Relationships in CRM 4

This is an article which is useful for people studying the Customization and configuration exam but relationships are good to know if you using CRM.

Relationships and mappings are 20 percent of the Customization and configuration certification so it’s vital you know the different types and how they work.

This article explains the various relationship types you have in CRM 4

The relationship type defines the cascading rules for a relationship. The following table describes the possible relationship types.

 

Relationship type	Description
System	A parental relationship type automatically defined by Microsoft Dynamics CRM for system entity relationships. You cannot modify this kind of relationship.
Parental	All operations on the parent entity instance are propagated to the child entity instances (cascade all):   If the entity instance is deleted, its related entity instances will also be deleted. If the entity instance is assigned to another user, its related entity instances will also be assigned to the other user. If the entity instance is shared with another user, its related entity instances will also be shared with the other user.
Referential	Operations are not cascaded between entities (cascade none):   If the entity instance is deleted, only the link from its related entity instances is deleted. If the entity instance is assigned to another user, its related entity instances are not affected. If the entity instance is shared with another user, its related entity instances are not affected.
Referential, Restricted	The entity instance can only be deleted if it has no related entity instances. Otherwise, this relationship type is the same as referential.
Configurable Cascading	Cascading rules can be configured for most actions. For system relationships, you can select the cascading rules for all actions except merge or delete. For custom relationships, cascading rules can be selected for all actions except merge. Cascading on merge is dependent on the referenced entity. If the referenced entity is an account, contact, or lead, the action cascades. Otherwise, it does not.

This article also gives a good overview of the relationships in CRM

Finally here are a couple of well written articles with videos links

Many to Many

http://www.dynamicscrmtrickbag.com/2010/01/18/many-to-many-relationships/

Self- Referential Relationships

http://www.dynamicscrmtrickbag.com/2008/09/01/entity-relationships-in-dynamics-crm-4/

Certified – Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications

I took the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications exam today and I passed,phew, what a relief

I got 88 percent, which is 44 questions right out of 50.

I am currently over the moon and floating around some of the other major planets, I’m so glad I can have a rest from reading about CRM, taking loads and loads of practice exams and generally obsessing about CRM every day.  I even had a dream about CRM.

It’s been quite interesting learning about CRM and I have found it very useful to look at other parts of the CRM system which I haven’t used much.  The applications exam gives a very good overview of the most of the functionality in CRM, I can imagine it would be useful for CRM sales people to go on.

There are often debates about how useful certification is and how it should be assessed by employees, e.g. what difference does it make.   Well I can say it is very important.  Well of course I would say that now I am certified, what did you think I have just been doing all that studying for.

I am also a certified Java developer as well as now being certified in CRM 4 Applications.  I would say that being certified doesn’t make you better at your job, although it might.   The main benefit to being certified is to pass the exam you have to know the topic in detail and in my case I have read the course material twice, revised key points in the way CRM works and tested myself many many many times.

Anyone who has passed an exam has to learn the topic in great detail and this is benefit.  You also have to learn parts of the software which you might not use very much.  I found in Java that this knowledge would often crop up and aid me in my job.  The Java certification didn’t make me a better programmer but it did make me a more informed programmer.

The greatest value in certification is what it says about the person, if I see someone has got the CRM Applications certification then I know they have a good knowledge of CRM but it also tells me this person is willing to put in hard work outside of work in order to further their career.  I have spent a lot of hours outside of work reading about CRM, taking practice exams and learning about it, this has taken discipline and motivation and these attributes are the kind of attributes you want in an employee.

I will add in more posts describing my methods and the sources of information I used now that I have a bit more time on my hand and won’t be spending any free time I have revising CRM.

Microsoft Second Shot is back for 2009

Microsoft Second shot is back for 2009 and what an excellent idea it is too.

for those of you who don’t know what Microsoft Second shot is, it allows you to retake Microsoft certification exam again free of charge if you fail the first time.

Basically it means if you take the exam any time soon, you will have up until June 2009 to take it again free of charge.

find out more about it here

http://www.microsoft.com/india/learning/secondshot/

and the actual place you need to go to get the second shot is here

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/offers/secondshot/default.mspx

Good news indeed.

I wonder if people then go into the first exam preparing a little bit less than if they had no second chance or maybe people schedule the exam earlier to see if they can pass it and if not take it again later.

I will be using mine as a back up, I will study hard and take the exam and then if I fail, I will cram for a week where I think I am weak and then go back and ace.

Last time I had a second shot I passed first time but its still good to know you have a safety net.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Certification Group

I have been using linkedin more recently, I think I am starting to realise its potential and am now viewing it as something which can be a very useful source of information.  Linkedin has a vast amount of people with a lot of knowledge, it’s like having lots of experts just a keyboard away from you.

 

I am studying for my CRM certification and I thought I would see if there was a CRM certification group, huh, to my surprise I could find one.  

So I decided to start one up tonight and here it is with the catchy title of

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Certification Group

So if you have come to this page via google or some other link, follow the link above and join the group. 

If lots of people join and contribute then we will all benefit.

I will hopefully drive the group with lot of blog entries, linked to useful information and basically lots of discussions about The Microsoft Applications exam I am currently studying for.

so what are you waiting for, sign up today

good habits are hard to stop

I am currently reading a really long chapter (32 pages!) on managing cases in CRM for the CRM Dynamics 4 applications exam.

I am making it hard work for myself because I keep getting distracted and doing other things, like write this blog post for instance.

The more efficent way to do this would be to sit here and keep reading until the chapter is read and then after that go off and look at other things.   I have currently read a third of the chapter and am having a quick break.

The point I shall make though is this, it helps to get yourself into the habit of reading something for your exam, once a day, 5 times a week or maybe just 3 times a week.  The important point is you create the habit.  

I appreciate that probably a lot of people can quote to me that it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, although this might be true, I think you can also create a quicker habit by trying to do something every day.

Recently I have either read a chapter at lunch or stayed behind at work and read a chapter on CRM everyday.  At first it seems so difficult but after two weeks it has slightly changed from something that seems to take a lot of effort and time, to something I just do (like checking the football headlines or reading the BBC website for some news).

So anyone who is studying for the CRM certification or any other certification or just wants to learn something then you should try and get into the habit of focusing on that goal everyday and persistently working towards it.

You could of course sit down once a week and read 7 chapters but I personally prefer to slowly chip away at something, to keep pecking away at it.

Talking of habits; trying to create the habit of blogging consistently is one of the reasons why I have written today’s blog entry, I want to try and get into the habit of writing blog posts regularly.

right I’m two thirds of the way through that chapter, time to finish it off.  I was going to mention that good habits aren’t only benefical to nuns, e.g. stopping them from being naked but then I thought I really should stop the habit of making bad puns

What is this blog about?

Hello and welcome to the first entry onto my new blog.  

The first question is what is this blog going to be about.  A very good question and I’m glad you ask it is going to be about

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 Applications Certification
• Business Intelligence
• Business Objects
• Business in general
• Interesting things I find on the internet
• Interesting things which happen to me at work

I hope anyone who stumbles upon this blog will enjoy reading it and contribute with some comments.

so does the world need another CRM blog, yes of course it does because this blog is going to be interesting, amusing and will help you learn about CRM, business intelligence and business through ideas, my research and my experiences. 

This blog will also be useful for people studying for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Applications certification because I am going to talk about any links I find useful and put my notes down on subjects which are featured in the exam.  This helps the information stick in my head because to explain something to somebody means you have to understand it.