As we mentioned last week, Dynamics CRM 2016 was released last week. But you may have noticed that some of the anticipated features are not there.

The release preview guide has been updated with a revision summary on the last page. This table lists features which have been postponed. Some are postponed until a future release, some will be released as a preview feature before the next release

So why the delay?

While Microsoft has not shared the reason for each of these delays, the most probable reason is that they weren’t fully baked yet. MVP Neil Benson says

Has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM product group switched to an agile release train release pattern? An agile release train involves several software releases that are planned in advance and released on a pre-planned schedule. Every feature that’s “done” gets released on the next train. The release train doesn’t wait until a pre-defined set of features are done. That’s a big shift from releases like CRM 4.0 and CRM 2011 that were only released once every feature was ready. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 was released on 1 December, precisely as scheduled. There are a couple of expected features that appear to have missed this release train and will make it on the next one. The latest update to the Release Preview Guide describes how Voice of the Customer, External Party Access, Service Intelligence and a couple of other features will be released later. This is a good indicator that the CRM product group is using an agile release train. An agile release train is a modern software product management concept. It delivers valuable features in a regular cadence in small batches . It’s perfectly suited to a cloud-first world where customers and users expect their software to be updated and to adapt seamlessly to their needs. All aboard!

So while users may be disappointed that mobile offline capability or guided user experience are delayed, the good news is the spring 2016 release is coming.

GeorgeD $0.02 + GST

I like this agile pattern, I like this release train. My primary concern is for the on-premises customers being stuck on the platform 9 & 3/4 with the agile train picking them up only once a year. Will they miss out on Voice of the Customer a.k.a. Surveys until December 2016? Only the time will tell.

Want to learn more about what IS included in CRM 2016? Check out the latest episode of CRM Audio: The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Podcast. This week we talk about knowledge management, engagement hub, solution segmentation, and more CRM 2016 goodies.