV3 entity.
OData feed for entities from Dynamcis 365 Finance
Clicking next will open the Power Query editor and load the customers from Dynamics 365 Finance. Remove all the fields you don’t need in your application. In this example I’m using the DataAreaId, Account, Name, Group, Address and Delivery mode + terms.
PowerBI dataflow based on Dynamics 365 Finance OData CustomerV3 entity
For an on-premises AX 2012 installation you need to install a data gateway, so PowerBI can access the local SQL database. If you already have a gateway, create a new dataflow in PowerBI and use the SQL connection. I’d recommend to create a view on the database instead of loading tables in PowerBi.
CREATE VIEW [dbo].[PBIX_Customer] AS select DataAreaId, DirPartyTable.NAME, ACCOUNTNUM, CUSTGROUP, TAXGROUP, LogisticsPostaladdress.ADDRESS, DlvTerm, DLVMODE from CUSTTABLE join DIRPARTYTABLE on CUSTTABLE.PARTY = DIRPARTYTABLE.RECID join DIRPARTYLOCATION on DIRPARTYTABLE.RECID = DIRPARTYLOCATION.PARTY join LOGISTICSPOSTALADDRESS on DIRPARTYLOCATION.LOCATION = LOGISTICSPOSTALADDRESS.LOCATION where LOGISTICSPOSTALADDRESS.VALIDFROM <= GETDATE() and LOGISTICSPOSTALADDRESS.VALIDTO >= GETDATE() GO
Choose SQL Server data source for PowerBI dataflow
Select the data gateway and provide a user to access the database
Connect a PowerBI dataflow to your on-premises AX 2012 database using a gateway
Select the view and load the AX 2012 data to PowerBI. Save the dataflow
Dynamics AX 2012 customer data via data gateway
After you have created both dataflows return to your workspace, go to your dataflows and refresh both to load the data.
Refresh dataflow from Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics AX 2012
Next, create a third dataflow to combine the data from the Dynamics 365 Finance and AX dataflow. This time choose to link entities from the other dataflows:
Link PowerBI entities via dataflow
Select both dataflows
Select PowerBI dataflows to merge
In the Power Query Online editor rename the fields in both dataflow entities so you can append both queries. Be aware that Power Query is case sensitive and dataAreaId is not the same as DATAAREAID. When you have done this, append both queries as new one.
Append queries in PowerBI
From the new query make sure to remove duplicate customers
Remove duplicates in Power Query Online
If your have a PowerBI Pro but not a Premium subscription, deactivate load of the underlying queries.
Deable load when using PowerBI Pro
Save and refresh the dataflow. From the settings schedule the refresh and endorse the dataflow as “Promoted” or “Certified”. This is not necessary but it adds a label to dataflow and your report designer users see that they can trust the datasource. In PowerBI Desktop open Get-Data and choose PowerBI dataflow as data source:
Get data from PowerBI dataflow
Select the merged Customer data source.
Promoted and certified PowerBI dataflows
You can use the dataflows in your PowerBI datamodel but dont have to worry about the logic behind
Linked dataflow sources in a PowerBI data model
Conclusion
Using dataflows has some advantages. It helps you to decouple ETL logic from design logic. Especially when working with older versions of Dynamics AX you have to have deeper knowledge about the data structure. Another advantage is the reuse of dataflows. Typically you are not creating 1 single report, but more reports that require the same dimensions e.g. customers. By using dataflows you don’t need to maintain the load and merge in multiple PowerBI files.
A recent study revealed that living vegan can save up to 670 kg Co2 a year. But not only veganism saves Co2, using public transport like train instead of car also helps to save the environment. Public transport companies, like the Austrian Raiload Company (ÖBB) rely 100% on green electricity and explicity promote the Co2 reduction on their train tickets.
