Enable users developing solutions using Power Platform
All about my experiences working with People and Power Platform.
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I had an opportunity to speak at the Scottish Power Platform User Group on Managed environments.
Below is the Agenda of the session and recording:
This particular session was a bit of a challenge for me given that it was at 2 AM my time.
The recording also got Nathan Rose and Charles Sexton sessions on low code plugins, Power Fx.
Feel free to watch the session and let me know if you have any feedback.
I plan to write every day for the next 90 days about Power Platform Strategy, governance and adoption.
Here are a few reasons why:
1) My work is to govern and manage the Power Platform.
2) Keen to connect with like-minded people.
3) Establish an online presence, which I ignored for some time.
Join me on this adventure—and let me know if you have any questions along the way!
I’m excited to continue sharing what I know online.
If you want to get notified, you can enter your email below.
I will consolidate the posts and send them weekly.
When thinking about power platform strategy, governance, and adoption, many topics could be covered.
I will try to start with some foundational/core topics at a high level.
If it creates interest then i am happy to go in details.
Any specific topics I missed here?
I will also expand on some of the forum questions I answered last few months.
Please do let me know in the comments or DM me on LinkedIn.
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I will speak at ANZ CoE user group this month (24th April 2024).
The topic is Managed environments (Governance at scale using Managed environments and the starter kit).
I will do my best to share the knowledge I gained from my experience governing and administering the Power Platform.
I wrote a few recent posts on starter kit considerations and common mistakes.
My session is mainly targeted towards platform administrators.
There will be something for everyone looking at managed environments.
We have been using Managed environments at work for the last few months.
I have also installed starter kits for many tenants and guided them through the core strategies of Power Platform.
With the evolution of tools and features available for admins, it is important to understand why Managed environments.
Below is the planned agenda.
– Why Manage environments and most importantly when to enable.
– What is available now
– Preview features
– Starter kit and how it works with Managed environments
And a demo of how it all works together.
As you read, a starter kit will be an integrated part of managing the platform and other tools such as PowerShell and BYODL.
Based on the content planned, is there anything else I should add?
Please let me know in the comments below.
Or Feel free to DM me on LinkedIn.
The event is online. You can register using the link below and attend on April 24th, 2024.
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With the release of the groups and rules (Preview), it is important to consider the developer environments as part of the strategy.
Below is the list of pros and cons(Limitations).
I also added a few things you need to take into consideration.
Every developer environment comes with a message that indicates the purpose of the environment.
When the user tries to share the apps, it shows the below message to the App owner.
Users can create up to 3 developer environments. If they start developing solutions, you don’t have to manage/provision for them every time.
Newly created developer environments can become managed environments. This is to support the environment routing. This feature is currently in preview.
Developer environments don’t affect tenant database quota.
With routing, you can apply preconfigured settings such as Sharing Limits, Solution Checker, Usage Insights, and Maker welcome message.
New makers don’t need to know which environment they need to work on.
You will have less control over the naming conventions of the environments.
Flow runs/month (750) and capacity limits up to 2 GB.
Environments created using the Power Apps Developer Plan that have been inactive for the last 90 days will be deleted after the environment owners are notified.
You must enable Tenant level settings (Developer environment assignments) to leverage the developer environments.
You do not need to make default as a managed environment to enable the routing.
All developer environments created through environment routing are managed environments, as are all environments in a group. These environments require premium licenses to run Microsoft Power Platform assets.
Please create the comms to communicate the consequences with users, which will help you manage it properly.
Developer environments add more values once the environment routing becomes GA.
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In the last post, I shared 10 things to consider before installing the CoE starter kit.
If you do not consider those things, you will have a lot of issues managing the starter kit.
Also, people make common mistakes while maintaining the starter kit.
I have made some of these mistakes and seen others make similar mistakes.
Hopefully, after reading these, you can learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.
But you need to ask why they are happening.
The starter kit is not a simple tool to manage.
Here is why.
We are trying to automate the environment request process.
I was struggling to automate adding environments to DLP.
I am trying the Power Platform admin V2 connector action.
But my teammate said we have it already as part of the tool.
I was like what? How did I miss it?
Then we used the child flow to complete the automation.
You might have faced similar kinds of challenges.
To put this in context, how large was the starter kit?
