The following are some common guidelines and recommendations for the development process:

• First and foremost, use the extensions model of customization, even if it is possible to overlayer some of the models in the version you are doing your development on. If you have to overlay because extensions are not possible, overlay just to add hooks and keep your business logic in extension classes.
• If you are part of the FastTrack, work with the Microsoft FastTrack team member that has been assigned to your project to raise any bugs or extension points as soon as possible. 
• Build a plan to uptake the latest binary and X++ releases in your development cycle. 
• Use version control and appropriate branching strategies for the development process.
• Implement a code review process to manage check-ins, and control what needs to be released to the test environment.
• Implement comments during code checking by providing a brief description of the code, the linking feature, or defects to track the changes appropriately.
• Implement the formal release process (cadence of releases, manager approval, and so on) to avoid destabilizing the test environment due to frequent releases.
• Consider scheduled builds, continuous integration, gated check-in, and so on.
• Use automated unit testing and functional testing.