Business process flows in Microsoft Dynamics CRM enhance efficiency in sales and service processes by providing structured stages and steps for users to follow. They allow for customization and can span multiple entities, albeit with limitations such as not being able to disable once activated and a maximum of 10 flows per entity. The functionality supports conditional branching and enforces best practices while maintaining user roles and process consistency.

1. Business Process Flows
Microsoft Dynamics CRM -2016

2. Business Process Flow - Overview
▪ A business process flow lets you create more efficient and
streamlined sales, service, and other business processes. Having high
performing processes in place will help you to increase your win
rates, improve customer satisfaction, and grow your revenue.
▪ Business process flows are new functionality added in CRM 2013,
Modified in 2015 & 2016 .
▪ They provide a guided business process which can span multiple
entities.

3. ▪ All organizations will have specific business processes they follow,
these could cover lead qualification, case logging / resolution etc.
▪ Each business process will include a number of stages and each
stage will contain a number of steps. (or actions). Some steps may be
mandatory before allowing the user to progress to the next stage in
the process
▪ These business processes are referred to as business process flows.

4. Note
▪ They may be linear with all stages applying in all
situations, or they may contain condition branches.
▪ For example: Very large value opportunities may follow a
different process to smaller opportunities.

5. The benefits of business processes include
▪ Consistency
▪ Condition branching to enforce business best practice
▪ Easy customization to tailor them to specific organizational
need
▪ Direction based conditions, meaning that one business
process flow can span multiple record types. For example,
when a lead becomes an opportunity

6. Example Process – Lead To Opportunity Sales Process
▪ By way of an example, I would like to look at one of the out of the box processes in greater detail.
In my experience the process to qualify a lead and develop it into an opportunity is a perfect
example of how to use a business process flow. So let’s look at that!
▪ As you use this process, a few things to notice …
▪ Each stage is represented by a name chevron (arrow). Such a qualify, develop etc.
▪ The flag denotes the current active stage.
▪ The highlighted / coloured chevron is the currently selected stage.
▪ Below the coloured chevron you see the steps (field) that must be completed to complete this stage
▪ Some steps maybe mandatory, moving to the next stage will be prevented until entered
▪ Fields shown on in the business process may be repeated in the main form

8.  Notice that with the lead to opportunity business process flow,
qualifying the lead will progress from the qualify stage to the
develop stage. And load the opportunity just created. Again it is
important you try this. This demonstrates how one business process
can span multiple entities.
 It is worth noticing that the “flag” moves as the process progresses.
(It denotes the active stage.)
 It is also possible to click on arrows (next to the next stage button)
to make a previous stage the active stage.

10. Limitations Of Business Process Flow
▪ Business process flows do not run but provide a means of added data to various
entities/fields for those entities in the business process flow
▪ Business Process Flows cannot be disabled once enabled
▪ 29 entities have been updated in CRM 2013 to use the new form style which also means
that they can use the new Business Process Flows and Business Rules
▪ Entities with the navigation bar and left hand menu (CRM 2011 style) cannot use
business process flows. To enable these forms you would need to merge or recreate them
in CRM 2013 GUI style
▪ Business process flows are not started but will begin automatically on the creation of an
entity
▪ Users can switch between business processes manually (cannot happen automatically)

11. ▪ Business processes do not have any conditional or branching logic. They run in a linear,
staged process.
▪ Business processes cannot be exited or abandoned, the user can come back
▪ Each entity can have no more than 10 activated business process flows
▪ Each process flow has a maximum of 30 stages
▪ Multi-entity process can use no more than five entities.
▪ You can only run one business flow for each record
▪ Current process and stage is held by lookup fields. This allows the user to return to the
process at a later time.
▪ Stage gating is making field required before a user can move to the next stage
▪ Business process flows can be associated with security roles, so only users with specific
security roles will see the business rules.
▪ If you create an entity and the entity and your security roles have multiple business process
flows available, the user will be presentation with a choice.
▪ If you switch processes, it will start at the first stage of the process.

12. ▪ Javascript or business rules triggered by changing a field value, if they hide a field on
the form, the field will also be hidden on the business process flow control.
▪ Fields changed to read only by Javascript or business rules are not read only in the
business process flow control.
▪ Security roles are applied to business process rules, this limits access like forms.
▪ By default system administrator and customizer have access to business process flows.
▪ When a field is updated in the business process flow it will trigger related business rules
and javascript.
▪ It’s possible to have up to 100 active business processes per entity
▪ A business rule process can have 30 stages over up to 5 entities
▪ All entity fields can be used within a stage, even fields not on the entity form.