How to do ALM with Power Platform | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This video explores how citizen developers and professional developers can use Azure DevOps and GitHub to deploy Power Platform applications, simplifying the application lifecycle management process.

Key Insights

• 💼 Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) refers to the process of managing and controlling the life cycle of an application, including deployment, testing, and maintenance.
• 🔧 ALM in Power Platform encompasses application governance, deployment, software testing, and maintenance, while also considering people, process, tools, and purpose.
• 📦 Power Platform applications are typically packaged into a solution context, which includes assets such as apps, flows, Bots, and custom connectors.
• 🚀 Deploying Power Platform applications requires an environment strategy, including configurations and consistent deployment to target environments.
• 🔀 Two deployment options exist: exporting the unmanaged solution and repackaging it for each deployment, or exporting both the unmanaged and managed solutions together and using just the managed solution for subsequent deployments.
• 🌐 Using Azure DevOps and GitHub, Power Platform developers can leverage familiar constructs and tasks to build and deploy applications without the need for additional tools. ⌛ Power Platform pipelines provide ALM capabilities directly within the Power Platform environment, making it easier for admin, citizen developers, and professional developers to deploy applications.
• 💼 By providing ALM capabilities in Power Platform, low-code development becomes more accessible and scalable, bridging the gap between admin and pro developers.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does Power Platform ALM address application governance?

Power Platform ALM includes application governance as a key constituent, ensuring that solutions are deployed consistently and according to established strategies. This includes managing environments, dependencies, and configurations.

Q: What are the benefits of using pipelines for Power Platform deployments?

Pipelines provide automation and standardization for deploying Power Platform applications, eliminating the need for manual steps and ensuring consistency across environments. Pipelines also allow for better visibility and control of deployment processes.

Q: Can pipeline deployments be customized based on individual project requirements?

Yes, pipelines can be customized to fit the specific needs of a project. For example, stages can be added or modified, and custom logic can be incorporated using connectors and plugins.

Q: How does Power Platform ALM support collaboration between citizen developers and professional developers?

Power Platform ALM provides different deployment experiences for different personas. Citizen developers can use a simplified interface within the Power Apps or Power Automate portal to carry out automated deployments. Professional developers have more advanced options, including command line deployment using the Power Platform CLI.

Q: What is the role of versioning in Power Platform ALM?

Power Platform ALM includes versioning capabilities to track and manage different versions of solutions deployed in different environments. Version history, deployment logs, and ownership details are stored in the system for easy tracking and troubleshooting.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) encompasses application governance, software testing, deployment, and maintenance.

• Power Platform ALM involves three key aspects: environment strategy, packaging assets into solutions, and deploying solutions consistently and repeatably.

• Azure DevOps and GitHub can be used to create pipelines for deploying Power Platform applications, automating tasks such as exporting and importing solutions.