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Practice 04 · Engineering excellence

No manual deployments. Ever.

Microsoft programs stay healthy when every release is automated, traceable and reversible. We design and implement the ALM frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, branching strategies, automated test suites, and Agile operating models that make that real — not aspirational.

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Five capability areas

Pipelines, repos, artifacts, tests & boards.

CI / CD Pipelines

Azure Pipelines — YAML & classic

Pipeline design and implementation for every Microsoft workload — Dynamics 365 FSCM via LCS, Power Platform solutions through Power Platform Build Tools, .NET services, Azure Functions, Infrastructure-as-Code and container workloads.

  • YAML multi-stage pipelines (build → test → deploy)
  • Dynamics 365 FSCM: X++ compile, package, LCS upload
  • Power Platform: solution export, pack, unpack, import
  • Environment-gated approvals with audit trail
  • Secrets management via Azure Key Vault
  • Self-hosted & Microsoft-hosted agent pools
  • Release gates based on automated test results

Git / VSTS Repositories

Branching strategy & code governance

Version control for every artifact produced by a Microsoft program — X++ code, AL extensions, Power Platform solutions as unpacked source, Bicep / ARM / Terraform, configuration packages, and documentation.

  • Repository design & mono-repo vs multi-repo strategy
  • Trunk-based or GitFlow branching models
  • Branch policies: required reviewers, linked work items
  • Pull request templates & review checklists
  • Commit signing & GPG verification
  • Submodule strategies for shared libraries
  • Migration from TFVC to Git with full history

Artifact Management

Azure Artifacts feeds & package strategy

Governed package management for NuGet, npm and Python packages — internal libraries, Dynamics deployable packages, and Power Platform solution packages promoted through versioned feeds aligned to your environment rings.

  • Azure Artifacts NuGet, npm & PyPI feeds
  • Upstream proxy configuration (npmjs, nuget.org)
  • Semantic versioning enforcement via pipeline tasks
  • D365 deployable package versioning strategy
  • Power Platform managed solution promotion
  • Feed permissions aligned to project teams
  • Retention policies to control storage costs

Automated Testing

Unit, integration, regression & UAT

Quality gates that don't evaporate after go-live. We build and integrate automated test suites at every layer — unit, integration, regression and performance — using the tools native to each Microsoft technology.

  • D365 FSCM unit tests (SysTest / X++ test framework)
  • RSAT regression suites for D365 FSCM business processes
  • Power Apps Test Studio & EasyRepro for CE
  • Business Central AL test codeunits
  • API integration tests with REST Assured / Playwright
  • Azure Load Testing for performance baselines
  • Test Plans for manual UAT management & traceability

Agile & Boards

Scrum, Kanban & SAFe delivery

Azure Boards configured to match how the team actually works — epics, features, user stories, tasks and bugs linked to code commits and test cases. Velocity reporting, capacity planning and sprint retrospectives that produce action, not theater.

  • Process template design (Scrum / Agile / CMMI)
  • Work item taxonomy & hierarchy configuration
  • Sprint planning, capacity & velocity dashboards
  • SAFe PI Planning board configuration
  • Traceability: requirement → commit → test → release
  • Custom queries, charts & team dashboards
  • Integration with Teams, Slack & ServiceNow

Infrastructure as Code

Bicep, ARM, Terraform & GitOps

Every Azure resource defined in version-controlled, peer-reviewed code — deployed through pipelines, never through the Portal. Eliminates configuration drift, enables disaster recovery in minutes, and gives your team a clear change history for every environment.

  • Bicep / ARM templates for all Azure resources
  • Terraform for multi-cloud or team preference
  • Environment blueprints: Dev / Test / UAT / Prod
  • Parameterization strategy for environment parity
  • Policy-as-code via Azure Policy & Defender
  • Drift detection & remediation pipelines
  • Cost tagging enforcement via pipeline gates

ALM by technology

The right pipeline for every Microsoft workload.

D365 FSCM

Finance & Supply Chain ALM

Source in Git. Build agent compiles X++ and produces a deployable package. Pipeline uploads the package to Lifecycle Services Asset Library and triggers a deployment to the target environment. Automated RSAT tests run as a release gate. Full audit trail through Azure DevOps work items.

X++ compileDeployable packageLCS uploadRSAT gatesBuild VM / UDE
Power Platform

CE / Power Apps ALM

Solutions unpacked into source-controlled Dataverse component files (entities, flows, canvas apps, plug-ins). Power Platform Build Tools pack the managed solution, import through Dev → Sandbox → UAT → Production with approval gates. No manual exports in any non-Dev environment.

PP Build ToolsManaged solutionsSolution layeringEnvironment variablesConnection references
Business Central

Business Central AL ALM

AL extensions in Git with per-branch BC environments on Docker / SaaS sandbox. Pipeline compiles the app, runs AL test codeunits, and publishes the .app package to a target environment or AppSource. Semver enforced by pipeline policy.

AL LanguageBcContainerHelperAppSource CIAL test runner
Azure / IaC

Infrastructure & Azure services ALM

All Azure infrastructure defined in Bicep checked into the same monorepo as the application code. 'What-if' previews on every pull request, pipeline deployment on merge, and drift-detection scheduled pipeline to catch out-of-band changes. Full history, full rollback.

Bicep / TerraformWhat-if previewsPolicy gatesDrift detection

FAQ

Common questions.

With a maturity assessment — usually two to three days — producing a scored baseline across repos, pipelines, artifact management, testing and Boards. We prioritize the highest-risk gaps (typically missing pipelines and no automated regression) and deliver a 90-day improvement backlog. No big-bang rewrites.
We support both and have helped clients migrate from legacy cloud-hosted build VMs to the Unified Developer Experience. UDE moves the build to developer workstations and eliminates the ongoing infrastructure cost. We document both environments with full pipeline YAML, branching strategy and a go-live checklist specific to your release cadence.
Yes. Our view: Agile is a set of empirical disciplines, not a certification program. We configure Boards, run the first three sprints as coach-alongside, and then hand over a cadence the team owns. Sprint ceremonies are timeboxed ruthlessly. No two-hour retrospectives that produce nothing.
Yes — bidirectional sync between Azure Boards and ServiceNow change management is a common request on D365 programs, and we have patterns for both the native ServiceNow connector and the Jira integration. We will not promise a zero-friction integration; we will give you an honest assessment of what each sync actually covers and where manual bridges remain.

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Make your next release boring.

Boring releases — the ones where nothing goes wrong because everything is automated — are the goal. Let's build a DevOps foundation for your Microsoft program that earns that reputation.

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