At a high level, there are three main components
1) core components
2) Audit or Governance components
3) Nurture components
I am ignoring the other one for now (Innovation backlog). This component didn’t get much attention.
As of April 2024 release
Core components got
Audit components
Nurture components
Note: I will try to update this metric once a quarter. Let me know if you read this article in the future and it hasn’t been updated for over three months.
Starter is a great tool that adds value to managed environments.
But it needs effort from the Power Platform team to manage it.
It is easy to make mistakes if you do not know what you are customizing.
If you do not know how to use the kit efficiently,
Now you know why. Let us get into the list of these mistakes.
The list below is not in any particular order.
The starter kit team releases the updates once a month.
If you upgrade to a new release without waiting for initial bugs to be identified and fixed. It can cause issues if there are any critical problems present.
Give yourself a few days to a week to check that the kit updates are not significantly flawed.
Not testing newly released components in the development environment before production use can introduce unexpected issues.
This happens mainly because of the lack of a dedicated development environment.
You need to have a development environment to test the released updates.
If you use any email functionality, enable an admin account email and start testing with a few users. Make sure the emails are working as expected. You do not want to email everyone in the organization even by mistake.
Failing to invest time in understanding all solutions and components in the starter kit can lead to building custom solutions that are not required.
Make sure you give yourself time to understand all the components. If not, you will build something not required.
You must update the CoE starter kit at least once every three months.
Otherwise, managing the starter kit may experience many unexpected issues.
It’s even better to upgrade the starter kit at least once every two months.
Document everything, and this makes it easier to do future upgrades.
People customizing the starter kit functionality is common.
While customization, it’s always better to be in touch with a starter kit to understand the roadmap rather than building a custom component.
The component you are building might already be planned in a few months, and then you can always wait and focus on other areas.
Go to the starter kit Project in GitHub and check the plans for the next few months.
You can also request a feature in GiHub and see what the starter kit team says. They can guide you on whether to build it or not.
Installing a starter kit alone is not enough.
Maintaining the starter kit is essential.
The starter kit is the primary tool for understanding the current state of the power platform.
Make sure you do not make these mistakes while maintaining the starter kit.
Often reflect on what went well and what didn’t.
Keep a list of all the issues that happened so you can track their progress and the lessons learned.
Hopefully, you will make fewer mistakes as you learn and reflect often.
Let me know in the comments some of the common mistakes you have seen.
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Managed Environments at the Scottish Power Platform User Group
Plan to write every day for the next 90 days
Speaking at ANZ CoE User group on Managed Environments
Pros and Cons of Developer Environments
Common mistakes in upgrading the CoE Starter kit
10 things to consider before installing the CoE Starter Kit
My Thoughts on 90 Day Mentoring Challenge by Mark Smith
Understanding the current state of the Power Platform
Power Pages and AI (Copilot) Learning Plan
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The starter kit is crucial in understanding the Power Platform’s current state.
It answers some of the important questions about the platform and people.
It also answers many other questions about your Power Platform’s current state.
Why checklist?
I have installed/upgraded starter kit over 60 to 70 times in the last few years for multiple tenants.
If you are wondering how come these many times I installed/upgraded?
Last year alone I installed/upgraded over 20 times in Development and Production environments.
I am also responsible for managing the starter kit in my current role.
The checklist helps me avoid mistakes whenever I install/upgrade the kit to a new tenant or maintain the current one.
The goal of this post is to avoid the mistakes you might make.
Below are some key elements to get the starter kit up and running.
Note: This is not a complete list, but having the checklist prevents me from making mistakes later.
Cloud Export
If you are a small org, you should use Cloud Export.
If you are starting, this option should be used regardless of the number of people using the platform.
BYODL (Preview) – bring your own Data lake is still in preview
It was introduced to support extensive usage and speed up the inventory process. For whatever reason, it is still in preview.
In this guide, I will talk only about the Cloud Export option.
You need at least two environments to start the installation.
Make sure to configure the settings below in each environment.
This can be done from the Admin command center App.
Development environment
FullInventory = No
ProductionEnvironment = No
(This setting prevents people from receiving emails)
Production environment
FullInventory = Yes
ProductionEnvironment = Yes
Optional – You can also use the UAT environment, but it’s overkill.
Create a dedicated DLP policy.
