Introduction to the guided case resolution process

Use the process bar in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to follow a case through resolution. The text, layout, and controls in the form are aimed at making things easier to read and find.

The process flow simplifies and streamlines the process of tracking customer and activity details and managing the case by leading you logically from task to task when a customer calls.

Note

To enable the process flow for case resolution, the default form for the Case record type must be set to Case.

Understand the case form with the process bar

The following list highlights a few new things that you'll see in the case form:

Form header. The form header lets you quickly see important details about a case, such as who the case is currently assigned to, what the priority is, and what the status is. You can change the priority, status, or owner of a case right here.
Command bar actions. The command bar in the form contains various new options that let you do important tasks from within the form, such as follow the case, switch the form layout to the classic mode, and open the form editor to customize the form.
Customer Details pane. The Customer Details pane gives a quick view of the accounts or contacts and their recent interactions with you, such as their recent cases and activities.
Posts, Notes, and Activities area. The collaboration area lets you view all the posts, notes, and activities related to the selected case when you are working on the case.
Process bar. When you open a case record, you will see the process bar on top of the case form. The process bar organizes tasks under various stages, which are used to easily lead you through case resolution. The process bar also highlights the stages and tasks that you've already completed to show you the progress.

This process bar is configurable and can be tailored for your organization.
Auto save. You can edit fields on the form, and the form saves your changes automatically.

Note

You cannot send an article from the process form for Case. To do this, you must use the old form (Information). For more information, contact your system administrator.

Follow the case resolution process in the Case form

As you work through the case resolution process, keep these behaviors in mind. Knowing they're there will make the process easier to use.

The guided process can be initiated whenever a customer reaches out to you with an issue or query. If you receive a phone call from a customer, you can start the guided process by clicking Phone Support. Otherwise, click or tap New Case in the Record group in the list of cases.

Clicking Phone Support always opens a new case record.
Then, you validate if the person who called is an existing customer by searching the existing account and contact records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If not, you can create a new contact record right within the flow.

You can use inline lookups to view the most recently used records, search for records, and select a record from a list.

After you select a customer, the Customer Details area is populated with additional details, such as recent cases and customer activities.
Similar to specifying the customer details, you track whether the customer is calling for an existing case or a new one by selecting an existing case or creating a new case. The inline lookup for case shows the active cases associated with the selected customer.

When you select an existing case, all the earlier cases and activities of the customer start appearing in the Recent Cases and Recent Activities areas, which helps give you an overall view of the customer interactions.

When you create a new case, it is automatically associated with the customer you've selected.
Opening the case form by clicking or tapping Phone support also opens the Add Phone Call area by default. This area lets you add a phone call record to track the conversation you are having with the customer. This record is added as a phone call activity for the case you'll select in the Existing Case field. The Posts, Activities, Notes area also lists the posts and the notes associated with the case.
After you collect the customer information and specify the case details, you may want to do some research to solve the customer's problem. The Research stage in the process bar helps you do exactly that. You can use this area to find relevant information from other resolved cases. You can also use this stage to assign the case to other users or teams if you think they have expertise on the case subject. Both these steps are optional. If you have the information to solve the customer's issue, and don't need any research, you can directly resolve the case in the Resolve stage.