I am here writing some Microsoft Dynamics CRM Technical Consultant Interview Questions and Answers.
What is the difference
between Role Based and Object Based Security Model in MSCRM?
Code based
security is entirely coded in the application itself. Role based security uses
one of the authentication/authorization mechanisms of the application server.
The fundamental concept in role-based security is that of privilege, defined at
design time, on a system-wide basis. Each user has a set of privileges (there
are well over a hundred privileges) that are enabled for that user. However,
Policies and Roles grant privileges and simplify the process. The other form of
security applies to individual instances of objects. There is a fundamental
difference between an access right and a privilege: an access right is a right
granted to a user on an object), but a privilege is a right granted to a user
on a class of objects. Access rights apply only after privileges have taken
effect. In other words, if a user does not have the privilege to read accounts,
the user will not be able to read any account, whether or not it has been
shared.
Difference
between Find and Advanced Find? Which one is faster and why?
Find perform a
search on an attribute for which it is defined. Advanced Find perform search on
the conditions and the attributes for which user customizes or runs it. Normal
Find in faster as it looks for one attributes and matches with that and returns
the result whereas Advanced Find searches for all the attributes and conditions
while parsing through the records. Find is applicable on only active records
and it finds only on 2 or 3 column which we have defined in the find view and
even it returns any those column which is there in the view but advanced find
is applicable to all the records and it finds all the columns and even it
returns all the column and filter criteria can be on any column and most
important - find filters on just one condition but advanced find filters on
multiple condition at one time.. Find is faster than Advanced Find.
Difference between CRM Discovery Service and CRM Metadata
service?
CRM service -
when we need ORG related information like ORG name, Properties, CRM service
path for this ORG -- then we use CRM discovery service. This is only to get the
ORG related information Metadata service - we use this when we need to interact
with the CRM records – create, update or delete anything-- it is very specific
to the CRM records. When we need to interact with the CRM entity and attribute
- like create an entity (not record) or attribute -- add a value to pick list--
retrieve the pick list value retrieve the entity properties-- attribute
property and all we need Meta data service.
Difference between Plug-in and Workflows?
Requirement Plug-in
Workflow Needs a synchronous action to happen before or after an event occurs. The
same piece of logic will be executed for different events and possibly on
different entities. The logic needs to be executed while offline. Needs
elevation of privileges (impersonation) Needs to execute on events other than
assign, create, update, set state The process/logic may take a long time to
complete or will be a persistent process (multiple long running steps). Need an
asynchronous action. End users will need to modify the process logic Child sub
processes will be triggered.
Whenever you install MSCRM what all databases get
created?
Answer: MSCRM_Config
and MSCRM_orgname.
Whenever you install MSCRM what all user groups get
created in Active Directory?
User Group All
Microsoft CRM. This group is updated automatically as users are added and
removed from Microsoft CRM. ReportingGroupA group contains all users
within Microsoft CRM. This group is updated as users are added to Microsoft
CRM. Users in this group have read-only access to the filtered views in the
Microsoft CRM database. PrivUserGroupPrivileged Microsoft CRM user group
for special administrative functions. SQLAccessGroupA group that contains
Microsoft CRM ASP.NET account and other service accounts. Members in this group
have full access to the Microsoft CRM database and this group is used by the Microsoft
CRM platform layer. End users should never be added to this group.
What is 'Append' and 'Append To' privilege in
MSCRM? Give one example of it?
Ans: 'Append'
and 'Append To' priviledges works together. 'Append To' privilege will allow
other entities to get attached with the entity. 'Append' privilege will allow
the entity to attach the records to the entity with 'Append To' privilege. Let
us understand this with simple
example: Let us
say that you want to attach a note to a case then note entity should have
'Append' access right and case entity should have 'Append To' access right.Let
us take one more example to understand this. Suppose you have two custom
entities called 'TestCustomEntity1' and 'TestCustomEntity2'. You want to attach
the 'TestCustomeEntity2' records to 'TestCustomEntity1'records. For this you
need to have 'Append' access right on 'TestCustomEntity1' entity and 'Append
To' access right on 'TestCustomEntity2'.Now guess will I be able to attach the
records? Answer is " NO" because we need to create a 1:N relationship
between 'TestCustomEntity1' and 'TestCustomEntity2'. Now the user who has above
mentioned access right in his security role will only be able to add
'TestCustomEntity2' records to 'TestCustomEntity1'.
