Most Dynamics 365 implementations fail because of one thing: people don’t know how to use the system.
You can have the best technology in the world, but if your team can’t work with it, you’ve wasted your investment.
A solid Dynamics 365 training plan fixes this.
It turns confused users into confident ones, reduces support tickets, and helps you actually get value from your software.
Here’s how to build one that works.
What an Effective Dynamics 365 Training Plan Includes
Proper training makes or breaks user adoption. You need to develop your Dynamics 365 training plan at project kickoff and bring in training resources from the start. Waiting until later creates problems you can’t fix quickly.
Remember that your training plan isn’t static. It’s iterative. As you move through the project and learn more about your business requirements and what your users actually need, you’ll update the plan. That’s normal and expected.
Your training plan should include at least these 12 core elements:
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- Training objectives: Define what you want to achieve. Don’t be vague. Get specific about what success looks like.
- Scope: Outline exactly what you’re training people on. Which processes? Which features? Which modules?
- Audience: Identify who needs training. Different groups need different content and different depth levels.
- Training schedule and resource availability: Map out when training happens and who’s delivering it. Factor this into your Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation project plan early.
- Delivery approach: Decide how you’ll train people. Live sessions? Self-paced modules? Videos? Job aids? Usually, you’ll need a mix.
- Validation of training success: Determine how you’ll measure if training worked. What metrics will tell you people actually learned?
- Assumptions and dependencies: Document what you’re assuming will be true and what you depend on to deliver training successfully.
- Risks: Identify what could go wrong with training and how you’ll handle it.
- Training environment management: Plan how you’ll set up and maintain training environments separate from production.
- Training materials: List what content you need to create: guides, videos, quick references, FAQs.
- Training as an ongoing process: Build in how training continues after go-live for new hires, updates, and refreshers.
- Training resources: Assign who’s responsible for creating content, delivering sessions, and supporting users.
Think of your training plan like your project plan. The project plan drives timelines and execution for implementation. The training plan drives timelines and execution for learning. They work together.
Steps to Build Your Organization’s Dynamics 365 Training Plan
Building an effective MS Dynamics 365 training program follows six phases.
Start early, ideally at project kickoff, not weeks before launch.
Phase 1: Discovery and Planning
Define what you want to achieve with training.
Run a change impact assessment to see which areas are changing, what needs training, and who’s affected.
Survey your stakeholders to understand their current skills and what they need to learn.
This shows you where to spend your time and budget.
Phase 2: Audience and Content Mapping
Create detailed profiles for each user group.
People with the same role might still need different training based on what they actually do.
Build your training matrix that connects each user type to the topics they need and how deep you’ll go.
A sales rep needs different details than an executive viewing the same dashboard.
Phase 3: Resource Planning and Scheduling
Figure out who’s creating materials and who’s delivering training.
Set up your training environments. If you’re rolling out internationally, plan for translated materials and trainers who speak the right languages.
Timing matters here.
Train your super users and trainers early during development. But schedule end-user training late enough that the system is stable, yet early enough that people remember what they learned by go-live.
Too early and users forget. Too late, and you’re rushing.
Phase 4: Material Development
Develop content using a building block approach.
Phase 1 materials become the foundation for future phases.
Set up training environments that mirror production with real-looking data. This makes practice relevant and builds actual muscle memory.
Avoid giving training users admin access just because it’s easier. They need to see the system as they’ll use it, with their actual permissions.
Phase 5: Delivery Planning
Choose delivery methods based on content complexity:
| Method | Best For | Key Point |
| Live training | Critical functions, complex processes | Hard to schedule but highest engagement |
| Web-based interactive | Moderately difficult, repeated practice | Self-paced but less feedback |
| Documentation | Standard procedures | Easy to update, least interactive |
| Blended approach | Large rollouts, diverse learners | Balances flexibility with interaction |
Run pilot sessions with super users first. Gather feedback and adjust before wider rollout.
Phase 6: Assessment and Improvement
Test users on frequently used processes.
Run day-in-the-life scenarios to see real-world application. Analyze help desk tickets to find knowledge gaps.
Microsoft is clear on this: training “is an ongoing and constantly evolving process.”
Build continuous improvement into your plan from day one.
Speed Up Your Training With Coffee + Dunn’s Knowledge Hub
Building training materials from scratch takes time you might not have. Coffee + Dunn’s Knowledge Hub gives you ready-made courses on Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Customer Engagement that you can use right away.
You get self-paced video courses covering core features, scenario-based learning paths for real business challenges, and up to three 1:1 expert sessions each month to tackle your specific training questions.
The Knowledge Hub works alongside your training plan to fill gaps faster and keep your team learning as the platform evolves.
Connect with our team to see how the Knowledge Hub fits your training timeline.
How to Structure Training Across Implementation Phases
Training activities need to match each stage of your Dynamics 365 project planning timeline.
Here’s what to do when.
Pre-Implementation (Mobilize Phase)
Focus on groundwork, not end-user training, for now.
Complete your training strategy, including staffing, timelines, and content schedules. Identify who’s affected by the change and who will create, review, and deliver training.
Select super users and champions now. These are your system advocates who’ll provide first-line support and drive adoption.
Microsoft recommends varying skill levels in this group so everyone sees someone like themselves succeeding.
Set up your training environment strategy.
Decide on your environment structure (development, test, UAT, training, production) and create sandboxes for safe experimentation.
During Implementation (Design and Development)
Start developing content as configuration progresses:
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- Use the building block approach where early materials inform later ones.
- Create role-specific content for sales, finance, operations, and customer service rather than generic training.
- Train super users and champions through extended sessions. This train-the-trainer approach builds internal capability and cuts long-term costs.
- Involve end users in User Acceptance Testing. This doubles as training exposure while validating your setup.
