Planning for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform updates just got easier

The semiannual Dynamics 365 Release Wave updates are highly anticipated, but it’s no secret that navigating through the Microsoft documentation to research can be difficult and time-consuming, let alone remembering and tracking the progress of updates that interest you. That’s about to be a thing of the past with this new tool: the Release Planner (currently in preview).

The Release Planner is a straightforward interface for searching through update plans. It is organized by application and can be filtered and sorted by a variety of criteria, such as status, availability date, and who the update will be available for (users, admin, etc.). This tool is sure to be a game changer, significantly improving your experience planning for future release waves

 Release Wave deployment schedule

It’s important to be aware of when the release waves will be pushed out so you can be ready and anticipate any preparation you need to do to be ready (such as user training or enabling/disabling features/settings). In most Microsoft documentation regarding the releases, they identify when release waves will be “generally available;” for instance, 2022 Release Wave 2 was generally available October 1. But this date is not necessarily the exact one when your system will receive the updates—just when the release wave begins to roll out.

When updates become available in your system shifts depending on the region your environment was created—here’s the release plans and schedule for next year’s releases, which are updated regularly. Your partner can help you prepare for these updates.

You can also opt in for early access to self-update to the new release so that you can begin testing and validating new features in a demo, trial, or sandbox environments before they are enabled for your users on the outlined regional schedule. Early access is typically available two months before the major release is enabled in your region.

When considering there are two official release waves, rolled out via, with early access availability, it’s understandable if the yearly release schedule tends on the more complex side. Here’s an example of the 2020 release wave schedule to illustrate when the updates are available to early-access and automatically begin to roll out.

The Release Wave planner

The Release Planning tool itself is an intuitive, clear interface: on an average desktop or laptop view, the various Power Platform and Dynamics 365 apps are organized on the left side of the screen, while updates are organized into dropdown categories in a large table to the right.

Find the apps you’re interested in and peruse the plans by opening the dropdown sections, then selecting those topics that interest you. When you open a specific plan, you’ll see a host of information, including a summary, timeline of availability, and links to read more about the feature.

You can filter your search in a few ways: first you can simply use the search bar and type in keywords if you’re searching for a specific plan. You can filter and sort by things like status, who the update will be enabled for, and whether it’s early access, public preview, or general availability. Use these filters to your advantage to identify whatever it is you’re looking for quickly and easily.

Signing into the release planner will allow you to save release plans that interest you so you can easily check back on the plans and any changes to the plan, such as release dates (which sometimes get pushed back in the Quality Assurance stage of development).

What if I can’t find an update I know is coming?

This might indicate that you have filters or sorting set that is stopping you from finding what you’re looking for. Try removing all filters and ensure you’re searching in the right module.

A common reason users can’t find a plan: updates for the general interface/UI (Unified Interface) such as navigation changes (or the new Modern Advance Find) will be classified under Power Apps, so you won’t be able to find those changes if you use Sales when searching under Dynamics 365 > Sales. Rather, you’ll have to go to Power Platform > Power Apps.

Am I charged for updates?

In a cloud-based application, most updates are automatic and therefore there are no cost impacts of updates. These updates are part of your application’s lifecycle and pushed out by Microsoft. However, you may find that sometimes, especially in highly customized applications, that some updates may impact your system customizations, which takes work and effort to rectify these “breaks” in your customizations. You might also want or need additional training for some new features. We can help with both fixing any customizations that break and train for new features! Connect with us→

All of that being said, Microsoft updates are usually very stable. CRM is built to be highly customizable, and Microsoft works hard to ensure that new updates work cohesively with the customizability of the system, not against it. So, though it is possible, updates don’t usually break customizations.

I really want to start using a feature - can I start using it before it’s officially rolled out?

It’s fantastic that you’re excited about some great upcoming features, but we do not advise enabling preview features in your production environment. Because they are still in preview, they are still being worked on and could break, causing issues in your system.

But we do encourage you enable features to try out in sandbox or trial environments early! You can test the feature for viability in your organization—is this a feature that will add value to your system or processes that you want to use? And you can train your users in the sandbox so they are ready to begin using this feature when it becomes generally available. You can also provide feedback directly to Microsoft on the preview features you test, which can help valuable updates flow through the development and testing phases and get rolled out to you more quickly!