Implementation guides

Running a Dynamics 365 project — methodology, partner selection, requirements and fit-gap, data migration, testing, cutover, hypercare, governance, and licence cost control.

42 guides · Last updated 2026-08-30

Dynamics 365 projects fail on process far more often than on product. This section covers the delivery side: Success by Design and Sure Step, FastTrack, phased versus big-bang go-lives, build versus buy, and the artefacts — requirements, fit-gap, business process maps, functional design documents, statements of work, risk registers — that a well-run project produces.

Project execution covers data migration strategy, test data management, user acceptance testing, cutover planning, hypercare, change management, and training. Operations and support covers what happens after go-live: run books, tenant administration, environment and backup strategy, disaster recovery, release management, capacity planning, and tenant-to-tenant migration. Cost and governance covers licence optimisation and citizen-development governance.

Start with the methodology overview and partner selection, then cutover planning — the guide most teams wish they had read earlier.

Start here

  1. 1The Success by Design methodologyMicrosoft's current Dynamics 365 implementation methodology — iterative delivery, fit-to-standard, and the role of Solution Blueprint Reviews.
  2. 2Choosing a Dynamics 365 partnerHow to pick the right Microsoft partner for a Dynamics 365 implementation — what to look for, what to interrogate, and the red flags worth catching early.
  3. 3Phased vs big-bang go-liveWhen to phase a Dynamics 365 go-live and when to go big-bang — the trade-offs across complexity, risk, integration burden, and organisational change.
  4. 4Requirements gathering for Dynamics 365 implementationsHow to gather requirements effectively for a Dynamics 365 implementation — workshop techniques, business process analysis, prioritisation.
  5. 5Data migration strategy for Dynamics 365How to plan and run a data migration into Dynamics 365 — scope, tools, cycles, reconciliation, and the cultural side that breaks projects.
  6. 6User acceptance testing for Dynamics 365Running an effective UAT cycle on Dynamics 365 — scenarios, environment, exit criteria, and what to test that's actually worth testing.
  7. 7Cutover planning for Dynamics 365How to plan the production cutover for a Dynamics 365 implementation — the cutover playbook, data migration windows, parallel running.
  8. 8Hypercare after Dynamics 365 go-liveHow to plan and run hypercare — the post-go-live stabilisation window where issues are loud, fixes are fast, and habits are forming.
  9. 9Environment strategy for Dynamics 365 projectsHow to design dev / test / UAT / production environment topology for a Dynamics 365 implementation — naming conventions, refresh cadence, data isolation.
  10. 10License optimisation for Dynamics 365How to keep Dynamics 365 license spend efficient — right-sizing per user, attached vs base licences, Team Members, the cost-control discipline.

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