In public-sector service delivery, such as 311 systems, Dynamics 365 provides a robust platform for managing citizen requests, property issues, and business interactions. The key to a clean and scalable solution is designing relationships correctly between contacts, cases, and accounts.
Core Principle
Customer = Contact
Properties and businesses provide context, not identity.
All service requests, whether submitted by anonymous portal guests or registered residents, are associated with a person, not a property or business account.
Entity Model
Case
- Customer (Contact) → Who submitted the request
- Property (Account) → Location or asset involved
- Business (Account, optional) → Related business or partner context
- Origin / Channel → Portal, Phone, Email
- Service / Category → Type of service request
Primary Contact: Optional; typically unused unless a proxy submits on behalf of someone.
Contact
- Represents residents, guests, or business representatives
- Guests:
IsGuest = true- Minimal profile data (name, email, session ID)
- New Contact created per submission
- Registered users:
- Authenticated via portal
- Linked to persistent Contact
Account
- Property Account: Civic address, Parcel ID, Ward, Property type
- Business Account: Business name, license, address, category
- Provides context for cases but is never used as Customer
Portal & Guest Handling
- Always create a new guest Contact for each anonymous submission
- Avoid deduplication at creation
- Merge guest → registered Contact only after authentication
- Archive or deactivate old guest records to manage storage
Agent Experience (Customer Service Workspace / Contact Center)
- Customer: the submitter
- Property: context/location of request
- Business: optional related account
- Cases drive workflows, timelines, and SLA tracking
- Timelines on contacts are informational; case is the system of record
Reporting & Analytics
- Case + Property + Business fields enable:
- Property-focused reporting
- Ward/district trend analysis
- Business or partner service metrics
- Person-centric history
This structure ensures identity, ownership, and privacy are maintained while supporting robust analytics.
Benefits of this Pattern
✔ Scalable and secure for high-volume 311 operations
✔ Aligns with Dynamics 365 platform behavior
✔ Supports anonymous and registered portal users
✔ Ensures clean case ownership and agent workflows
✔ Enables property- and business-centric reporting without compromising identity
Key Takeaway:
In a 311 system, contacts represent people, accounts provide context, and cases are the system of record. Following this pattern ensures a secure, scalable, and Microsoft-aligned implementation for Customer Service, Contact Center, and Power Pages portals.