The Sure Step methodology
Microsoft's older implementation methodology for Dynamics — the phases, deliverables, and what survived in modern partner practice.
Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step was the formal implementation methodology Microsoft published for its Dynamics product family from the late 2000s into the mid-2010s. It is no longer actively published — superseded by Success by Design and FastTrack — but a lot of partner practice still references it, and many long-running customers' methodology documents are descended from Sure Step.
Why Sure Step existed. Before Sure Step, every Microsoft partner had a homegrown method. Quality varied wildly. Sure Step was Microsoft's attempt to give partners a common vocabulary, common deliverables, and a common gating model — so a customer migrating partners or moving from CRM to AX got a recognisable shape.
The phases. Sure Step organised an implementation into six phases:
- Diagnostic — sales-led discovery, business needs, high-level fit-gap, proposal.
- Analysis — detailed requirements, fit-gap workshop, future-state design.
- Design — solution design, integration design, data migration design, technical architecture.
- Development — configuration, custom development (AL/X++/JS), reports, integrations, data migration tools.
- Deployment — UAT, training, cutover preparation, go-live.
- Operation — hypercare, support transition.
Project types. Sure Step recognised that not every engagement needed all six phases at full weight. It offered project type templates — Standard, Enterprise, Rapid, Agile, Upgrade — that tuned the depth of each phase to the scope and complexity.
Deliverables. Each phase had a catalogue of mandatory and optional deliverables — fit-gap document, solution design document, training plan, cutover plan, etc. Many partners still use templates descended from these.
Roles. Sure Step named roles — Engagement Manager, Solution Architect, Application Consultant, Technical Consultant, Trainer — that became the partner-staffing vocabulary.
What worked. The phased model, role definitions, and deliverable templates raised the quality floor of Microsoft partner work. It professionalised an industry that had been ad-hoc.
What didn't. Sure Step was waterfall by design. It assumed requirements could be specified up front and translated through a chain of deliverables. As cloud delivery and continuous updates arrived, the rigidity hurt. By 2018 it was visibly out of step with how cloud ERP/CRM implementations actually run.
The successor. Success by Design replaced Sure Step in 2019 as Microsoft's published methodology — iterative, fit-to-standard, with continuous checkpoints rather than gated phases. FastTrack programs add Microsoft-led oversight for qualifying engagements.
Practical advice for customers. If your partner's proposal language sounds like Sure Step — six phases, "blueprint document", "configuration document" — ask how they incorporate Success by Design's fit-to-standard and Power Platform-first thinking. The names matter less than the actual delivery shape.
Related guides
- The Success by Design methodologyMicrosoft's current Dynamics 365 implementation methodology — iterative delivery, fit-to-standard, and the role of Solution Blueprint Reviews.
- Architecture decision records for Dynamics 365How ADRs capture the architectural choices in a Dynamics 365 program — what they are, what to record, and the long-term value they provide.
- Build vs buy in the Dynamics 365 ecosystemWhen to customise Dynamics 365 with AL / X++ / Power Platform vs buy an AppSource solution — the trade-offs, the framework, the practical guidance.
- FastTrack for Dynamics 365Microsoft's FastTrack program for Dynamics 365 — eligibility, what's offered, key engagements, and how to make the most of it.
- How to choose the right Dynamics 365 productA practical framework for picking the right Dynamics 365 apps — by company size, industry, complexity, and starting point.