By: Linda Rosencrance
Microsoft has rolled out the March release of Lifecycle Services (LCS). It offers, among other features, asset library improvements. This is the first time Microsoft has enabled multi-select support for a set of operations in the asset library.
Currently, Microsoft supports multi-select for most of the operations in asset library including Delete, Save to my library, and Mark as release candidate. Beginning with this update, a user can provide descriptions for all the assets in the Asset library. The descriptions will then be available to everyone in LCS using the asset the user uploads.
The March update also offers some performance improvements, including the ability to export a BPM library for localization.
“[The] functionality now enables the localization (translation) of business process lines and task guide steps associated with business process lines,” according to a post on the Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services Engineering Blog, which details the steps necessary to access this functionality.
After a user imports BPM localizations, a Dynamics AX client connected to his or her LCS project will be able to render task guides in the Dynamics AX user interface language. However, the LCS BPM portal does not have this functionality yet. And import functionality is still not available for Dynamics AX 2012 projects, according to the blog post.
Another feature in the update is Solution creation, which allows partners to create a process data package directly from the Asset library. And the Methodology improvements enable a user to clone, or create copies of, an existing phase and the related tasks.
Two new BPM libraries; Getting Started and APQC Unified
Microsoft has also shipped two new BPM libraries for the new Microsoft Dynamics AX: (February 2016) Getting Started; and (February 2016) APQC Unified Library for Microsoft Dynamics AX
The (February 2016) Getting Started library is for key Dynamics AX trial getting-started scenarios that include task guides that provide guidance about how to get started. The (February 2016) APQC Unified Library for Microsoft Dynamics AX, is the new cross-industry library that includes over 500 business process task guides.
Microsoft-owned configurations have also been added under the GER configuration asset type in the Shared asset library, replacing the GER configurations released in January for the Dynamics AX CTP8 release. As the blog post describes:
GER provides one common way, through LCS Asset library, for Microsoft and partners to distribute electronic document configurations to other partners and customers. GER also makes it easier for partners and customers to customize, upgrade, and distribute electronic document formats for their specific business requirements.
Additionally, new industry-specific data packages are also available in this March LCS release.
About Linda Rosencrance
Linda Rosencrance is a freelance writer/editor in the Boston area. Rosencrance has over 25 years experience as an reporter/investigative reporter, writing for many newspapers in the metropolitan Boston area. Rosencrance has been writing about information technology for the past 16 years.
She has covered a variety of IT subjects, including Microsoft Dynamics, mobile security issues such as data loss prevention, network management, secure mobile app development, privacy, cloud computing, BI, big data, analytics, HR, CRM, ERP, and enterprise IT.
Rosencrance is the author of six true crime books for Kensington Publishing Corp