Last week, we showed you how to identify and reach a consensus on the rationale to upgrade. Now it is the time to evaluate the Dynamics NAV Solution you currently have in place and how well it is helping you in supporting your company.
Today, you will learn the 2 steps in order to review your current Solution.
1 – Code Comparison
The first step is to make a Code Comparison. But what is a Code Compare? It is a simple process that can be automated, used to analyze your NAV Solution and highlight in detail objects that differ from the standard NAV database due to customization, and additional objects that have been added.
This process can be either done manually but we recommend the use of Mergetool which looks at NAV objects exported in text-format. In most cases, this is a step that can be handled by your partner as a developer’s license is required.
This tool can easily deliver reports that identify code that may not be functioning properly in your system.
2 – Review Custom Object
Once done, the second step is to review Custom Object. Still attached to Code Comparison process, this step is critical to review the custom objects systematically to understand exactly what purpose each custom object serves. The main idea is to determine exactly which custom objects from the current implementation need to be carried forward in the upgrade. For every custom object, you will have 3 possible upgrade actions:
- Merge
If a standard NAV database object has been customized, and there is a corresponding object in the standard database for the target version, the code compare will likely indicate that it can be merged.
- Re-Implement
If a standard NAV database object cannot be merged with the target version objects for any reason, it will need to be re-implemented as a new customization in the upgrade. In certain cases, newer versions of NAV may not be backward compatible therefore merging is impossible.
- Use Customization
If a customer-specific database object exists, the code compare will, in most cases, recommend using it in the target NAV version. Note that in many cases these objects will need significant updating or re-writing to work properly in the new NAV version. Custom database tables generally port without difficulty, however, reports, forms and certain other objects may be problematic due to changes in the underlying NAV application architecture.
In most every cases, a majority of the custom objects in your system will no longer be needed. Understanding the history of your NAV solution is particularly important here.
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