Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS) provide a cloud-based collaborative workspace that customers and partners can use to manage implementations by simplifying and standardizing the Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition implementations.
LCS is a must-have tool for all Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition implementations and helps in improving the predictability and quality of implementations, thereby enabling business value faster. LCS provides regularly updated services. The goal of LCS is to deliver the right information, at the right time and to the right people, and to help ensure repeatable and predictable success with each roll-out of an implementation, update, or upgrade.
LCS is available to customers, partners as well potential prospects. While customers and partners get access for learning, implementation and other purposes, prospects can get access for trial purpose. Following table suggest various ways of getting your LCS access:
| For an existing customer of the older version of Dynamics AX | For partners of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations - Enterprise Edition |
For customers of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations - Enterprise Edition |
|
Sign into LCS using the CustomerSource credentials |
Sign into LCS using PartnerSource credentials |
Sign into LCS using Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) credentials |
Let's now have a quick look at all the tooling available in LCS:
|
Common tools |
Project-specific tools |
 Common tools in LCS consist of the following:
|
 Some of the key project-specific tools in LCS consist of the following:
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While there are so many tools available, it may easily become confusing if you don't know when and where to use them. We intend to cover this aspect with the help of the following matrix highlighting in brief the timing/segment of the tool, URL of the tool for more details, and its capability and usage:
|
Segmentation |
Tools |
Details of the tooling |
|
Foundation |
Methodologies |
Methodologies provide a tool that you can use to ensure a more repeatable and predictable implementation of projects. |
|
Foundation |
Projects |
Projects are the key organizers for your experience in LCS. Projects let you invite your partners to collaborate with you, and they also let you track the progress. |
|
Foundation |
Upgrade analysis |
Upgrade analysis helps you plan your upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations by analyzing the code artifacts from Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, Dynamics AX 2009, or Dynamics AX 2012. |
|
Foundation |
Usage profiler |
Usage profiler is a data-gathering tool that helps you describe your projected or current usage of application. Usage profile prepared can be used for various purposes, such as hardware sizing, support, and so on. |
|
Foundation |
License sizing estimator |
License sizing estimator helps you estimate the number of licenses that are required. |
|
OnGoing |
Business process modeler |
Business process modeler lets you create, view, and modify standard process flows. |
|
On going |
Cloud-hosted environments |
The cloud-hosted environment is a tool that you can use to deploy and manage Microsoft Dynamics environments on Microsoft Azure. |
|
On going |
Configuration and data manager |
Configuration and data manager lets you copy a configuration from one instance to another. |
|
On going |
Customization analysis |
Customization analysis validates model files against best practices and provides a report of the potential areas for improvement. |
|
Support |
Issue search |
Issue search helps you find the existing solutions and workarounds for known issues in Microsoft Dynamics products. |
|
Support |
Cloud-powered support |
Cloud-powered support helps you manage support incidents. |
|
Support |
System diagnostics |
System diagnostics helps administrators monitor the Microsoft Dynamics environments. |
|
Support |
Updates |
The Updates page hosts the details about updates that are available for the environment. |
Let's now learn some select tools of LCS in detail.