Three Steps to Taming Smartlist Sprawl in Microsoft Dynamics GP

Smartlist is an ad hoc reporting tool built into Microsoft Dynamics GP. The simplicity and power of Smartlist reporting is a significant differentiator for Dynamics GP, but like every good tool, its power can be used for good or evil. We talk about the good a lot, so let's spend a few minutes on evil.

The biggest negative for Smartlists is what I like to refer to as "Smartlist Sprawl". As Smartlists permeate an organization, users often find that they have a proliferation of Smartlists, many of them no longer used, or only used for a one-time event. It makes it difficult to figure out which Smartlist to use to for a particular task. Users are also reluctant to change Smartlists that they didn't create, lest they destroy a report needed by someone else. Consequently, users simply create another Smartlist and contribute even more to the sprawl. It's a vicious cycle, but there are some things that can be done to control Smartlist scrawl.

1. Make Smartlist Favorites visible only to your User ID.
Smartlists are saved by making a particular set of Smartlist parameters a Favorite. When saving a Favorite, users can choose to make the Smartlist available to the System (everyone, all companies), a Company (everyone, one company), a User Class (one user class, all companies) or the current User ID (one user, all companies). Since user classes are no longer required for security, this option has effectively been deprecated.

By setting the Favorite to be available only to the current User ID, it eliminates the problem of others accidently modifying a particular user's Smartlist. This also prevents other users from seeing these Smartlists, thereby reducing the number of Smartlist Favorites that most users see.

If a Smartlist needs to be made available to other users, it can be changed to System, Company or User class at a later date.

2. Add the creator's initials to the Smartlist name.
Adding the initials of the user who created the Smartlist Favorite to the Favorite name allows users to easily identify who created the Smartlist. This helps prevent accidental deletion or modification of shared Smartlists.

3. Be very descriptive with favorite names.
Resist the temptation to jot down a quick name for that Smartlist Favorite. Nothing makes finding the right Smartlist harder than a generic name. The Favorite name supports 80 characters so there is plenty of room to be descriptive. Consider including information like "Req'd for Month End" or "Use for TPS Report" to improve descriptions. Along with a descriptive name, for critical Smartlists, add warnings like "Do Not Delete."

Smartlists are an important part of any Dynamics GP implementation, and controlling Smartlist Sprawl can significantly improve a company's reporting experience.