So we all know (or are constantly reminded) that the simplest answer is usually correct. So when a client recently called to report that their project accounting accounts were missing (PA43001), we immediately started brainstorming "simple" explanations...
1. Maybe they aren't really "gone" (no, they really are gone)
2. Maybe somebody removed them (but how, I mean it's just the COGS accounts and they are simply gone)
3. Maybe someone working on another support case inadvertently removed them (not likely, as they were there at 2pm and gone at 4pm, and no cases were being worked in that time)
My coworkers sometimes give me a hard time because the last thing I tend to consider is an actual bug in the software. The reason I avoid this explanation is that it is too easy, and often is not the case. And particularly when data just disappears with no other process/issue/explanation, it doesn't seem likely that the software just decided to dump the data without provocation. So I like to make sure we exhaust other routes. So we went about fixing the issue in this case, restoring the accounts, but it was still bothersome that we could offer no explanation as to why it happened (again, racking my brain on a simple answer).
So we start a case, and found out that this is indeed a quality report (#9120 to be exact). An apparent bug in GP, that several clients have reported but Microsoft has been unable to replicate. Odd. Very odd. The good news being two-fold- first, of clients who have reported it, no one has had a second instance of it. And second, Microsoft GP support has a script you can run to create a shadow table that will track the project posting accounts table so you can monitor if something were to recur.
What's the lesson in this? The simplest explanation may just be that it is indeed a software bug. I guess that's it?
Christina Phillips is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional. She is a director with BKD Technologies, providing training, support, and project management services to new and existing Microsoft Dynamics customers. This blog represents her views only, not those of her employer.![]()
1. Maybe they aren't really "gone" (no, they really are gone)
2. Maybe somebody removed them (but how, I mean it's just the COGS accounts and they are simply gone)
3. Maybe someone working on another support case inadvertently removed them (not likely, as they were there at 2pm and gone at 4pm, and no cases were being worked in that time)
My coworkers sometimes give me a hard time because the last thing I tend to consider is an actual bug in the software. The reason I avoid this explanation is that it is too easy, and often is not the case. And particularly when data just disappears with no other process/issue/explanation, it doesn't seem likely that the software just decided to dump the data without provocation. So I like to make sure we exhaust other routes. So we went about fixing the issue in this case, restoring the accounts, but it was still bothersome that we could offer no explanation as to why it happened (again, racking my brain on a simple answer).
So we start a case, and found out that this is indeed a quality report (#9120 to be exact). An apparent bug in GP, that several clients have reported but Microsoft has been unable to replicate. Odd. Very odd. The good news being two-fold- first, of clients who have reported it, no one has had a second instance of it. And second, Microsoft GP support has a script you can run to create a shadow table that will track the project posting accounts table so you can monitor if something were to recur.
What's the lesson in this? The simplest explanation may just be that it is indeed a software bug. I guess that's it?
Christina Phillips is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional. She is a director with BKD Technologies, providing training, support, and project management services to new and existing Microsoft Dynamics customers. This blog represents her views only, not those of her employer.