Case study · Housing
Every repair request tracked until it's fixed
Housing providers handle thousands of repair requests and complaints a year, and tenants rightly expect to know what is happening. This is how we managed tenant contact, repairs and complaints in Dynamics 365, with a tenant portal and clear deadlines.
Project overview
Tenant services and repairs on Dynamics 365.
- Industry
- Housing
- Client
- Confidential
- Solution
- Tenant services and repairs
- Platform
- Customer Service + Power Pages
- Timeline
- 14–22 weeks
- Team
- 5 people
- Contractors
- Job updates via integration
- Complaints
- Staged process with deadlines
- Channels
- Phone, portal, email
Expected business outcomes
What the client set out to achieve
Tenants notice communication; regulators notice deadlines.
-
20–40%
Fewer 'where's my repair?' calls
Tenants see repair status in the portal and get updates by SMS.
Target range after the portal is adopted
-
Tracked
Every complaint against its deadline
Complaints follow stages with target dates and escalation.
Where all complaints are logged as cases
-
Live
Repairs performance by contractor
Job updates from contractors show completion times.
Where contractors send updates
Business challenges
How tenant services ran before
Repairs and complaints live in different systems, and tenants chase both.
Repairs
Logged in a housing system; contractors update by email.
Complaints
Tracked in a spreadsheet by a small team.
Tenants
No way to see progress without calling.
Contact
Calls, emails and letters logged inconsistently.
Oversight
Board reports on repairs and complaints compiled by hand.
Proposed solution
What the Dynamics 365 build covers
Case management for repairs and complaints, with a portal and contractor updates.
-
Tenant records
Tenancies, households, vulnerabilities and contact history on one record.
-
Repair requests
Repairs with priority, property, contractor and target dates.
-
Complaints process
Staged complaints with deadlines, escalation and learning captured.
-
Tenant portal
Report repairs with photos and follow progress online.
-
Contractor updates
Job status from contractors' systems updates the case automatically.
-
Performance dashboards
Repairs and complaints performance for managers and the board.
Project requirements
What the client asked us for
The request was better tenant communication. That depends on knowing the status of each repair, which means contractor updates flowing in automatically.
Vulnerable tenants are flagged so they get appropriate priority and contact methods.
What the project had to deliver
- 01Repair status tenants can see
- 02Complaints tracked to deadlines
- 03Vulnerability considered in every case
- 04Board reporting from live data
Key challenges & considerations
What made it harder, and what we did
-
Contractors with different systems
What we did
Contractor updates were integrated first, through an API or a simple portal, whichever each contractor could use.
-
Housing systems that must stay the record for tenancies
What we did
The housing system stayed the record for tenancies, with tenancy data read into the case.
-
Tenants without internet access
What we did
Phone and portal used the same case, so tenants without internet access received the same service.
-
Regulatory reporting requirements
What we did
Regulatory reports were produced from live case data rather than compiled by hand.
What we watched for
- Get contractor updates flowing first
- Flag vulnerability clearly
- Keep phone and portal on the same case
- Report from live data
Development process
Repairs first, then complaints and portal
Repairs generate the most contact, so they go first.
-
Service design
Repair categories, priorities, complaint stages and deadlines agreed.
-
Integration
Housing system and contractor integrations for tenancies and job updates.
-
Repairs
Repair logging and tracking live in the contact centre.
-
Complaints and portal
Complaints process and tenant portal launched.
-
Reporting
Dashboards for managers and board reporting.
Technology stack
Dynamics 365 for tenant services
Standard service management with a portal and integrations.
Service
- Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- SLA management
Portal
- Power Pages
- Photo upload
- SMS updates
Integration
- Housing system
- Contractor job APIs
- Power Automate
Reporting
- Power BI
- Board dashboards
Quality assurance & deployment
Tested by the people who use it every day
A CRM succeeds when people choose to use it. Every process was tested with real users on real scenarios, and data migration was rehearsed until the record counts agreed.
- Scenario testing with users from each role
- Migration rehearsals, with record counts reconciled
- Integration tests for every connected system
- Security roles checked against real job roles
- Solutions moved between environments as managed releases
Deployment
- 01Complaints and portalComplaints process and tenant portal launched.
- 02ReportingDashboards for managers and board reporting.
- 03Phased go-liveOne team or region first, then the rest, each wave with training by role.
- 04Hypercare and warrantyDaily support through the first weeks, and six months of free bug fixing.
Final deliverables
Tenants who know what's happening
Every repair and complaint is tracked against a target date, tenants can see progress and contractors' updates flow in automatically.
Managers and the board see performance from live data instead of monthly spreadsheets.
- Tracked repairs
- Deadline-driven complaints
- A tenant portal
- Live performance reporting
Handed over to the client
- 01Configured Dynamics 365Production and test environments
- 02Solutions and integrationsAs managed, documented releases
- 03Migrated dataWith record counts reconciled
- 04Training by roleWith short guides
- 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery
Success metrics
How success is measured
| Measure | Outcome | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer 'where's my repair?' calls | 20–40% | Target range after the portal is adopted |
| Every complaint against its deadline | Tracked | Where all complaints are logged as cases |
| Repairs performance by contractor | Live | Where contractors send updates |
Verified reviews
What clients say about our Dynamics work
Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.
-
Custom Software Development
Web-Based Coupon App Development
The work produced by the team was of exceptional quality.
Jon Thies
CTO, Model Rocket Feb 2022 – Mar 2023
-
Custom Software Development
Mobile & Web Platform Development & Design
Silver Scintilla was responsive, respectful, and enjoyable to work with, quickly addressing any questions or requests.
DeShawn Brown
CEO & Founder, Lithios Jun 2021 – Nov 2022
-
Custom Software Development
Web-Based HRM System Development
Silver Scintilla provided the best solution with scalable functionality, personalized features, and robust security.
Suheb Khan
Director, Collaborative Insight Technologies Jul 2020 – Jun 2022
Free discovery call
Have an idea? Let's turn it into AI-powered software.
Book a free discovery call with our experts. Share your idea and we will help you shape the scope, timeline and budget, under NDA.
- Free consultation
- NDA before we talk
- Transparent estimate