How to create a Custom Entity record using SDK?
Using Dynamic
Entity in CRM 4.0 and Entity in 2011.
How to join two table using Query Expression?
Using Linked
entity. You should always try to minimize the number of SWS calls that we make
in the database. Often during code review it is explored that the number of
Microsoft CRM web-service could have been reduced by making use of the
Linked-entity concept. So we should always look for the opportunity to minimize
the effort.
Can we modify the name of Root Business Unit?
No, we will
have to re-install MSCRM.
Suppose if I have 20 user license and I have
created 20users. What will happen if I create 21st User?
The 21st User
will get created in MSCRM but that user will be in disabled state.
How to enable/disable the form assistant? How to
make sure the form assistant is expanded/collapsed on a form?
Navigate to
Customization >> Open the Entity >> Open Forms and Views >>
Open Form >> Select Form Properties >> Open Display Tab >>
Check/Uncheck the “Enable the Form Assistant" and “Expanded by
Default".
What was your role in the
MSCRM implementation project that you have worked on?
You should be
honest while giving answer to this question and should give a brief overview of
the project and your role. This is very important question because the answers
of this question will trigger so many questions. You should highlight the key
skills you have; this way you will divert the attention of the interviewer to
your key skills and try not to expose the area in which you are less confident.
What was the most challenging task you have
faced till now?
Here you should
give answer that exhibits your positive attitude. E.g. for a technical
consultant it may be something like ... “I was new to the support and during
this experience i faced challenging issue related to plug-in that improved my
debugging skills. Email-to-case plug-in was really difficult as we had to take
care of so many conditions. I have learnt one thing during my previous
assignment and that is 'Never give-up'".
How is CRM changing and
what does the business owner need to be aware of?
At
the heart of CRM is the benefit of having the customer record at the center of
the data universe rather than multiple galaxies of transactions held in
separate, transaction-specific apps. So the innovation lies in new and improved
visibility for putting information to use in intelligent decision making.
Companies that used to serve 100 are serving 10,000, and with this kind of
scaling, better top-level tools and custom dashboards are where I see CRM
continuing to morph and advance.
Who are the newcomers to the CRM landscape?
It
is such a hot area right now, there are literally hundreds. But two I have been
following are Zoho and HighRise. Both are niche vendors that have garnered
great contact lists with their other products and created relatively simple
implementations for their clients and others. They both illustrate the fact
that CRM is no longer esoteric — it is going mainstream, which is a great thing
for business, particularly customer service and data security.
How much should I plan to spend on a good
solution?
That’s
always a tough question, given that applications vary widely in price based on
whether it’s a hosted or installed delivery model, user-based or organization-wide
subscription model, or a per-gigabyte or other data model. I would use the
cost-per-sale and cost-per-lead values to help determine what a system is worth
to a business. For most customers, services are going to be anywhere from $20
to $350 per month per user.
What exactly should I be expecting CRM to do
for me?
This
is an important question, as there are many misconceptions about software and
CRM in particular. Besides some fundamentals, like data security and access and
ease of use, CRM will primarily help you do what you do anyway, but move it to
the next level. If your main focus is customer service, CRM will help you
monitor, deliver, and measure your effectiveness. If your goal is a flat
organization where the right hand knows immediately what the left hand is
doing, CRM will help you be informed about the customer’s world and not just
what relates to your department or team.
What are your expectations for CRM in the next
five years?
First,
I expect CRM to become much more commonplace. Players like Zoho and 37signals
(Highrise) are knocking down barriers to entry. I also expect to see some
consolidation. I think the bigger players, like Sales Force, Microsoft, and
SAP, will buy up some of their smaller rivals to build into their suites and migrate
their user bases. As long as the acquiring provider keeps the connections
intact during the migration and meets a similar price point, it will be a
win-win. I also think we’ll be seeing more mobile-friendly applications, like Sales-force’s
Visual-force and NetSuite’s iPhone, to maximize data access and timeliness.
