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Case study · Manufacturing IT

Dynamics expertise without a year-long hire

Companies running Business Central or Finance & Operations often have a backlog of enhancements and a small IT team that can't keep up. This is how we added Dynamics developers and consultants who join the in-house team and work through the backlog in its priorities.

Project overview

Dynamics specialists embedded in the client's IT team.

Industry
Manufacturing IT
Client
Confidential
Model
Staff augmentation
Skills
AL, X++, Power Platform
Ramp-up
2–4 weeks
Team size
1–4 people
Work
Backlog, enhancements, upgrades
Management
The client's IT manager
Terms
Monthly, part or full-time

Expected business outcomes

What the client set out to achieve

Backlog reduction and upgrade readiness are the measures.

  • 2–4 weeks To the first delivered enhancement

    Developers start on small, well-defined backlog items.

    After onboarding

  • Steady Backlog reduction

    Enhancements delivered in the team's priority order.

    Measured in the client's backlog tool

  • Kept current Microsoft updates

    Extensions tested and updated for each release.

    Where included in scope

Business challenges

Where the client started

One or two people keep the ERP running and everything else waits.

Backlog

Dozens of enhancement requests from finance and operations.

Skills

Dynamics developers are hard to hire locally.

Partner

The implementation partner is expensive for small changes.

Updates

Microsoft updates tested late or skipped.

Risk

Knowledge concentrated in one internal person.

Proposed solution

How the engagement works

Specialists who fit into the client's IT team's rhythm.

  • Matched specialists

    Developers and consultants with the right Dynamics product experience.

  • The client's priorities

    Work taken from the client's backlog in the order the client set.

  • The client's environments

    Sandboxes, source control and deployment as the client's team runs them.

  • Update testing

    Extensions tested against Microsoft's releases.

  • Knowledge sharing

    Documentation and handover so knowledge isn't concentrated again.

  • Flexible hours

    Part-time or full-time, adjusted monthly.

Project requirements

What the client asked us for

The request was extra hands on the Dynamics backlog. The design goal is continuity: the same people each month, who learn the business and the customisations.

Documentation is part of the job, so the company isn't dependent on any one person again.

What the project had to deliver

  • 01Dynamics specialists on demand
  • 02Work in the client's priority order
  • 03Updates kept current
  • 04Knowledge documented

Key challenges & considerations

What made it harder, and what we did

  1. Undocumented customisations

    What we did

    Customisations were documented as each one was touched.

  2. Access and security approvals

    What we did

    Access was arranged through the client's approval process before work began.

  3. Business users' availability for testing

    What we did

    Test sessions with business users were booked in advance.

  4. Mixed BC and F&O estates

    What we did

    Specialists were matched to each estate, Business Central or Finance & Operations.

What we watched for

  • Keep the same specialists
  • Document customisations as you go
  • Book business users for testing
  • Plan around Microsoft releases

Development process

From backlog to delivery

A structured start on a real backlog.

  1. Stage 1

    Needs assessment

    Backlog, skills and hours agreed.

  2. Stage 2

    Selection

    Specialists proposed and interviewed by the client.

  3. Stage 3

    Onboarding

    Access, environments and a walkthrough of customisations.

  4. Stage 4

    First items

    Small backlog items delivered and reviewed.

  5. Stage 5

    Steady state

    Monthly planning and reviews.

Technology stack

Your Dynamics estate

We worked in the environments and processes the client already had.

ERP

  • Business Central (AL)
  • Finance & Operations (X++)

Platform

  • Power Automate
  • Power Apps
  • Dataverse

Delivery

  • The client's source control
  • The client's deployment pipeline

Management

  • The client's backlog tool
  • Monthly reviews

Quality assurance & deployment

Held to the client's own standards

Our engineers worked inside the client's team, so quality was measured the client's way: their definition of done, their reviews and their pipelines.

  • The client's definition of done on every ticket
  • Code review on every change, by the client's team and ours
  • Automated tests written with the work, not after it
  • The client's security and access policies followed
  • Delivery reviewed every sprint with the client's lead

Deployment

  • 01First itemsSmall backlog items delivered and reviewed.
  • 02Steady stateMonthly planning and reviews.
  • 03Releases through the client's pipelineWork shipped through the client's own CI/CD and release process.
  • 04ContinuityThe same engineers kept on the product, with a monthly review of fit and performance.

Final deliverables

A backlog that moves

Finance and operations see their enhancement requests delivered, Microsoft updates are handled on time and knowledge is documented.

The IT team has Dynamics expertise without a long hiring process.

  • Backlog delivered
  • Updates handled
  • Knowledge documented
  • Flexible capacity

Handed over to the client

  • 01Delivered workIn the client's repositories and boards
  • 02DocumentationWritten as the work was done
  • 03Knowledge transferThrough pairing and review
  • 04Monthly reviewsOf delivery and fit
  • 05Flexible termsScale up or down monthly

Success metrics

How success is measured

MeasureOutcomeHow it is measured
To the first delivered enhancement 2–4 weeks After onboarding
Backlog reduction Steady Measured in the client's backlog tool
Microsoft updates Kept current Where included in scope

Verified reviews

What clients say about our staff augmentation work

Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.

5.0 27 verified reviews

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