Citizen Developer: Microsoft Power Platform
Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of tools designed to help organizations create custom business solutions, automate workflows, and analyze data. With Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, and Power Virtual Agents, you can empower non-technical users—citizen developers—to build solutions without coding skills, saving time and resources.
To make the most of Power Platform, organizations must provide mentoring, support, and learning opportunities to ensure safe and effective use. Stay tuned as we explore how Power Platform can revolutionize your business and how to implement security and governance for your solutions.
Power Platform Overview
Power Platform is a suite of tools from Microsoft that enables users to build custom business solutions without the need for extensive coding skills. It consists of four main components:
- Power BI: A business intelligence tool that allows users to visualize and analyze data from various sources. It includes features like dashboards, reports, and data modeling.
- Power Apps: A low-code platform for building custom business applications. It enables users to create apps for tasks such as data collection, process automation, and collaboration.
- Power Automate: A workflow automation tool that allows users to create and automate processes across different applications and services. It includes features like triggers, actions, and connectors.
- Power Virtual Agents: A chatbot builder that enables users to create and customize chatbots for customer service, support, and other purposes. It includes natural language processing and integration with other tools.
- Power Pages: Another component of the Power Platform, Power Pages, allows users to create secure, low-code business websites quickly. It enables all teams, not just developers, to create professional websites, thus reducing time to market and costs.
Benefits for Citizen Developers
Citizen developers, or non-technical users, can benefit from the Power Platform in several ways:
- Easy Creation of Dashboards and Reports: With Power BI, citizen developers can create visualizations and reports to better understand business operations and make informed decisions, all without programming skills.
- Custom App Development: Power Apps allows citizen developers to build custom business applications for various purposes, such as data collection and process automation, using a low-code interface.
- Workflow Automation: Using Power Automate, citizen developers can automate tasks and processes across different applications, improving efficiency and productivity.
- Chatbot Development: Power Virtual Agents enables citizen developers to create custom chatbots for customer service and support, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.
- Website Creation: Power Pages empowers citizen developers to create professional websites without extensive coding knowledge, enabling faster time to market for their online presence.
Mentoring and Governance
To ensure that citizen developers use the Power Platform effectively and securely, organizations can take the following steps:
- Provide Mentoring and Support: Offer mentoring and support to help citizen developers build and maintain their solutions effectively. This can include guidance from technical specialists and access to documentation and tutorials.
- Establish Guidelines and Best Practices: Establish guidelines and best practices for designing, building, and using solutions to ensure they are safe and effective.
- Offer Training and Learning Opportunities: Provide training and learning opportunities to help citizen developers expand their skills and knowledge.
- Encourage Collaboration and Sharing: Encourage collaboration and sharing of knowledge and experiences among citizen developers to build a community of learners and experts.
Security and Governance
Implementing security and governance for Power Platform solutions is crucial. Some key considerations include:
- Data Security: Ensure that sensitive data is protected through encryption, secure storage, and access controls.
- Solution Design: Design solutions following best practices for scalability, maintainability, and compliance with regulations.
- Change Management: Implement a process for managing changes to ensure solutions are stable and reliable.
- User Management: Manage user access to solutions appropriately based on their roles and responsibilities.
Tools for Security and Governance
Microsoft provides various tools and features to help organizations implement security and governance for their Power Platform solutions. These include:
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Prevent the accidental or intentional sharing of sensitive data.
- Azure AD: Manage user access to applications and data securely.
- Azure Information Protection: Classify and protect data according to its sensitivity level.
- Office 365 Compliance Center: Manage compliance with regulations and standards.
By using these tools and following best practices, organizations can ensure that their Power Platform solutions are secure, compliant, and effective.
Microsoft Power Platform
Certification: Power Platform Fundamentals
You will Learn:
- The business value of Power Platform
- Core components of Power Platform
- The capabilities of Power BI
- The capabilities of Power Apps
- The capabilities of Power Automate
- The business value of Power Virtual Agents
Power Platform Course (Base PL-900)
This course outlines the business value and product capabilities of Microsoft’s Power Platform solutions: Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate and Power Virtual Agent.
