Unveiling the Dynamics 365 Field Service 2023 release wave 2 updates

The 2023 release wave 2 of Dynamics 365 Field Service has been announced, and new features and enhancements will be released from October 2023 through March 2024. In this release wave, D365 Field Service will receive new capabilities for frontline workers, service managers, and dispatchers, including converting quotes to work orders and enhanced resource scheduling capabilities. This blog will delve into the most impactful updates and enhancements within the 2023 release wave 2 of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service.  

To read about the new features and updates in the previous release wave, read our 2023 release wave 1 blog.  

Microsoft continues to push the boundaries with its latest release wave 2, for Dynamics 365 Field Service in 2023. At the forefront of this transformation is the groundbreaking Copilot feature, a revolutionary AI-powered assistant designed to streamline and enhance various aspects of work order management. Copilot is set to empower service managers, frontline workers, and dispatchers with its versatile capabilities, paving the way for increased efficiency and superior customer satisfaction. 

• AI-powered work order recap: Allows service managers to swiftly access a summarized version of work orders, featuring essential information like notes, products, services, tasks, and more. 
• Work Order creation in Outlook using AI: Empowers frontline workers and managers to create, view, and manage work orders within Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Outlook. Harnesses generative AI to expedite work order creation by extracting relevant details from email correspondence. 
• Work Order creation in Teams using AI: Extends the power of Copilot to Microsoft Teams, facilitating work order creation through AI-driven assistance. Similar to Outlook integration, the AI-based copilot simplifies the process by extracting crucial data from conversations. 
• AI-generated responses and summaries in Outlook: Enhances productivity by offering AI-generated responses and summaries for frontline managers and dispatchers. This feature is accessible within Microsoft 365 applications like Teams and Outlook, ultimately leading to heightened productivity at the frontline. 
• AI-driven resource scheduling in Outlook and Teams: Tackles the intricate task of resource scheduling with the help of AI recommendations. By suggesting suitable workers and time slots based on attributes like availability and skills, this feature significantly streamlines the scheduling process for frontline managers and dispatchers. 

Microsoft released numerous updates and enhancements to the Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile experience aimed at empowering frontline workers with efficiency and control like never before. The innovative suite of features offers a comprehensive overhaul of image handling, offline sync, embedded guides, and an all-new user experience, ensuring that service tasks are executed with precision, responsiveness, and an unwavering focus on customer satisfaction. 

• Compressed image uploads: Images captured on mobile devices can be compressed during upload, conserving network bandwidth and Dataverse storage. 
• Offline sync settings: Frontline workers gain control over sync intervals and connection types, optimizing data usage and device battery life. Users can adjust the sync interval to sync more or less frequently depending on individual needs. Additionally, users can decide if their automatic sync happens on cellular networks or Wi-Fi connections. 
• Embedded Guides: Dynamics 365 Guides can now be seamlessly integrated with Field Service Mobile, offering step-by-step instructions for service tasks, ensuring efficient issue resolution. While working on a work order, users can launch a guide associated with a work order service task, which gives them step-by-step instructions. These instructions support the service technician, helping them resolve the issue quickly for a high first-time fix rate.  
• New user experience: The app receives a modern, intuitive makeover, providing easy access to critical job information and streamlining operations through swipe gestures and accessible touch targets. 

Microsoft introduces a series of optimized resource scheduling features in the 2023 release wave 2 of Dynamics 365 Field Service. These groundbreaking updates enhance the speed and usability of the schedule board and introduce new capabilities for multiday scheduling and intelligent interactions, amplifying the efficiency and flexibility of service operations. With the retirement of the legacy schedule board and the infusion of innovative scheduling techniques, Dynamics 365 Field Service remains at the forefront of modern service management solutions. 

