Table of Contents

1. Reusing BPC Content Across Implementation Projects
2. Clone a BPC Subtree into Another Azure DevOps Project
2.1 Select the BPC Subtree You Want to Clone
2.2 Clone the BPC Subtree into Another Azure DevOps Project
2.3 Continue Working with the Cloned BPC Subtree
See also

Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Process Catalog (BPC) provides a comprehensive hierarchy of standard Dynamics 365 business processes.

In this article, we will show how BPC content that has been extended or enriched during Dynamics 365 implementations can be reused in another Azure DevOps implementation project using Docentric’s Azure DevOps Work Item Tree Cloner.

1. Reusing BPC Content Across Implementation Projects

The BPC can be imported into Azure DevOps, where its business processes are represented as structured Work Item hierarchies.

Microsoft also encourages customers, partners and solution providers to extend the BPC with industry-, organization- and solution-specific content, such as additional Scenarios, System Processes and Test Cases. During implementation projects, BPC content can therefore evolve beyond the standard Microsoft catalog and accumulate knowledge that may be useful in future implementations.

For example, a partner may already have a BPC process containing additional System Processes and Test Cases based on previous implementations. When the same process is relevant to another customer, this content can be reused instead of manually recreated.

As explained in The Role of Success by Design, Business Process Catalog and Azure DevOps in Dynamics 365 Implementations, Microsoft’s Azure DevOps model also includes a separate Deliverables tree.

Deliverables represent concrete implementation work, such as Configuration, Report, Enhancement, Integration and Testing, and can be linked to the related business processes.

Therefore, reusable implementation content may include:

BPC subtree
(Business process and reusable process knowledge)

↕ linked to

Deliverables
(Related implementation work)

However, while BPC content may be reusable across implementations, Deliverables often contain customer-specific implementation work. Related Deliverables should therefore be reused only when they are relevant to the new implementation.

In the next chapter, we will use Docentric’s Azure DevOps Work Item Tree Cloner to copy a selected BPC subtree, and optionally its relevant related Deliverables, into another Azure DevOps project.

2. Clone a BPC Subtree into Another Azure DevOps Project

2.1 Select the BPC Subtree You Want to Clone

Any Work Item in the BPC hierarchy can be selected as the root of the subtree to clone.

For example:

Order to Cash (End-to-End Process)
→ Manage accounts receivable (Business Process Area)
→ Issue sales invoices (Business Process)
→ Invoice sales orders in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (Scenario)
→ Invoice sales orders (System Process)
→ Manually invoice a single sales order (Test Case)
→ Summary invoice multiple sales orders (Test Case)
→ Mass invoice sales orders through a batch job (Test Case)
→ Generate a proforma invoice for a sales order (Test Case)

If we select the Issue sales invoices Business Process, the Work Item Tree Cloner copies this Process and all its descendants.

If we select the Invoice sales orders in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Scenario, only this Scenario and everything below it are copied.

The same principle applies at every level of the BPC hierarchy. Any additional partner, industry or solution-specific content below the selected Work Item is included as part of the same subtree.

Instead of rebuilding an existing BPC structure in another implementation project, we can clone and reuse it.

2.2 Clone the BPC Subtree into Another Azure DevOps Project

Once the root Work Item is selected, the Work Item Tree Cloner recursively discovers its Parent/Child descendants and creates the corresponding Work Items in the target Azure DevOps project.

Each cloned Work Item receives a new Work Item ID in the target project, while the complete Parent/Child hierarchy is reconstructed using the new IDs. The source Work Items remain unchanged.

The Cloner can also copy supported fields, attachments and other Work Item relations, depending on the selected cloning options.

When the selected BPC subtree has Related links to reusable Deliverables, the Cloner can also include the related Work Items together with their Parent/Child descendants. This allows relevant process content and related implementation knowledge to be reused together, while customer-specific Deliverables can be left behind.

A typical workflow is:

Select the BPC subtree
↓
Preview it with --dry-run
↓
Include related Work Item trees, if needed
↓
Clone into the target Azure DevOps project

For detailed instructions and available options, see Azure DevOps Work Item Tree Cloner.

2.3 Continue Working with the Cloned BPC Subtree

After cloning, the BPC subtree becomes an independent part of the target project.

The implementation team can further refine the implementation scope, perform fit/gap analysis, add customer-specific process content, and use or extend the relevant Test Cases.

Related Deliverables that were included in the clone can likewise be adapted to the new implementation, while additional customer-specific Deliverables can be created as needed.

The cloned structure therefore provides a starting point for the new implementation, rather than a finished customer-specific process model.

Changes made later to the source project are not automatically propagated to the customer project, and changes in the customer project do not affect the source.

See also

Docentric Azure DevOps Work Item Tree Cloner >>
Business Documents in Dynamics 365 Business Process Catalog >>
The Role of Success by Design, Business Process Catalog and Azure DevOps in Dynamics 365 Implementations >>