What are the most common mistakes you see
companies make with CRM?
Many
organizations use Outlook BCM or Excel for managing their contacts, which offer
no planning or setup process — just create a column or type in a field and get
started. This causes problems when information is related and the flexible
aspects of the previous solution are overlooked. There are real benefits that
won’t happen without understanding the new vernacular; the specific way the new
solution describes the data. For example, an “account” in Sales-force may not
be the same as an “account” in High-rise. In fact, it might have another name
altogether, such as “company.” Understanding how the particular vendor uses “leads”
or “opportunities” will help to avoid a great deal of frustration.
Do you have a few key best practices someone
considering CRM can use?
Yes,
I have three that anyone can use. First, consider your future needs. Look down
the road and ask “How many contacts will I have in five years?” “How many
salespeople will I have?” “How many of my people will need real-time access to
this information at home or on their phones and PDAs?” “How much would it cost
me to replace these contacts?” Second, take the opportunity to clean up your
data now. Moving to a CRM solution is an opportunity to start with a clean
version of accurate data. De-duplicate and otherwise scrub the data to minimize
the possibility of needing to import twice. For example, the flexibility of
Excel and Outlook BCM allow placing incorrectly formatted information in their
fields. This data will not import well without some good planning. Third, be
sure to communicate throughout the process and get early buy-in. The biggest
focus of Saleforce.com with its customers is adoption. Members of your team are
influencers in their departments. Leverage their expertise and influence by
building a team to help you make decisions about the solution. Even if you
disagree, listening, acknowledging, and respecting will build loyalty and
acceptance within the process.
What advantages might CRM have for specific
verticals?
The
answer to this question is not if but how much. Since CRM helps you do what you
do better, if you are in a professional services company with long sales
cycles, project terms, and frequent interactions and touch points, CRM will be
exponentially more valuable to you. So service businesses, like lawyers,
consultants, and accountants, are ripe for CRM but often have a technological
aversion and a strong status quo to maintain.
Does CRM fall more to sales or marketing in
most organizations?
In my experience, marketing is somewhat of a
new concept in CRM. Sales are definitely involved, but most often it is
operations leading the charge.
What are my best resources for finding out
more about CRM?
One
resource I would recommend any company creates for it is a one- to two-page
document that answers the best practice questions above and includes input from
the team. Send it to five vendors your team has selected and go over the
proposals to see which companies address you as a unique business — not just
with a customizable offering but as a discrete business. Here are a few good
sites I would recommend to anyone considering a solution
How many Web Services
are in MSCRM?
1.
Deployment
Web Service
Using this service we can
·
Create or import
organizations
·
Enable and Disable
organizations
·
Add deployment
administrators
·
Configure IFD and
Claims-based authentication
2. Discovery Web service
Using this service we can
·
Identify the organization
information available in a deployment
3. IOrganization Service
·
In CRM 4.0 we had the
CrmService & CrmMetadataService to access data & metadata.
·
In CRM 2011, These
are combined in single IOrganization service endpoint that includes
both data and metadata
What was the size of the implementation?
The number of user-licenses.
Suppose I want to migrate Microsoft CRM
implementation from one environment to other environment. Let us assume that
there a published workflow for account entity. Now in normal usage there will
be few accounts-records for which the workflow will be waiting/Waiting for
Resource/Failed/Succeeded state. So what should be our strategy for the
migration? What will happen to the records which are in waiting state and what
will happen to the records which are in-progress?
Suppose there is a plug-in registered for
account entity. When a user submits a request (e.g. account creation etc.) to
the web-server then what will happen in the server?
The plug-in will get loaded into the memory and will perform the operation it
is needed to do.
Now what will happen if 100 users will submit
the request to the web-server? The plug-in code will get loaded into the memory
for 100 times?
Answer
is NO. Noticeable point over here is that the Microsoft CRM is a managed
application and runs under .Net framework. So whenever the first request
arrives at the web-server the plug-in code is loaded into the memory and will
perform its operation and subsequently the same plug-in code will serve the
process for other user as well. So this way it saves the amount of time
required to load the plug-in into the memory. If the plug-in code is not being
used for long then the Garbage collector will identify it and will sweep the
plug-in out from the memory.
