When the Microsoft Dynamics team develops a new feature or module, it goes through a very thorough testing process. It is tested in its entirety and in conjunction with other existing features/modules to make sure it's working as expected and not breaking anything. During this time, customers can also join the Release Validation Program. This program allows the customer to share their code base and database with Microsoft, using the provided artifacts for benchmarking and automated testing to prove that it would work with the customer's data/code as well.

Customers and partners can also join the PEAP program. PEAP gives the opportunity to customers and partners to get an early preview of newly added features and service updates that are not available to the general public yet. This program benefits both customers/partners and Microsoft; customers/partners get to see the service update sooner than the people who haven't signed up for PEAP while, in return, Microsoft gets early feedback and can improve the product if there are any shortcomings. With PEAP, customers can only apply the service update to development or test environments; it cannot be applied to the production environment. 

Customers can also opt for the First Release Program, which is open for all customers. The difference between PEAP and the First Release Program is that with the latter, customers can deploy the service update to the production environment as well. Customers who join the First Release Program will also have the benefit of a dedicated Microsoft engineer who would monitor the production environment once the service update has been applied for any issues.