Copy a Dynamics CRM 2011 Process

Roshan Mehta, 18 September 2012

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 makes it easy to copy a workflow or dialog process which simplifies deployment and the configuration of similar processes. In this post, we will look at how we can create process templates and initialize multiple workflow processes from these templates.

Let’s assume we are part of the sales team and our sales manager has made it compulsory for us to make a follow-up phone call with new Leads after 24 hours of them being logged followed by another phone call after 48 hours. It has been decided that this functionality will be handled with two separate workflows. We can create a process template for the workflow which we can then use to create our two workflows which will differ only by their wait conditions.

Create a new Process with the following details and then click on OK.

Build the workflow logic and ensure that Activate As is selected to be “Process template”.

After the template is saved and activated, we can create workflow processes using the template. Back in the Process Center, create a new Process with the following details:

When you click on OK, the process configuration window will appear as above with all the process steps added by default. We can simply activate this process to manage the creation of Phone Calls 24 hours after a Lead is created. We can repeat these steps to create another workflow and change the wait condition so that a Phone Call is created 48 hours after a Lead is created.

Process Templates are also very useful when deploying changes to workflows into a production system. Workflow or Dialog logic can be modified in a process template in a development environment and can then be deployed into a production system without affecting existing processes. Once we are satisfied that the process template functions correctly, we can delete the existing workflows in production and initialize new ones from the templates.