How to add/remove columns in an entity lookup
window?
Go to Settings >> Customization >> Select the entity >> Click
‘Forms and Views in the Left Nav Pane” >> Double click the ‘Entity Lookup
View’ >> Dialog box appears that contains the Add/Remove and Sorting
options for a lookup view.
How to debug the java script that we write for
some validation on entity pages?
Following are the steps that are needed to be followed:
·
Enable the Debugging in the Internet Explorer
– Go to Tools >> Internet Options (wizard will appear >> Click the
‘Advanced Tab’ >> Under Browsing Section uncheck the ‘Disable script debugging’
checkbox >> Click OK.
·
Edit the java script code of
the Entity Page that you want to debug.
·
Put the statement ‘debugger;’
above the line where you want to do the debugging.
e.g.
suppose my java-script show ‘Hello World’ message and i want to debug this then
following is the way I am going to add script:
debugger;
alert(‘Hello World’)
·
Save and Publish corresponding
customization.
·
Perform the operation that
would trigger the java script written by you
·
Debugger dialog box will appear
and select appropriate debugger (Visual Studio new or existing instance)
What are basic security permissions at domain
level?
(priv reporting
group, privUser group, SQL Reporting group… total 5 groups availble google it.)
For plugin deployment, Difference between GAC,
Database, Disk deployments?
GAC Deployment
1. Does not support CRM
2011 online deployments
2. You can refer external
DLL assemblies used in Plugin only if they are registered in GAC
Database Deployment
1. Supports CRM online 2011
deployment
2. You can refer external
DLL assemblies used in Plugin only if they are registered in GAC
Disk deployments
1. Does not support CRM
2011 online deployments
2. You can refer external
DLL assemblies from the disk and from GAC
Difference between CRM web services vs.
CRM.SDK Proxy namespaces?
Calling Dynamic Entities (knowledge on
Moniker, Input Parameters, Output Parameters, and Meta Services)?
Difference between GUID and Key, Lookup and
String?
Knowledge on Java Script and SOAP web services,
most important how to call XmlHttpRequest?
How many
numbers of tabs available in MS CRM Entity Form?
Officially max 8
tabs, unofficially we can do plenty (It’s not recommended by Microsoft CRM)
Explain in details about the event execution
pipeline?
When do we register a plugin in child pipeline?
Give examples?
Quote can be created
in 2 ways, through the home screen OR the opportunity screen. If you create it
from the latter, it will run on the child pipeline and you will find that your
plugin will not work.
What are images? Why are they used?
Plugins in Dynamics
CRM, allow you to register images against the steps of a plugin assembly.
Images are a way to pass the image of the record that is currently being worked
upon prior or after the action has been performed. In general it could be said,
it is the image of the record as is available in the SQL backend.
Two types of Images are supported, Pre-Image and Post Image.
In case of Pre-image, you get the image of the record as is stored in the SQL
database before the CRM Platform action has been performed.
Post Image, returns the image of the record after the CRM Platform action has
been performed.
What is early binding and late binding. How is
it used in CRM?
Early Binding:
Compiler bind the objects to methods at the compile time. This is called early
binding or static binding. Function overloading is example for early binding.
Late Binding:
Compiler bind the objects to methods at the runtime. This is called late
binding or dynamic binding. Function overriding is example for late binding.
What is PrinciplalObjectAccess table why is it
used?
The POA table is used to provide access to
specific records for CRM users, and each record in the POA table represents one
CRM object that is related to one CRM
user. Records created in the POA table come from one of four ways:
·
Share reassigned records
with original owner: CRM System Settings
o
If this is set to Yes, then
records would be added to the POA table whenever an assign takes place.
These records will have a value in the AccessRightsMask colum of the POA table.
·
Direct sharing:
Actions – Sharing
o
When users explicitly share
a record to another user, a record would be created in the POA table.
These records will have a value in the AccessRightsMask colum of the POA table.
