Keep your knowledge base fresh with article reviews

Customer Service Representative (CSR) Managers can use reports and Advanced Find in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to determine which knowledge-base articles their CSRs are referencing, and verify article accuracy and timeliness. This maintenance increases customer satisfaction, while CSR time is saved.

For managers, CSRs can add comments for corrections and additions to articles, then attach the articles to the cases, used to resolve cases, so that Microsoft Dynamics CRM then tracks the top articles.

Managers can then use the Top Knowledge Base Articles and Advanced Find to identify the articles that are candidates for maintenance, deletion, or deactivation.

On This Page Run the Top Knowledge Base Articles report Find articles with comments Unpublish an article for editing

Run the Top Knowledge Base Articles report

The Top Knowledge Base Articles report displays a list of the articles most frequently attached to cases by your CSRs.

1. In the Workplace pane, under My Work, click Reports.
2. In the Reports list, double-click Top Knowledge Base Articles.
3. In the Report Viewer, click Run Report.

The Report Viewer displays a pie chart of the top ten articles, filtered by subject, and the number of articles by subject. The manager can then determine what areas are being referenced.

To view the list of articles and how often each article was referenced, in the Report Viewer, click Show All. The articles appear in a list grouped by article subject (as set when the article was written). On the far right of the list, the References column displays how often the article was referenced.

In the article list, click an article to open it in the Article form. To view article comments, click the Comments tab, and then double-click a comment to open it. You can add a comment, but cannot edit the article in this view. Print, export to Microsoft Office Excel, or write down the list of articles that you want to revise. The article number is the most accurate method for finding a specific article.

• To export the report, in the Export list, select a format and then click Export.
• To print a report, click Print. You may be required to install Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services.

To learn more about how to use the report, click Help, and then click Help on This Page.

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Find articles with comments

In addition to the Top Knowledge Base Articles report, you can keep other articles updated with corrections or additions. To do this, use Advanced Find to search for articles with comments.

1. On the Standard toolbar, click Advanced Find.
2. To start a new search, click New.
3. In the Look for list, select Articles.
4. To select the criteria for the search, click Select, and then under Related, click Article Comments (KB Article).
5. Click Select and in the list, select Article Comment.
6. Click Equals and then select Contains Data.
7. Click Edit Columns.
   1. In the Edit Columns form, under Common Tasks, click Add Columns.
   2. In the Add Columns form, select Modified On, and then click OK.
   3. In the Edit Columns form, under Common Tasks, click Configure Sorting.
   4. In the Configure Sort Order dialog box, in the Column list, select Modified On.
   5. Select Descending Order, and then click OK.
8. Click OK to close the Edit Columns form.
9. Click Find.

The search results cannot display comments or the number of comments. To view an article, double-click an item in the list. You can view and add comments. You can also export this list to Excel and use the list to manage your revisions.

Save the search as a view

You can save this search as a view to use later.

1. If you're changing a saved view, click Save. If you are saving a new view, or want to change the name of the view because you changed the search, click Save As.

   You may need to click Back to Query to return to the search details.

2. In the Query Properties dialog box, in the Name field, type a name for the search.
3. In the Description box, type a brief description, and then click OK.

   The search is saved as a view and appears on the Saved Views tab. This new view is also available from the list page for the record type in the View box, in the My Views section.

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Unpublish an article for editing

If an article needs changes, you can unpublish the article and make changes in the Knowledge Base area.

Anyone with a CSR or CSR Manager security role can revise articles and add comments, but only someone with the CSR Manager security role can unpublish articles. The Publish Article privilege, which is part of the CSR Manager security role, is the privilege needed to complete this task.

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Knowledge Base.
2. In the list, click Article Queues, click the Published folder, and then select the article you want to remove from the list.
3. On the Actions toolbar, click Unpublish.
4. In the confirmation message, click OK.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM moves the article from the Published folder to the Unapproved folder. There anyone with a CSR, or CSR Manager security role, can revise and resubmit the article.

Tip

To view the name of the original article writer, or who last modified it, open the article. On the File menu, click Properties. In the Article Properties dialog box, you can see the person listed for Created By or Last Modified By.

After you make changes to the article, don't forget to delete any comments that no longer apply.

For information about submitting and publishing articles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, see the article Capture and share your team's collective knowledge.

Maintaining your knowledge base is an ongoing task, but one that adds value to your processes and improves customer service.

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