Describe Lifecycle Services methodologies

Describe Lifecycle Services methodologies

Lifecycle Services (LCS) for Microsoft Dynamics provides methodologies that you can use to ensure a more repeatable and predictable implementation project experience. You can use one of the provided methodologies or create your own. With a methodology, you can easily track and report on your progress.

A methodology consists of phases, tasks, and milestones. Each phase can have any number of tasks, some of which are mandatory. When all the tasks in a phase are completed, the phase can be marked as complete. You can also create a milestone for when you anticipate a phase to be completed. The following methodologies are included in an LCS project:

• Implementation

• Sure Step

• Learn development

• Migrate and create solutions

• Consume solutions

Note: There is a known limitation where new changes that are published to the Microsoft Methodology are not pushed to existing projects. Only new projects get these changes.

Features

Methodologies in LCS provide a tool that you can use to ensure more repeatable, predictable implementation projects. You can use one of our methodologies or create your own. With a methodology, you can easily track and report on your progress.

Methodologies can have phases that are associated with Visual Studio Team Foundation Services. Phases can have tasks, and both tasks and methodologies can be associated with tools on Lifecycle Services and resources and documents stored on websites, either internal or external to your organization.

Create a new methodology

1. On the Lifecycle Services dashboard, on the right side of the screen, click Manage methodologies.

2. On the Manage methodologies page, click the plus sign (+).

3. In the New methodology pane, enter a name and description for the new methodology and click Confirm.

4. Optional: After you have confirmed the methodology, you can promote it to the organization level by selecting the methodology in the grid, and then selecting Promote.

Note: You must be an admin in your organization to promote a methodology to the organization level.

Change or update a methodology

There are two ways to make changes to a methodology. You can append an existing methodology, or you can make changes to a methodology in the scope of a project. From the LCS project dashboard, select the methodology that you want to update, and then select Edit methodology or Append. 

If you select to edit the methodology, you can make the following changes:

• Add a new phase.

• Add a new task.

• Edit a phase or task. (Some phases and tasks can be edited, but others are enforced by Microsoft and are therefore locked and can't be edited.)

• Copy a phase or task.

• Reorder phases and tasks.

• Delete a phase or task.

Differentiate between Lifecycle Services roles including Owner and Environment manager

Project owner: Members of this role have access to all tools in Lifecycle Services, can add other users in any role, and can delete the project.

Environment manager: Members of this role have access to all tools in Lifecycle Services and can manage cloud-hosted environments.

Project team member: Members of this role have access to all tools in Lifecycle Services but cannot manage cloud-hosted environments.

Project team member (prospect): Members of this role have limited access to all tools in a Lifecycle Services project. Prospects are users who have been added to a project, but who don't have an account in a Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account.

Operations user: Members of this role have access to system diagnostics, Issue search, cloud-powered support, updates, and cloud-hosted environments.

Security in Dynamics 365 Lifecycle Services is controlled at both the organization level and the project level. Not all members of an organization have access to all projects. Also, the members of a project might not all be members of the same organization.

Currently, users can sign in by using the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) credentials that they created in the Microsoft 365 portal when they signed up. Users who are administrators for their organization in Azure AD will be administrators in Lifecycle Services.

Video on Lifecycle services methodologies:

https://youtu.be/YRMJ15DvgZ8