·
Reparent Setting:
Relationship Behavior
o
Each entity has
relationships with other entities (ex. Account to Case). By default, the
Reparent option is set to Cascade All. With this setting, sub
records would be shared to the owner of the parent record. For
example: Let’s say that User1 owns Account1. User2 has access to
Account1 and creates a case underneath Account1. With the out of the box
Reparent options, a record would be created in the POA table that would give
User1 access to the newly created case. These records will have a value
in the InheritedAccessRightsMask colum of the POA table.
·
Indirect Sharing: When
sharing occurs through a direct share, assignment, or parenting, if the
relationship is set up to cascade the share to child records, additional
records will be created in the POA table in order to give proper permissions to
the new user for the relevant child records. These records will have
a value in the InheritedAccessRightsMask colum of the POA table.
What is the use of stringmap table?
stringmap table used to store picklist value
in ms crm.
How do you set a recurring activity in CRM?
When can infinite loop occur in a plugin? How
do you avoid infinite loops in plugin code?
Using InDepth of the context we can get the loop number.
How do you avoid sql deadlock?
How many types of relationships are available
in crm?
3 types
1: N
N: 1
N: N
What is the difference when the ownership is
user vs. organization for a custom entity?
Organization-owned entities typically contain data
involving something that belongs to or that can be viewed by the whole
organization. Organization-owned entities cannot be assigned or shared. For
example, products are owned by the organization.
User-owned entities are associated with a user.
User-owned entities typically contain data that relates to customers, such as
accounts or contacts. Security can be defined according the business unit for
the user.
What are filtered views?
SQL database views, called "filtered
views," are provided with the Microsoft CRM database to enable access to business
data according to the user's Microsoft CRM security role. When a user runs a
report that obtains data from filtered views, the user's Microsoft CRM security
role determines the data to be included in the report. Data in filtered views
is restricted at three levels: the organization, the business unit, and the
owner. Filtered views exist for all Microsoft CRM business objects (entities).
Your reports should not read data directly
from the Microsoft CRM database tables. Instead, use the filtered views. The
following sample SQL code returns all columns from the filtered view for an Account
entity:
SELECT * FROM dbo.FilteredAccount
If you delete a record from UI, what happens
in database? Can you bring the record back?OR, what
is deletion service? Can you change its schedule?
In
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, deleting an entity by using the Web application or
through SDK Web service calls usually results in a "soft delete"
where the entity is not immediately deleted from the database. Instead, the
entity is marked for deletion later. The platform marks the entity for deletion
by setting the entity's DeletionStateCode attribute to 2. Entities with
a DeletionStateCode attribute set to 2 are filtered out from all data
views in the Web application and are not accessible using the SDK.
These marked entities are physically deleted
from the database by the Deletion Service. The Deletion Service is an
asynchronous operation that is based on a table named
ScaleGroupOrganizationMaintenanceJobs in the MSCRM_CONFIG database of Microsoft
Dynamics CRM. By default, the frequency of the Deletion Service job execution
is set to once a day. You can use the Scale Group Job Editor tool to change the
execution frequency of the Deletion Service. You can find the tool on the Web
at http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/ScaleGroupJobEditor.
How is LINQ used in CRM 2011?
How would you automatically create cases from?
Can you call a plugin using JavaScript?
You can accomplish this by creating a custom
entity you want to use as a trigger. You attach your plugin to that
entity either at the create message or the update message (requires you to have
one record created that you update).
Now, in Jscript, when you want to call the
entity all you have to do is call the update or create for that custom entity
(depending on which message you attached your plugin to). This way you
can fire your plugin from anywhere you can access jscript.
In what circumstances are dialogs useful?
Dialogs are the synchronous/interactive
processes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online that
collect and process information by using step-by-step scripts to direct users
through a process. For example, you can create dialogs to act as a guide for
your service representatives for case resolution and case escalation.
Similarly, you can create dialogs for standardizing sales processes such as
opportunity qualification and lead scoring.
Every time you run a dialog in Microsoft
Dynamics CRM, a ProcessSession (dialog session) record is created.
The dialog session stores the session log about the dialog process that was
run.
Note
|
Owing to the interactive
nature of the dialog process, you cannot run a dialog using the Microsoft
Dynamics CRM SDK. A dialog can only be run through the Microsoft
Dynamics CRM Web application and are not supported in Microsoft
Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook with Offline Access
|
What limitations does the sandbox have on
plugins in the cloud?