• Legacy schedule board retired: Microsoft has retired the ability for users to use the legacy schedule board and has moved all users to the new schedule board experience. With improved speed, enhanced usability, and accessibility, the new schedule board serves as the default experience for all users. 
• Enable mouse scroll for date-range granularity: Navigating the schedule board’s various date and time ranges becomes a breeze with the introduction of mouse scroll functionality. Users can effortlessly switch between different date and time ranges, ensuring quick access to the required information without losing context. Users can seamlessly transition between different views by utilizing a simple keyboard and mouse combination (Ctrl + scroll) or command keys, making it easier than ever to manage bookings with precision and speed. 
• Multiday views: The multiday view on the schedule board receives a significant upgrade, presenting bookings in proportion to their duration. This change simplifies assessing resource availability and utilization, as bookings are now displayed in a way that accurately reflects their time. Whether it’s the daily, weekly, or monthly view, the enhanced visualization helps dispatchers and managers gauge resource availability, streamlining decision-making and optimizing resource allocation. 
• Flexible Work Hours Calendar with Multiple Recurrences: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service introduces newfound flexibility to the work hours calendar by enabling multiple recurrences per resource. This feature allows dispatchers to customize resource scheduling with exceptional precision. Adding recurrences over a date range can be seamlessly managed, providing greater flexibility for meeting diverse business demands and accommodating workforce preferences. The introduction of overlapping recurrences within a week, support for different time zones, and the anticipation of flexible resource locations signifies the platform’s commitment to adaptability and resource optimization. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service introduces a new and improved work order experience in the 2023 release wave 2 that transforms the way you manage, monitor, and interact with work orders. Designed to enhance efficiency and streamline workflows, these enhancements are poised to revolutionize the service delivery process, empowering both service managers and frontline workers to excel in their roles while providing superior customer experiences. 

• Generate Work Orders from Quotes: In this release, when a customer accepts a quote, you can now automatically generate a work order that carries over quote details, streamlining your sales and service workflows. This seamless transition ensures that vital information from the sales process is seamlessly integrated into the work order, including job descriptions, customer data, expected completion dates, and quoted parts and services. 
• Visual Work Order insights: The revamped work order list page provides a visual cue for prioritizing tasks that require immediate attention, enabling quick inline edits via a newly introduced side panel. This layout empowers service managers to swiftly understand the current state of work orders and make informed decisions efficiently. 
• Dynamic action cards: The introduction of dynamic cards empowers end users to easily take the next action, adapting to the current status within the work order lifecycle. Whether it’s scheduling, work in progress, or completion, these cards offer actionable insights and information at a glance, reducing the need to navigate through various sections and boosting productivity. 
• Unified products and services: The redesigned interface unifies the products and services experience, enabling service managers to comprehend total cost, not-to-exceed (NTE) warnings and manage pricing and product/service status seamlessly within a single view. 
• New reference tab: The newly introduced reference tab becomes the home of knowledge articles, guides, and media, fostering a streamlined knowledge-sharing process. Service managers can access, edit, or create knowledge articles without leaving the page, ensuring quick access to essential information. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service continues to evolve with a series of updates designed to capture additional relevant details, documents, and information. The introduction of features that manage frontline worker certifications, enhance location management capabilities, and provide extended customer details reinforces Microsoft’s commitment to elevating every facet of the service delivery experience. 

• Frontline worker certifications: Easily capture and manage insurance, licenses, and certifications for frontline workers to ensure service quality, safety, and regulatory compliance. 
• Enhanced location management: New location types allow organizations to better manage complex buildings, campuses, and factories and location properties enable service providers to capture and organize critical location information. 
• Extended customer asset insights: Capture manufacturer warranties, tag assets, and note location contact information to provide comprehensive asset details, streamlining service delivery and customer interactions. 

Included in the 2023 release wave 2 of Dynamics 365 Field Service are updates that focus on managing bookings with flexibility and precision. These enhancements transform the way bookings are completed, tracked, and maintained, presenting users with streamlined procedures and advanced automation. By introducing features that enable work orders to return to an unscheduled state after booking and preserving the original end-time value upon booking completion, Dynamics 365 Field Service empowers businesses to manage their operations more efficiently, ensuring accurate status updates and resource utilization. 

• Enhanced booking flexibility: Simplify the follow-up process by returning work orders to an unscheduled state after completing a booking, offering greater automation and optimized workflow. 
• Preserving end-times: Users can now finalize booking on behalf of an assigned resource. Maintain precision in work progress and resource utilization by preserving the original end-time value when completing bookings on behalf of assigned resources. 

At Rand Group, we are committed to keeping you at the forefront of technological advancements that elevate your business operations. Our team of solution experts can help you understand the new features included in the 2023 release wave 2. Additionally, we offer holistic Dynamics 365 Field Service support options that include scheduling upgrades, highlighting features your organization could utilize, training users on new features, and performing system checks to ensure all modules and customizations are performing as planned after each release wave. If you have any questions about the new features, contact us today. 

Are you ready to implement Dynamics 365 Field Service? From configuration and data migration to training and user adoption, Rand Group is your partner to ensure a smooth implementation of Dynamics 365 Field Service that is tailored to your users and processes. Learn more about Dynamics 365 Field Service implementation and get your business on a comprehensive cloud-based field service management solution.