Co2 avoided compared to driving by car on train ticket
Therefore I collected all my train tickets from the last year (2018) and summed up Co2 reduction. Moreover, I looked up the distance in km and calculated the costs for the company I’m working at if they had to pay me for driving by car. I compared it to a mean ticket price, because the price varies on how early you buy the ticket e.g. between 9€ to 35€ for a ticket from Linz to Vienna
Date
From
To
Co2 Red. (kg)
Distance (km)
18.1.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
20.1.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
30.1.2018
Linz
Salzburg
26,0
130
31.1.2018
Salzburg
Linz
26,0
130
11.2.2018
Linz
Zurich
119,2
581
15.2.2018
Zurich
Linz
119,2
581
20.2.2018
Linz
Frankfurt
114,8
541
24.2.2018
Frankfurt
Linz
114,8
541
11.4.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
13.4.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
1.5.2018
Linz
Budapest
91,0
434
4.5.2018
Budapest
Linz
91,0
434
12.5.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
13.5.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
23.5.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
25.5.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
1.6.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
2.6.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
20.6.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
21.6.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
23.8.2018
Linz
Innsbruck
64,5
313
24.8.2018
Innsbruck
Linz
64,5
313
16.10.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
19.10.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
12.11.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
30.11.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
1.12.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
3.12.2018
Linz
Vienna
38,1
178
7.12.2018
Vienna
Linz
38,1
178
Sum:
1554,9 kg
7380,0 km
€ per km
0,42 €
3099,3 €
Mean ticket Price
30 €
870 €
The numbers show that just by using public transport for some business trips (not all) I was able to save a huge amount of Co2. Compared to the study, twice the amount of Co2 like living vegan 🙂 Moreover, using train instead cars save the company a lof of money: 2229€ in one year. My conclusion is that it’s not necessary to change the complete way of living to make a sustainable impact on Co2 reduction.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system vendors need to customize their products according to the domain-specific requirements of their customers. Systematic reuse of features and related ERP product customizations would improve software quality and save implementation time. In our previous research, we have developed a tool-based approach supporting feature-based reuse of ERP product customizations. Our tool environment automatically infers reusable features from requirements and their associated implementation artifacts. Furthermore, it allows domain experts to search for features based on natural language requirement descriptions representing the needs of new customers. Matching features can be automatically deployed to a new ERP product. In this paper, we present an industrial evaluation of our tool-based approach conducted together with an Austrian small- to medium-sized enterprise. A domain expert used our approach to identify matching features for 20 randomly selected requirements for new customer products and identified matching features for 17 of the 20 requirements. We compared the time needed to identify and deploy the candidate features with the time required to implement the requirements from scratch. We found that, in total, over 60% implementation time can be saved by applying our reuse approach presented in this case study.
Here is a walkthrough how to connect two Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations developer VMs with VSTS.
Configure Azure AD and setup Visual Studio Team Services
Before you start, you have to add your developers to Azure Active Directory. If you have Azure AD Connect make sure the accounts have been synced to the Cloud. In my case I added two additional users to my Azure AD.
Next logon to your Azure Portal using your Organization Account. Create a new service and search for “Team Services”. You should find Visual Studio Team Services (preview).
Create a new instance of VSTS. The basic version of VSTS for 5 users is free. Make sure to use Team Foundation Server as Version Control system. You may choose any Methodology you like, but II ‘d recommend to go for CMMI compatible one.
After the deployment succeeded, logon to your Visual Studio Team Services account, using the URL https://<ACCOUNTNAME>.visualstudio.com . There you see a new project. Open the project and add your developer users by clicking the (+) icon on the upper left “Members” pane. If everything is configured correctly, you should be able to add your AD users. In my example developer one and developer two.
Configure Developer VMs
If you are using the VHD Images from Microsoft, the first thing you should do is to rename the computer. If you don’t rename the VMs you will get errors when mapping the source control on multiple machines. In my case I rename the VMs to “devbox1” and “devbox2”. No domain is needed. Details here.
Configure first Developer Box
After the VM reboots, open Visual Studio 2015 in Admin mode. Depending on your licensing you may need to provide additional credentials to use your subscription. Don’t get confused if this may be your Microsoft ID (aka. Live ID) while you need your Organization Account to access VSTS. From the menu bar select > Team > Manage Connections. Provide the URL for your VSTS account.