How do you configure SharePoint to work with
CRM 2011?
When would you use a pre validation plugin and
when would you use a post validation plugin?
Pre-validation:-
Stage in the pipeline for plug-ins that are to execute before the main system
operation. Plug-ins registered in this stage may execute outside the database
transaction.
Pre-operation:-
Stage in the pipeline for plug-ins that are to execute before the main system
operation. Plug-ins registered in this stage are executed within the database
transaction.
Post-operation:-
Stage in the pipeline for plug-ins which are to execute after the main
operation. Plug-ins registered in this stage are executed within the database
transaction.
Post-operation:-
Stage in the pipeline for plug-ins which are to execute after the main
operation. Plug-ins registered in this stage may execute outside the database
transaction. This stage only supports Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 based
plug-ins.
Why use
images with plugins?
Answer: Images are a way to
pass the image of the record that is currently being worked upon prior or after
the action has been performed. In general it could be said, it is the image of
the record as is available in the SQL backend.
Two types of Images are supported, Pre-Image and Post Image.
In case of Pre-image, you get the image of the record as is stored in the SQL
database before the CRM Platform action has been performed.
Post Image, returns the image of the record after the CRM Platform action has
been performed.
How would you Auto number functionality
to CRM?
Explain how solutions work, managed and
unmanaged?
Unmanaged Solutions
All solutions start out as
Unmanaged. When it is in the unmanaged state, you can add, remove,
update, test any of the components of the solution. You can delete
components of your unmanaged solutions, while leaving it available for
use in the rest of the system. Some on the MS CRM dev team have
likened this to your 'source' code of your system. The great thing
about an Unmanaged Solution is that during development, you can create
restrictions (like 'not customizable') on the components as they
evolve.
Managed Solutions
When your unmanaged solution is
ready for the show, you simply export it to 'Managed'. You could
think of this as 'compiling' you code. You set the restrictions (i.e.
prevent customizations on certain components) and the end user lives by
those rules. But remember, they can still customize the components of
the solution that are unrestricted. You cannot add or remove components
of a solution, even if the component is unmanaged.
Once you have
packaged the Managed Solution, it can be installed into another
organization. They can also be deployed across multiple deployment
types (Online, Partner Hosted, On-Premise) and all CRM Clients (web,
Outlook, Mobile Express, and Offline via Outlook Client).
How
do you debug a plugin?
http://weblogs.asp.net/pabloperalta/archive/2010/12/01/how-to-remote-debug-dynamics-crm-plugins-and-workflow-assemblies.aspx
What does
the CRM asynchronous service do?
The asynchronous service executes
long-running operations independent of the main Microsoft Dynamics CRM system
process. This results in improved overall system performance and improved
scalability.
The asynchronous service features a managed
queue for the execution of asynchronous registered plug-ins, workflows, and
operations such as bulk mail, bulk import, and campaign activity propagation.
These operations are registered with the asynchronous service and executed
later when the service processes its queue. All workflows are executed by the
asynchronous service.
What is an Email-Router?
Microsoft Dynamics
CRM E-mail Router is a software component that creates an interface between a
Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment and the organization's messaging system. The
E-mail Router routes qualified email messages to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM
system as email activities and fully integrates with different messaging
systems, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Exchange
Online, POP3, and SMTP. The E-mail Router includes the functionality for
sending email through any desired SMTP provider and for receiving
email from Microsoft Exchange Server or from a POP3 server. Additionally, the
Forward Mailbox feature remains available.
What is Metadata service of MSCRM?
Dictionary meaning of the word METADATA is data about data and similarly the
metadata holds the information about MSCRM means the information about the
entity and attributes e.g. Display name, platform name, size of the attribute, data
type of attribute etc. If we want to access any information about any entity
(Dynamic or system) we will have to make use of the Metadata service. In the
database we can find the metadata table and name of these tables begins with
keyword Metadata.
I hope these may helpful to someone.
Enjoy !!! :-)
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Reference : - http://suresh-kumar-patra.blogspot.in/2012/07/ms-crm-questions-answers.html
