Step into the world of Dynamics and discover how to make the most of it with Resco alongside our experienced Product Consultant Tomas Brutovsky.
You might remember Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM 4.0, which was released in 2008. It was at the same time that Tomas entered the world of Dynamics. Witnessing its evolution over the years, Tomas has observed its transformation into a more powerful and enhanced platform.
Since joining Resco in 2018, Tomas has been instrumental in implementing projects and helping our customers thrive within the Dynamics ecosystem. In this blog, he shares the three most interesting mobile requirements he has encountered during his time at Resco.
1. Risk Matrix component in Inspections+
The client wanted to add a Risk Matrix component to their Inspections+ questionnaire form. The problem was that this kind of question didn’t exist in the Questionnaire Designer tool.
To create a Risk Matrix question type, Tomas had to be creative and find a workaround. He decided to add several Option set questions with the pre-defined values and applied custom formatting via Styles in order to mimic the desired layout of the Risk Matrix component.
“The whole process from the requirement analysis through the implementation until the quick test took about two to three hours and demonstrated the flexibility of Resco. I was able to create the solution without any coding, using Resco’s no-code/low-code tools,” explains Tomas.
Resco’s solution not only covered the client’s need for functionality and layout but also design. The original component had several color scales ranging from green through yellow to red, each representing a different level of risk. The flexibility of the Resco Questionnaire Designer tool in terms of design allowed us to meet these demands, making the user adoption process much more accessible.
When the client saw the result, they were very pleased with it. The partner only added one minor rule to the solution to ensure that mobile users could only select one question in the matrix, and the rest were not editable. This solution demonstrated Resco’s platform’s adaptability and provided value to the client by meeting their specific requirements.
2. Complex custom mobile report
The potential client’s requirement was the ability to generate a mobile report with a custom layout upon the completion of the Questionnaire form.
Resco mobile reports are a very important and popular feature among Resco customers and partners. This feature allows users to quickly generate a PDF or Word document, or other output, which shows the results of the work orders field workers complete in the field. This output can be easily shared with clients or saved in the system for archiving.
A potential customer was interested in using Resco Inspections+ feature, but they wanted to see some output from it as well. The customer shared a scanned paper form with a complex layout they used for their work.
While the Resco Report Designer is a powerful and flexible tool that offers many configuration options, it requires some time to learn how to use its full potential and build really complex reports. Resco developers have improved the usability of the tool in recent releases, investing in making these technologies more user-friendly.
“Thanks to this, I was able to replicate the customer’s paper form using the Report Designer tool, creating a faithful copy of the form,” Tomas says.
The client was impressed with the custom mobile report during the demo and was pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of Resco technology. Such custom reports are recommended for users in highly competitive environments who need to quickly generate customized reports and send them to clients. They are also very useful for clients who need their reports to comply with strict legal requirements.
Although it can take several days to create a complex report, the effort is worth it as it can be updated very quickly once completed.
Mobile reports are the bread and butter of field data collection, but their generation isn’t solely a task for frontline workers. The ability to access and quickly create reports is important for field managers and back-office employees to review data and steer the information flow.
That’s why Inspections+ new feature, utilizing the Resco Power Automate connector, allows reports to be generated directly from Dynamics 365 and Dataverse. And makes it simple and fast.
3. Complex validation rules in Woodford
A potential client was planning to replace their current custom-built backend system and mobile app with something more standard. One of their requirements for the demo presentation was the ability to configure multiple validations in the mobile app without any programming, in a no-code/low-code way, to make the mobile app smart and foolproof.
The challenge was to ensure that the mobile application was user-friendly, with various validations and checks to prevent potential problems from the user entering incorrect data or conducting inspections for which they were not trained.
To address this challenge, Tomas used Resco’s customization tool, Woodford, and specifically its Rule Editor – a complex, flexible and no-code component for implementing custom business logic.
“I needed to create a multi-level validation that would check several actions within the application. Although the potential client wasn’t sure such validations could be created in the given timeframe, I was able to successfully demonstrate and present them, receiving positive feedback,” remarks Tomas.
The easier we can make things for users, the better the results, and the fewer errors there will be. Companies can save a lot of money by preventing repeated inspections due to technical incompetence.
The app Tomas presented demonstrated the combined power of Microsoft Dataverse and Resco. During the presentation, the client was surprised by the significant advantage of customizing Resco’s mobile application without programming.
Setting up an app without the need for custom code leads to faster development, lower costs, easier and cheaper maintenance of the system, and a better user experience. Companies often overlook costs hidden in the future maintenance of the custom code. However, these costs can be significantly reduced by applying a no-code/low-code approach where it’s suitable.
Make the most of Resco by staying in the loop
“I highly recommend attending our product webinars, where we showcase and demonstrate new functionalities. Additionally, I encourage our customers and partners to provide us with their feedback, which drives us forward, helps us better understand the real-life scenarios and keeps our focus on the features that bring a high value to our customers,” advises Tomas.
You can also follow us on social media such as YouTube and LinkedIn, where you’ll find the latest updates about our features and events. And if you’re interested in the technical aspects of our solutions, check out our technical blogs and subscribe to the Resco newsletter, where you’ll find valuable Tech tips.
By following these tips, you can ensure that you’re utilizing Resco to its full potential and staying ahead of the game in terms of mobile capabilities.