- Document job aids and quick references based on what users encounter during testing.
Go-Live Preparation (Prepare Phase)
Deliver intensive training to end users before you flip the switch.
Run workshops based on actual roles where people practice real business processes they’ll use every day.
Let them get hands-on in sandbox environments with data that looks like what they’ll see in production.
Mix up your formats:
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- Live workshops for critical processes
- Short videos for supplementary topics
- Job aids they can reference later
Before go-live, confirm all your training sessions are complete, materials are ready and handed out, super users are prepared to help on the floor, and your help desk has playbooks ready.
Post-Go-Live (Operate Phase)
Provide extra support right after launch. Keep your super users and consultants around for quick help during the first few weeks.
Make sure people know who to ask when they hit a problem and how fast they’ll get answers. This keeps users confident while they adjust.
Build onboarding programs for people who join after go-live.
New employees usually get less training support than the team that was there for the initial rollout. Don’t leave them behind.
Schedule refresher sessions every quarter to cover updates and share tips. Track how people are using the system.
Watch feature usage, error rates, and support tickets. Use what you learn to focus more training where it makes the biggest difference.
Why Dynamics 365 Training Doesn’t End at Go-Live
Treating D365 training as a one-time event is the biggest mistake organizations make.
Training must be ongoing because both your organization and the D365 ecosystem keep changing.
Personnel Changes
People leave. New ones join. Existing employees switch roles.
Microsoft points out that “all new users are expected to learn their job roles quickly,” but companies often give new hires less support than original users got.
Build robust self-paced onboarding and provide extra help to new people so they catch up.
A strong ongoing Dynamics 365 CRM training program helps new team members get up to speed faster.
Bi-Annual Updates
Microsoft releases major D365 updates twice a year:
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- Wave 1 features come in April through September
- Wave 2 runs October through March
Each wave brings new capabilities that might need you to update your training.
How you respond depends on what changed:
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- Performance improvements don’t need training updates
- Interface changes mean you need to update materials and tell users what’s different
- New features require real training for the people who’ll use them
Keep a test instance where you can check updates against your setup. Your trainers should look at what’s coming before each release to see how it affects your people.
Join Early Access programs so you can try upcoming features in sandbox environments before they hit your live system.
Knowledge Decay
Skills fade without practice.
Research shows learners lose about 70% of new information within 24 hours without reinforcement.
For features users don’t touch daily, this happens even faster.
Combat this with quarterly refreshers, regular tips communications, and accessible reference docs.
Dynamics 365 Training Planning Best Practices
Real-world implementations teach you what works and what doesn’t.
Here are the strategies that consistently lead to successful training outcomes.
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- Start Early: Begin planning at project start. Content development should finish well before delivery. Microsoft’s guidance: “Give yourself enough time to prepare a training plan, develop content, and deliver training.”
- Customize for Roles: Each business role uses D365 differently. Role-specific training ensures relevance and reduces information overload. Avoid one-size-fits-all approaches.
- Prioritize Hands-On Practice: Give people sandbox environments with data that looks real. Use scenarios they’ll actually face at work instead of made-up exercises. Let them practice between your formal sessions so they build confidence.
- Use Multiple Formats: Blend live workshops (high engagement for complex topics), video tutorials (flexible timing), interactive walkthroughs (task-specific guidance), and written docs (reference materials). Microlearning modules of 2-5 minutes improve retention versus lengthy sessions.
- Build Your Super User Network: Assemble champions across departments with varying skill levels. Get them involved early to build excitement. Position them as first-line support for their areas, cutting help desk load while increasing peer learning.
- Treat Training as Iterative: Training isn’t one-and-done. It aligns with your Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation plan roadmap, new feature releases, and your organization’s growing maturity. As users get comfortable with the basics, they’re ready for advanced features. As Microsoft releases new capabilities, users need exposure. As your business evolves, training evolves with it.
Skipping hands-on environments undermines confidence. Users need safe spaces to make mistakes and learn.
No ongoing program causes skills to fade and leaves new employees struggling. Keep materials current post-go-live with clear update processes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are answers to common questions about Microsoft Dynamics training planning:
How Detailed Should a Dynamics 365 Training Plan Be?
Your plan should cover all 12 core elements Microsoft recommends. Include specific goals, detailed role-to-topic matrices, realistic timelines, and clear assessment criteria. Make it comprehensive enough to guide execution but flexible enough to adapt as you learn more.
Is a Training Plan Only Necessary for Large Organizations?
No, every organization needs a training plan. Even the best software becomes useless if nobody knows how to use it. Smaller companies can use condensed approaches, but the core need for structured training remains the same.
Should Dynamics 365 Training Be Planned by Role or Department?
Plan by role, not department. Each job function uses D365 differently.
For example, a marketing analyst using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data needs different training than a campaign manager using Customer Insights – Journeys, even if both sit in the marketing department.
Create training based on what users actually do daily, not just where they sit in the org chart.
What’s the Ideal Timeline for Dynamics 365 Training Delivery?
Start planning six months before go-live and deliver training one to two weeks before launch. Wait until after User Acceptance Testing to finalize materials. Then provide intensive support during the first month post-launch with ongoing quarterly refreshers.
Partner with Experts for Your Training Plan
Most training plans look good on paper but fail in execution. The difference comes down to expertise. You need people who’ve done this before and know what actually works.
Coffee + Dunn specializes in Dynamics 365 training strategies that drive real adoption. We help organizations build role-based programs, develop customized content, and set up ongoing training that evolves with your business.
Our Knowledge Hub gives your team access to video courses, 1:1 expert sessions, and scenario-based learning paths for continuous improvement after go-live. Organizations working with us see higher user adoption rates and faster time-to-value.
Talk to our team about creating a training plan tailored to your implementation.
