Today I continue my series on all of the new features and functionality that we can expect to see in Release Wave 1 of 2023 for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Today I will be discussing the updates in Dynamics 365 Field Service.
New features coming to Dynamics 365 Field Service and the key areas of focus in this set of updates appear to be enhancements around the Field Service Mobile App and how we can better optimise the service operation as a whole.
The Dynamics 365 Release Wave 2 for 2023 outlines all the new features that will be released between October 2023 through March 2024. You can either browse the release plan online or download the document as a PDF file. The PDF file also includes information about Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft Dataverse, Microsoft Power Platform governance and administration, and data integration.
The Microsoft Power Platform features coming in the 2023 release wave 2 have been summarized in a separate release plan as well as a downloadable PDF
Copilot for work order experience
The new Copilot for work order experience is integrated into Outlook and Teams by default. This feature will harness the power of Copilot to assist frontline service professionals to speed up time-to-resolution processes.
Copilot will enhance frontline service professionals’ ability to:
Quickly create work orders with the right information
Assign orders to the right technicians
Equip technicians with sufficient support to successfully complete jobs on schedule
Help streamline critical frontline tasks.
Copilot for Field Service capabilities will enable frontline workers and service managers to create, review and manage work orders using the power of AI. The AI-Powered work order recap (see figure 1 below) feature provides a succinct, status-relevant summary of a work order and its related contextual data. The recap can be edited, adjusted or regenerated as required.
Copilot also provides assisted work order scheduling recommendations, by using AI to search for available technicians, based on the work order requirements.
This aids in the streamlining of technician scheduling by offering recommendations based on travel time, availability and skill set. Accelerated responses to customer messages by summarising key details and next steps in email drafts will also be shared. Copilot will also become available to assist frontline managers in their flow of work within Microsoft Teams.
Field Service mobile app experience
This release also introduces a new Dynamics 365 mobile app preview for users to swiftly access all the information they need on the go.
The modern user experience supports familiar mobile navigation, gestures and controls to help manage work order tasks, services and products. From changing the status of a booking with a quick swipe to accessing driving directions to a customer site with one tap, the redesign saves valuable technician time for daily work.
The redesigned work order user experience has embedded Copilot capabilities and enhanced work order lifecycle management.
The new Dynamics 365 Field Service app within Teams allows users to gain access to up-and-coming work orders. Within their Microsoft Viva Connections home interface, they can effortlessly delve into specific aspects like location or issue type.
Comprehensive work order particulars can be exchanged via Teams, with the option to utilise the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist app. By simply clicking through the home interface on Teams mobile, Field Service Technicians can engage in real-time issue resolution with remote experts, employing 3D spatial annotations that align precisely with the physical environment.
Re-designed work order management experience
The final feature to highlight is a newly redesigned work order management experience, which is now available for early access. This features a simplified web experience that brings important information front and centre, reducing the number of clicks for key tasks by more than a third.
This experience not only offers concise information about the work order but also provides relevant next steps based on booking status, and supports making quick updates in-line or in a side panel to maintain context. Copilot will provide intelligent recaps within this experience to help frontline managers stay up-to-date without having to navigate through all of the data within a work order.
Hope you all enjoyed this post on the release wave 2 updates for 2023 in D365 Field Service. I will continue this series with some additional content specifically related to the updates in Power Platform. Take Care, and Speak Soon!
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