After you have connected to VSTS select the project to work on. Next, from the Team Explorer open the Source Control explorer. Map the root folder to a folder on your developer VM.
Afterwards use the source control explorer to create two new folders. One for Visual Studio Projects and one for metadata. This is where the D365 source code artifacts will be stored. Check in you pending changes. This will sync the folders to VSTS.
Now, in the Source Control Explorer open the dropdown Workspace and edit your workspace. Map the metadata folder to C:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory.
From the menu bar > Dynamics 365 > Model Management > Create a new model. Give it a name and complete the wizard. This will ask you to create a new Dynamics X++ project.
In the solution explorer, right click on the project and add to source control.
Add a new element to the project, for example add a new String Extended Datatype called DMOCustomerName. In the solution explorer, right click the project and select build. After a few seconds you should see the console output “Build completed”. Check in all your pending changes.
Next, from the Team Explorer open the Source Control Explorer. You should see the model structure in the tree view. Right click on the metadata folder and select “Add items to folder”. Navigate to your model folder and there to the Descriptor folder. Add the Model Descriptor XML file. Unfortunately you have to do this manually, otherwise the second developer can sync the Folders and Extended Datatypes etc. but will not see the model in the AOT.
You can also inspect your code in VSTS
Configure second Developer Box
Make sure that the second VM is properly renamed. Open Visual Studio in Admin mode and connect to VSTS. Logon with the account of the second developer. Select the Dynamics 365 project and again in the Source Control Explorer map the metadata folder to C:\AOSService\ PackagesLocalDirectory. Checkout the latest version of the metadata folder.
This will create the model folder in the packages directory.
In Visual Studio open the Dynamics 365 Application Explorer. If the AOT is in classic mode, right click and switch to model view. Scroll down and you we will see the synchronized model and the its software artifacts.
Systematic variability management is an important prerequisite for successful software reuse. However, it requires significant effort and extensive domain knowledge to document and maintain information on variability. In this paper we present a tool-supported approach which supports semi-automatically inferring variability information from customized standard software products. The approach does not only enable the identification and documentation of variability information based on existing products, it is also capable of incrementally updating this information. To guarantee quick access to reusable code artifacts (e.g. requirements, features or software components), the presented solution stores these artifacts together with related requirements and a generated variability model in an asset repository. The tool-supported approach has been applied to customizations of Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP systems. Our experiences highlight the potential and benefits of our approach compared to manually gathering information on software variability.
Abstract: Introducing a product line approach in an organization requires a systematic scoping phase to decide what products and features should be included. Product line scoping is a non-trivial activity and traditionally consumes a lot of time and resources. This issue highlights the need to complement traditional scoping activities with semi-automatic approaches that allow to initially estimate the potential for reuse with small efforts. In this paper we present an evaluation of a tool-supported approach that enables the semi-automatic analysis of existing products in order to calculate their similarity. This approach is tailored to be used within the configuration-based systems domain, where we have used it to identify similarity within two types of industrial standard software products. The results of this evaluation highlight that our approach provides accurate results and leads to time savings compared to manual similarity analysis.
The paper was presented at CAiSE’14 (26th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering) Thessaloniki, Greece. Get the paper from Springer
Many organizations providing products with common features wish to take advantage of that similarity in order to reduce development and maintenance efforts. Their goal is to move from a single-system development paradigm towards a product line approach. However, this transition is not trivial and requires a systematic scoping phase to decide how the product line should be defined, i.e. what products and features should be included and thus developed for reuse. Currently available product line scoping approaches require huge upfront investments in the scoping phase, consuming a lot of time and resources. Our experience has shown that small and medium enterprises require a lightweight approach to decide how the existing products are related to each other so that their potential for reuse can be estimated more easily. In this paper we present a conceptual solution and early tool support enabling companies to semi-automatically identify similarity within existing product configurations.
The paper is about variability in ERP ecosystems, especially the situation of Dynamics AX partner companies. We present an idea how partner companies could manage the variability in their solutions to set up a product line. The paper can be found at the ACM Digital Library
From the menu bar select > Team > Manage Connections. Provide the URL for your VSTS account.
ErpCoder 