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Subject vs. Category in Dynamics 365 Customer Service—The 311 Playbook

Written by

Lance Li

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This article compares both options and shows when and how to use each in a 311 context—with clear pros/cons and a step‑by‑step setup plan.

TL;DR

  • Use Subject to classify and route cases (the 311 service catalog).
  • Use Knowledge Article Categories to organize portal content (N:N associations for flexible browsing).
  • Keep them orthogonal: Subject = requests; Category = content.\ Sources: Define subjects, Create/manage subject tree, Knowledge categories

What each thing is—and why it matters

Subject (Subject tree)

  • A hierarchical structure to categorize Cases, Knowledge Articles, Products, and Sales Literature across Customer Engagement apps. It’s accessible in Customer Service Admin Center → Case Settings → Subjects and now ships with a modern TreeView control (search/highlight and an admin toggle to allow leaf‑only selection).\ Sources: Define subjects, Create/manage subject tree, Subject control improvements

Knowledge Article Category (Category entity)

Historical perspective: In 2016, community guidance (“Die, subject, die!”) criticized Subject’s limited customizability and UX, suggesting Category for broader customization. Since then, Microsoft has improved the Subject selection experience while retaining Subject as the canonical case taxonomy.\ Sources: CRMTipOfTheDay #641, Create/manage subject tree

Pros and cons (311 perspective)

Subject — Pros

Subject — Cons

Category — Pros

  • Flexible content navigation: N:N lets one article appear in multiple browse paths; great for portal UX.\ Source: Knowledge categories
  • Customizable & user‑owned: Historically praised for broader customization, dialogs/plugins, and security filtering scenarios (beyond KB).\ Source: CRMTipOfTheDay #641

Category — Cons

Recommended split for 311

  • Use Subject for the 311 service catalog (case classification and automation). Keep depth to 2–3 levels and enforce leaf‑only selection to maintain data quality (e.g., Public Works → Street Lighting → Lamp Out).\ Sources: Define subjects, Create/manage subject tree
  • Use Knowledge Article Categories for content (portal browsing and agent self‑help). Associate KBs to multiple categories as needed.\ Source: Knowledge categories

Step‑by‑step setup (copy this plan)

1) Build a lean Subject tree (service catalog)

Keep it simple, enforce leaf‑only, and grow based on usage.

Public Works

└─ Street Lighting

├─ Lamp Out

└─ Fixture Damaged

└─ Roads

├─ Pothole

└─ Sign Missing

Waste & Recycling

├─ Missed Pickup

└─ Bin Replacement

Parks & Recreation

├─ Tree Trimming

└─ Playground Maintenance

Sources: Create/manage subject tree, CRMTipOfTheDay #1011 (start simple)

2) Drive routing with Unified Routing / Work Classification

Create a case workstream and rules mapping Subject to Queue, Skills, Priority, and SLA. Validate using Unified Routing Diagnostics.\ Sources: Unified routing overview, Work classification rulesets

Tip: If agents create cases manually and you want auto‑routing without clicking Save & Route, use an Intake rule or trigger the routing action from a Dataverse flow.\ Source: Unified routing FAQs

3) Organize Knowledge Articles with Categories

Create resident‑friendly Categories and associate articles (N:N) for portal browsing.\ Source: Knowledge categories

4) Iterate with analytics

Use Customer Service historical analytics (case Topics dashboard) to identify surges (e.g., “LED ballast failures”) and refine Subjects or routing rules.\ Sources: Topics dashboard, Advanced topic clustering

Heads‑up (conversations): AI topic clustering for conversations is being deprecated mid‑2025; continue to rely on case analytics for trend detection.\ Source: AI topic clustering (deprecation note)

Example: Street Light Repair (311)

  • Case creation: Agent selects\ Subject = Public Works → Street Lighting → Lamp Out (leaf node).
  • Work Classification rule:\ If Subject = Street Lighting → Lamp Out → set\ Queue = Electrical Crews, Skill = Electrician (≥80), Priority = High, SLA = 48h.
  • Knowledge Article:\ “How to report a lamp out” associated to Categories Street Lighting and Public Safety, so residents find it from multiple paths.

Sources: Work classification rulesets, Knowledge categories

Pitfalls to avoid

  • Overly deep Subject trees → agent friction & poor data quality.\ Fix: Start small; enforce leaf‑only selection and grow based on usage.\ Sources: CRMTipOfTheDay #1011, Subject tree options
  • Mixing Categories into routing → inconsistent automation.\ Fix: Keep Category for knowledge, Subject for cases.\ Sources: Unified routing overview, Knowledge categories
  • Manual Save & Route requirement for agent‑created cases.\ Fix: Intake rule or Dataverse flow to trigger routing automatically.\ Source: Unified routing FAQs
  • Migrating Subjects across environments and preserving GUIDs.\ Fix: Use Configuration Migration Tool and managed solutions for safe movement.\ Source: Subject migration notes

Frequently asked (311)

Q: Can we use Category to classify Cases?\ A: Technically you can customize, but don’t for routing/reporting. Use Subject for case classification and Unified Routing for automation; keep Category for KB navigation.\ Sources: Unified routing overview, Knowledge categories

Q: Can we restrict agents to only select leaf Subjects?\ A: Yes—toggle “Users can only select subjects without children” in Subject Management.\ Source: Create/manage subject tree

References & further reading

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