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Dynamics 365 CE Requirements and Table Design Workbook

Excel workbook that links Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement user stories to Dataverse tables, columns and relationships, with traceability checks built in.

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Free Excel workbook. Excel workbook that links Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement user stories to Dataverse tables, columns and relationships, with traceability checks built in. Download it, add your project details and use it today: no sign-up for software, no paywall.

Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement projects drift when requirements live in one tool and the Dataverse design lives in someone's head. This workbook keeps them together. Capture user stories with MoSCoW priority and a fit approach (out of the box, configuration, low-code, pro-code, integration or ISV), then design the tables, columns and relationships that deliver them. Formulas check that every column belongs to a designed table, every column traces back to a requirement, and every requirement has a table. The Summary shows design coverage at a glance. Built for CE functional consultants, solution architects and Power Platform makers preparing a solution design or sprint backlog.

What's inside

  • Requirements: User stories with priority, fit approach and primary table. Examples are illustrative.
  • Tables: Standard and custom Dataverse tables in scope. Column counts come from the Columns sheet.
  • Columns: New or changed columns. Checks confirm the table is designed and the requirement exists.
  • Relationships: Table relationships with type and behavior. The check confirms both tables are designed.
  • Summary: key numbers calculated automatically from your data
  • Drop-down lists, worked example rows and formulas you can rely on

How to use it

  1. Capture requirements on 'Requirements' as user stories with a persona, MoSCoW priority and acceptance criteria. Give each a unique ID (REQ-001...).
  2. Decide the fit approach for each story. Prefer out of the box and configuration; record low-code and pro-code choices explicitly so they can be reviewed by the architect.
  3. List every table the solution touches on 'Tables', both standard (account, contact, incident) and custom. Use the logical (schema) name with your publisher prefix for custom tables.
  4. Design columns on 'Columns'. Choose the Dataverse data type, requirement level, length or precision, and the source requirement ID. The checks show whether the table is designed and the requirement exists.
  5. Record relationships on 'Relationships' with type and behavior. Choose behaviors deliberately: Parental cascades delete, while Referential restrict delete prevents deleting a parent that still has related rows.
  6. Before design sign-off, clear every 'Missing table design', 'Table not in design' and 'Unknown req ID' flag, and review columns marked for column security with your security architect.
  7. Keep the workbook under version control alongside your solution, and update it when the design changes so it stays the single source of truth.

Who it's for

CRM consultants, business analysts and architects working with Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service and Dataverse.

Let's connect

I'm Pranshu Shubham, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O Solution Architect and PMP-certified program lead with 8+ years of ERP and AI transformation across the USA, Europe and APAC. I created this resource from real project experience, and I'd love to hear how you use it.