Attendees will complete hands-on labs in each Power Platform App. This includes building Apps using a Canvas and Model driven model. Connecting to the data sources and using Power Automate to make your App transfer information digitally. Review results of information gathers using Power BI (Desktop and Web services) and engage with your App visitors using the Power Virtual Agent tools.
Is this the right choice for you?
Candidates for this exam are users who aspire to improve productivity by automating business processes, analysing data to produce business insights, and acting more effectively by creating simple app experiences.
Course Outline:
Module 1: Introduction to Power Platform
Learn about the components of Power Platform, ways to connect data, and how organizations can leverage this technology to create business solutions.
Lessons
- Power Platform Overview
- Module Summary
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Identify when to use each Power Platform component application to create business solutions.
- Learn the value of using Power Platform to create business solutions.
- Learn the components and features of Power Platform
Module 2: Introduction to Microsoft Dataverse
Dataverse allows you to delve into powerful, scalable data solutions in the cloud. Learn what makes Dataverse tick and how it can work with the Power Platform to create unique and efficient business solutions.
Lessons
- Microsoft Dataverse Overview
- Module Summary
Lab : Data Modelling
- Create Solution
- Add Existing and Create New Tables
- Create Relationships
- Import Data
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Describe the difference between Dataverse and Common Data Model
- Explain use cases and limitations of business rules and process flows.
- Explain what environments, tables, columns, and relationships are in Dataverse
Module 3: Get Started with Power Apps
Learn about the value and capabilities of Power Apps, and ways other organizations have leveraged this technology to build simple applications for their business.
Lessons
- Introduction to Power Apps
- How to build a canvas app
- How to build a model-driven app
- Introduction to Power Apps portals
Lab : How to build a canvas app, part 1
- Create Staff Canvas App
- Complete the App
Lab : How to build a canvas app, part 2
- Create Security Canvas App
Lab : How to build a model-driven app
- Customize Views and Forms
- Create Model-Driven Application
Lab : How to build a Power Page
- Provision a Power Page.
- Create a Portal Webpage
- Change the Web Theme
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Learn how other organizations digitize their processes using Power Apps
- See Power Apps in action and learn options for making your first app.
- Learn about what Power Apps is and its business value.
Module 4: Get Started with Power Automate
Learn how users can leverage Power Automate to improve business efficiency and productivity.
Lessons
- Power Automate Overview
- How to Build an Automated Solution
Lab : Power Automate
- Create Visit Notification flow.
- Create Security Sweep Flow
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- See how Power Automate works and looks from the user’s perspective.
- Build a simple flow.
- Learn the business value and features of Power Automate
Module 5: Get Started with Power BI
Learn how organizations can use Power BI to easily clean, display, and understand data to ensure better informed decisions.
Lessons
- Power BI Overview
- How to Build a Simple Dashboard
Lab : How to build a simple dashboard
- Create Power BI Report
- Create Power BI Dashboard
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- See how Power BI works and looks from the user’s perspective.
- Learn how to build a simple Power BI dashboard.
- Describe the business value and features of Power BI
Module 6: Introduction to Power Virtual Agents
Learn about the value and capabilities of Power Virtual Agents and ways organizations can leverage this technology to build chatbot solutions for their business.
Lessons
- Power Virtual Agents overview
- How to build a chatbot
Lab : How to build a basic chatbot
- Sign up for PVA and Create a New Bot
- Create Topics
- Test Topics
- Change the Greeting
- Publish the Bot
After completing this module, students will be able to
- Describe the business value and features of Power Virtual Agents
- Build a basic chatbot.
- Learn essential components that make up Power Virtual Agents and chatbots.
In conclusion, Microsoft Power Platform is a transformative suite of tools that enables organizations to create custom solutions, automate workflows, and analyse data. By empowering non-technical users, or citizen developers, to build applications without extensive coding skills, Power Platform can significantly enhance productivity and innovation within organizations. To maximize the benefits of Power Platform, organizations should provide adequate support and training to citizen developers. Additionally, implementing security and governance measures is essential to ensure the safe and effective use of Power Platform solutions. Overall, Power Platform represents a powerful opportunity for organizations to drive digital transformation and achieve their business objectives.