Given the number of connectors needed to get the starter kit up and running, it’s always recommended to have a dedicated policy for CoE.
Make sure you are allowing only starter kit Development and Production environments. Not any other environments.
To configure the starter kit use the service account option.
This is one of the mandatory requirements for the kit to be up and running.
It’s the backbone of platform governance and administration.
You should not use the individual user account, and if the person leaves the org, you will have to configure the kit again.
This should be mail-enabled so you can receive emails when flows get errors.
The Cloud Export option needs a minimum of the below licenses.
Make sure you assign these to the service account.
A makers group is necessary to add people building apps to this group.
Ensure you disable the setting that sends a welcome email when a person is added to the group. Otherwise, people get Spammed when they are added to the group.
You could potentially add the people to the Yammer group as well.
Create an App registration in the Azure portal with sufficient permissions to get the Audit Log info.
Before you start the installation, start documenting everything.
While you are installing, take the screenshots (Before and After).
Make sure you capture all the steps while installing the kit.
If you get stuck, take a screenshot and capture the error logs.
Once you fix the issue, come back and update the doc with the root cause.
Repeat these every time you upgrade the kit.
This will save you hours and hours.
Also, maintain the details on what version you are installing, the status, and when you installed it.
This helps you track the components you are installing and upgrading.
Your tenant’s full inventory could take 24 to 48 hours, if not more. Relax and wait for the flows to complete the initial inventory.
Power Platform Admin view
Open the app and see if the data is getting populated for all the components.
Admin command center App
If you need help getting inventory.
Open this app and check for the Inventory Tab under cloud flows, see each flow’s status, and ensure everything is running without failure.
If there are any failures, fix them or raise a bug with the starter kit Github repository.
You do not have to install and configure all the components.
Start with core components.
And
Most importantly, do not enable all flows, especially the ones that will send emails.
HELPER – Send Email
Adding users to the group
Leverage wizard
You can install individual starter kit components using the Starter ki wizard app.
Again, do not enable all the flows( You could potentially SPAM all users in the company).
The CoE starter kit is the backbone of understanding why, what and where.
Also, the critical thing to know is that the Starter kit itself is not enough.
You’re mistaken if you think you have a starter kit and everything is done.
It is just a starter kit and you need more processes and systems to manage the platform.
You need to work with people to create those processes and systems.
CoE starter kit # CoE
Next up, we will talk about common mistakes made by admins while configuring the starter kit.
Is this checklist helpful or do you have a question?
Let me know in the comments below.
References
Github Repo to log issues and get new release updates
Complete guide from MS Learn to Install and configure starter kit
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I joined the 2024 Q1 90-day mentoring challenge by Mark Smith.
We are very close to the end of this cohort (28th March 2024). We completed the last Q and A session today.
I am sharing my thoughts in this blog post.
I also joined the program a few years back but for some reason, I didn’t use it properly.
I wanted to make amends this time.
I couldn’t make the best use of the challenge last time.
Maybe I wasn’t ready for it.
I was too busy with other things in my life.
This time though, I am ready.
When the student is ready the teacher appears
Lao Tzu
I am an independent consultant. I wanted to learn how people from other locations work and get things done.
I wanted to learn from Mark. He has extensive experience working with people around the globe and a wealth of knowledge.
Most importantly, I wanted to write online and build a network with like-minded people.
I am getting emails from Mark and a notification from Dani.
Given that I was on the waiting list, I am getting messages about who joined the program.
Heaps of people joined the program.
I know many people from the community who are writing and making an impact.
They did not know me at that time.
Of course, now they know me 😁
I wasn’t ready as I was waiting for my current work situation to get finalized.
Once that was clear. I decided to join the challenge and learn from everyone part of the challenge.
I am a slow starter like a Test match player. I need time to get in, I’m not a typical T20 person who can hit from the beginning.
Oops, sorry if you didn’t understand, it is a cricket (sports game) analogy.
Everyone is sharing the intro videos and I am getting to know more and more people in the community.
All of them have different careers and experiences.
It is great to connect with everyone on LinkedIn.
Sorry if you are in the current cohort and I didn’t connect. Please connect with me on LinkedIn.
What’s connecting all of us?
#90-day mentoring challenge.
As the content got rolling out, people started doing the exercises.
It’s great to see everyone making progress.
