Ordering the steps to create an ER data model
Short answer
Create the ER data model configuration named Payments (simplified model), open the Designer to generate a draft model version, then add the Party record with a Name string field and the Agent record for the financial institution (the two structure steps may be swapped).
Question
A company uses Dynamics 365 Finance.
The company plans to send banking information by using Electronic reporting (ER).
You need to create an ER data model.
In which order should you perform the actions? To answer, move all actions from the list of actions to the answer area and arrange them in the correct order.
NOTE: More than one order of answer choices is correct. You will receive credit for any of the correct orders you select.
Key Takeaways
It tests the ER model creation workflow — configuration must exist before the Designer draft, and only then can structure records be added; the two structure steps are interchangeable.
Creating an Electronic reporting data model for banking information follows a fixed sequence: create the Payments (simplified model) configuration, open the Designer to generate a draft, then add the Party and Agent structure records in either relative order.
Common mistake: Adding the Party or Agent records first, or opening the Designer before the Payments configuration exists, which leaves no registered draft version to edit.
Expert Analysis
The invariant sequence The reliable anchor for this drag-drop is the creation flow of an Electronic reporting data model, not the two structure steps. You must first create the data model configuration itself — the ER configuration container named Payments (simplified model) — because no designer work exists until a configuration record is registered in the ER configurations workspace. Only then do you create the model's draft version by opening the Designer, which automatically generates a draft of the data model root. Only after that draft exists can you add child records to its structure.
Where the flexibility sits
The note that more than one order is correct points at the two definition steps: defining the party structure (adding a Party record with a Name string field) and defining the bank structure (adding an Agent record for the financial institution). Both are edits to an already-open designer draft, so they can be performed in either relative order and still yield credit. What cannot be reordered is the prefix — configuration first, Designer draft second — and the suffix logic that both structural additions belong to the drafting stage.
The adjacent decision this covers This knowledge set also covers choosing between an ER data model (a domain model that abstracts source data) and an ER format (the output layout such as a payment file or Excel report), plus the versioning rules: a draft must be validated and run before it can be completed and used downstream in a format configuration that maps model nodes to the banking output. A question that instead asks you to apply the model to a payment file would start from a format configuration, flipping the entry point.
Operational consequence of the wrong order
If you open the Designer before creating the configuration, or attempt to add Party/Agent records against a completed version, you get errors or an unversioned artifact that cannot be validated, and downstream format mappings fail because no model nodes are exposed for mapping. Getting the sequence right is what guarantees a draftable, version-controlled model ready for the banking format.
Official Reference
This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
For ER drag-drop ordering, pin the two steps that cannot move: a configuration must be created before its Designer draft, and structure edits only happen inside that draft. Then treat any remaining steps that both edit the same designer surface as interchangeable, which is what the multi-order note signals. If a question switches from building a model to applying it to a payment file, start from the format configuration instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why must the ER configuration be created before opening the Designer?
Can the Party and Agent structure steps be done in either order?
What happens if the model steps are performed out of order?
Discussion 2 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 2
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cbef765 👍 12 Create the data model configuration. Create a configuration named Payments (simplified model). 4 Create the data model. Open the Designer, which creates a draft version of the model. 1 Define the structure of a party participating in a payment process. Add a Party record with a Name string field. 3 Define the bank structure for the model. Add an Agent record for the financial institution, with fields for name, SWIFT, and routing number.
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devgirlax 👍 12-4-1-3 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-design-domain-specific-data-model-2016-11
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