I am late to start the things as I am trying to complete other things.
But, it was great to see everyone around making progress.
You will learn a lot from the program.
How to communicate with others.
Improve your communication skills. This includes writing and speaking.
The quote on writing with Warren Buffett’s picture inspired me.
You learn consulting skills.
How to use design thinking at work and in conducting workshops.
UI and UX, AI.
My favorite module. Personal Branding.
There are more modules, and the content will be updated.
You can see the curriculum here for more details. Mark explained better than me.
You will get many book recommendations from the program that was read by Mark every year.
Also from the community.
You can progress professionally and personally if you read and apply a few.
My favorite book on the list is Radical Candor by Kim Scott.
What’s more you can learn?
Having direct access to Mark. This is a game-changer for this program.
This is the best part for me and many others who always look forward to connecting with Mark and everyone else in the cohort.
Listening to questions people ask and learning from others.
Mark also encourages everyone to share their thoughts.
The good thing is, that you get access to all the QA sessions to learn from others.
You might face similar challenges to those others are facing.
These sessions also get recorded, so you can refer to them later.
Starterd writing on LinekdIn.
I started answering questions in Power Platform forums.
I also started learning Power Pages.
Now, currently blogging my thoughts.
I will be doing a speaking engagement next month (April 2024) in the ANZ CoE user group.
What else?
Did a Podcast with Mark (will be releasing soon).
I am planning to do things for the next three months in advance, which is something you will learn as part of the program.
There are many reasons why you should join.
And so much more.
The 90-day mentoring challenge could be a life-changing opportunity.
You collaborate, make connections and friends, and grow with others.
I got so much value from the program and the people who are part of the program.
Thank you, Mark Smith (Linkedin) and Meg Smith (LinkedIn).
Thank you, everyone, for participating in this cohort 2024 Q1. We had some beautiful conversations about business apps, the MVP program, and life.
If you are considering joining, hopefully this post might help you decide.
Leave a comment if you have a question, and I will try to answer it.
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With the introduction done, we can talk about the concepts of Power Platform.
Let us get started with foundations first.
Today’s blog post will show why basic foundations are essential.
One of the foundational aspects of any new implementation is understanding the current state.
This happened a couple of years back.
We are working on one of the engagements to define and establish the Power Platform strategy.
We prepared the deck with all the details needed and shared it with the customer team.
One section in the deck covers the prerequisites of the engagement and the risks associated with not meeting them.
We confirmed with the customer team, and they have all the prerequisites to get started.
This is a four-week engagement, and we wanted to make sure all in place before we get started.
It is the first day with the customer, and we are trying to install the starter kit.
Imported the core components solution and the other starter kit components are needed.
At this time, we do not have a starter kit wizard.
We need to follow manual steps after importing the solutions.
We got an error once we tried to start the flows in the core components.
The account has no Power Automate premium (Aka Power Automate Per-flow) license.
This was on the list of requirements.
We got stuck.
We informed the team and they were like oh no, we verified but it seems like it is missing.
Without licenses, we will not get platform inventory.
Without data, we do not know all the solutions developed within the Power Platform.
That week, the project status changed to Yellow. Licensing is added to the risk tracker.
The customer immediately contacted other teams to get licenses.
Your strategy workshops outcome will not be successful unless you understand the current state of the Power Platform.
We started with other core strategies and continued with engagement.
It all went well during the workshops. We asked better questions and got answers. People are quite open to sharing all the challenges they face.
Thanks to my Lead and everyone at that time. We made it successful.
We can understand the current state to an extent.
We haven’t documented all the recommendations yet as we are waiting for the starter kit.
We got the Power Automate license by the end of Week 3.
We were quickly able to start the flows and run the full inventory.
The Power BI dashboard was up and running in a few hours.
It is great to see what the customer team got.
Project status changed from Yellow to GREEN by the end of the third week.
We scheduled one more session to revisit what we discussed during all the strategies and help them understand where they are at.
I am happy to write a blog post on what are the key things to focus on Starter kit dashboard.
We recommended what was best for them, and they were pleased with the outcome.
If you do not know the current state and are trying to recommend a solution, you are always guessing.
The CoE starter kit provides complete info on your Power Platform applications.
Of course, you need to configure it properly.
The starter kit dashboard gives you a complete inventory.
And much more.
People always recommend strategies and solutions with a partial understanding of the current state.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t give a better outcome for everyone.
They come, recommend, and even build solutions without understanding what’s in the platform.
People should take time to learn what’s in the ecosystem.
Next time you try to recommend a strategy or deliver a solution, give yourself time to understand the current state.
These could be systems, processes, or, in this case, the inventory of a power platform.
You will do a much better job, and people involved in the process will have better outcomes.
What are your thoughts?
Have you encountered any scenarios like this? If yes, what was your experience? Please let me know in the comments below.
Next, I will talk about the prerequisites of the starter kit and what you need to do after installing the kit.
Also, I will share common mistakes made while installing the kit and the lessons learned.
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I joined the Zero to Hero program, mentored by Victor and many others in the community.
I do not know much about Power Pages.
In 2024, I would like to learn and hopefully get an opportunity to implement a project on power pages.
This is one area in which I didn’t work much or get exposure.
I wanted to be ready if the opportunity came my way.
Whatever, I wanted to get started.
I created a plan that is simple and actionable.
Below is the high-level plan.
Attend all the sessions released as part of the Zero to Hero program in 2024.
Well, most of these sessions are at 2 AM in Perth time, so I will end up watching the recordings.
Thanks to Victor and the Team for making these available on YouTube.
I will add the links to the blog post once they are up and running.
| ID | Speaker | Topic Name | URL |
| 1 | Victor Dantas | Power Pages & Copilots Zero To Hero introduction | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BySj968rDI |
| 2 | Victor Dantas | 5 Essential Keys to Power Up Your Power Pages Project | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i7UY4TSAwk |
Make sure you subscribe to Victor’s YouTube channel.
I also want to watch previous recordings of zero-to-hero sessions on Power Pages.
Below are the links to previous ones if you are interested in watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv3Pglc9qL8
While I am learning, I need to practice.
Without practice, it will make me feel like I am making progress but going nowhere.
I need to build a project.
What is the best way? I do not know. Below are a few ways I am planning to handle this.
If you have some other ideas, leave them in the comment section below or DM me on LinkedIn.
I think I will go with forums for now.
I can learn about the challenges many people face working on real-world projects.
Again, I wanted to break it down.
This will be done in a few stages, but I am happy to get your ideas.
Stage 1:
Practice labs on the Microsoft Learn portal.
Spend 15 minutes daily in the Power Pages Forum.
This will give me an idea of real-world challenges.
It might prepare me better while attending the live sessions or watching the recordings.
To make this happen, I will block my calendar for 15 minutes.
If I block it in my calendar, I will do this.
I will do it for 2 to 3 weeks.
Once I am comfortable with the concepts, I want to move to the next stage.
Stage 2:
This is where magic happens.
Continue to spend 15 minutes on Forums daily.
This time, start answering 1 forum question per day.
Implement what I learned.
I might not answer even 1 question in the first few days or weeks, and it’s okay.
I even might struggle to understand the questions.
Again, I plan to block 15 minutes in my calendar to do this.
What’s next?
I will share what I have learned once a week with everyone on this blog or Linkedin.
Make sure you sign up to get future posts.
This will keep me going and learning Power Pages.
Additional resources
I will also be referring to the additional resources.
| Title | URL |
| Read Nick’s Blog | https://readyxrm.blog/tag/portals/ |
| Power Pages in a Day | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPyQwNBCJB-azmvF3r8NytdfE8M9dVJMF |
| 30-day challenge | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXMFihzhj53rwha4h7smb7nW-oSFWzfL&si=aggfLzUVjM4obaVI |
| Nicholas Tips | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5dtzuEgjWgm0Xlk5IfDr4D3-4D9KWYc1&si=opBcB6Dc7Al6p3i0 |
| Girish Uppal’s Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5xdZrvu1OhWupnNtwbBD3v6GsELg83c5 |
Why do a blog post?
Social accountability >>> Goals that are listed on my desk ~ Dickie Bush (He said something along those lines)
I wanted to continue to learn and practice power pages.
One option is to do it myself.
Or I think a better one is to tell everyone what I want to do.
If I do not do it on what I planned, one of you might ask me :).
Did I miss something?
Are you part of the Zero to Hero program this year? Leave a comment and let me know if the plan makes sense or if I need to include something else.
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