Video Summary
Here are the key points from the video:
- Microsoft might introduce a new Power Platform certification called “Power Platform Analyst” or “Power Apps Specialist.” The name isn’t final yet.
- The certification will cover creating business applications and automation solutions using Power Platform, including managing environments and configuring Dataverse features.
- Microsoft has posted a survey on the Tech Community to gather input on what skills are important for this certification. The survey is open until September 12, 2024.
- The exam will include configuring Dataverse, building business solutions with Power Apps, creating Power Platform designs, and implementing Power Automate flows.
- I encourage everyone to share their thoughts on whether the certification should be called Power Platform Analyst or Power Apps Specialist and if it should be part of existing certifications like PL-200 or PL-600.
For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!
Video Transcript
Hello everyone! Today, we have some good news from the Microsoft credentials world. It looks like we might be getting a new Power Platform certification. If we recap what happened this year in the Microsoft credentials world in the Power Platform, we did lose one certification—the PL-100 exam and the Power Platform App Maker certification. Both of them retired on June 30, 2024. However, we did get three new applied skills this year: one for Power Automate and two for Power BI and Dataverse. But all of that news came at the beginning of the year, around January and February, and it has been silent ever since.
It looks like Microsoft is working on a brand-new certification. Now, none of this is set in stone; this might not happen. So, I’ll tell you right away, it’s not a guarantee that this certification will happen. However, we have confirmation that Microsoft is considering a certification called the Power Platform Analyst. How do I know it? It’s because Microsoft did a post on the Tech Community asking for input on what is important to know if you are a Power Platform Analyst. There’s a survey attached to it, which, by the way, I’ll link in the description below. Make sure you go do it; it will help show Microsoft that people are interested in this certification.
By the way, even the name Power Platform Analyst, as you see in the message by Liberty, it has a TBD (to be determined) next to it, so even the name might not be final. But look, let’s take a quick look at what we know about it for now. So, I’m here in the Microsoft Tech Community in the post. Again, you’ll have a link below. Let’s take a look at the survey. Now, let me zoom in here a bit to make sure that you can see it properly. By the way, if you want to do the survey, make sure you do it by September 12, 2024.
The first thing that is important is the target audience, and I saw something here that was really interesting. As a candidate for the Power Apps Specialist certification, you see they even refer to it with two different names: Power Platform Analyst and Power Apps Specialist. So, I feel like Microsoft changed the name last minute; they didn’t necessarily change it in the target audience. But as you can see, the name is not set in stone. Who knows if it’s going to be a Power Platform Analyst or a Power Apps Specialist? Well, in my opinion, they are two completely different job roles, but let’s read on.
As a candidate for this certification, you’re proficient in creating business applications and automation solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform. You have hands-on experience in building and delivering enterprise-level solutions using the Power Platform, including managing environments and configuring advanced Dataverse features and capabilities. You have expertise in designing and developing business applications that meet user and technical requirements using Power Apps, Canvas Apps, Model-Driven Apps, and Cards, as well as Power Fx. You have skills in designing automation solutions using Power Automate, enhancing efficiency and productivity for the organization. You have knowledge of implementing and managing security measures with the Power Platform and Dataverse, ensuring data protection and compliance. You have the ability to translate business requirements from stakeholders and work with solutions architects to develop custom solutions.
Now, this last one here is the most analyst skill requirement that I’ve seen in this audience so far. Wow! But now, this keeps going. You are also familiar with the capabilities of all Power Platform services and can perform fit-gap analysis of requirements against Power Platform features. You are an expert in low-code solutions with the Power Platform and can collaborate with developers when custom coding is required. You have a working knowledge of Power Fx and are proficient in building custom data models by extending Dataverse. Your key responsibilities, as again they mentioned Power Apps Specialist here and not Power Platform Analyst, are to create advanced applications using Power Apps, design advanced automation solutions using Power Automate, execute advanced Dataverse tasks such as creating and managing tables, columns, relationships, and business logic, and ensure optimal performance and security.
Finally, a candidate for this course or certification should have knowledge and experience with consuming Power BI from an end-user perspective, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365 capabilities and use cases, and standard relational database concepts. Wow, that is quite the list of things to know, and I am a bit confused, I’ll be honest here, between the Power Platform Analyst and Power Apps Specialist, as I feel like they’re kind of merging two certifications into one. I would really see this as two certifications. Again, depending on what you answer here, I will just answer; I’ve already answered it, so I will not save it. But as you answer the questions, you can go and see what Microsoft plans to add to this certification.
So, the top here is all the same thing that we read, and then we have to configure Microsoft Dataverse. So, what would we need to know in this exam objective? You need to know how to configure connection roles and utilize connections, configure Dataverse search and manage the search index, utilize data flows with Dataverse, and evaluate business logic options, and data migration options. We see we have Dataverse security, which of course is very important. If we go to the next one, let’s see our next objective is to build business solutions with Power Apps, which I’m sure will be a very, very big part of the exam. You need to know how to build advanced Canvas Apps, build responsive pages by dragging and dropping containers, build reusable component libraries, implement business logic using Power Fx, optimize and troubleshoot Canvas Apps, configure model-driven apps, and create Power Apps Cards.
I think this is the first time that I have seen Power Apps Cards on an applied skill or credential description. You need to know how to extend model-driven apps, including embedding a Canvas App or a Power BI tile into a model-driven app, and configure Microsoft SharePoint integration. Thank you for writing SharePoint properly; unfortunately, it’s not always written properly, so thank you for that. Let’s keep going. Create Power Platform designs, so this again fits a lot more with that analyst role. Recommend Power Platform designs, perform functional analysis for the Power Platform, and design and implement automated lifecycle management (ALM) in the Power Platform. Really, really interesting. You need to know everything from how to create the Power BI, how to manage Power Platform environments, and how to implement DLP policies. This becomes quite a big certification in my opinion.
If we look at Power Automate on the last one, let’s take a look at what we need to know here. We need to know how to consume Power Automate Desktop flows, authenticate desktop flows, and develop a cloud flow that is called a desktop flow. That’s pretty easy. Now, implement and enhance cloud flows. You need to know how to develop reusable logic by using child flows, implement trigger conditions and concurrency in cloud flows, configure trigger filters, leverage Power Fx as part of an automation design, utilize the Dataverse connector, use variables in actions and formulas, implement error handling in cloud flows, and manage Power Automate flows.
Now, I’ll be honest, looking at only the Power Automate part, it’s very similar to what you need to know for the PL-100 and PL-200 certifications, so I feel like not a lot of new stuff here. But for the rest of the objectives, we have some new things that we’re going to be evaluated on. This is it. I won’t go through all of them because you’ll have a link to the survey in the description below. But what do you think about the certification? Also, what do you think about the name? Do you think it’s more of a Power Platform Analyst or a Power Apps Specialist certification? Do you think it’s something that we need in the current portfolio, or should this be all part of the PL-200 or PL-600 certifications? Please let me know in the comments below. If you want to get the latest Microsoft credential news, make sure you like this video and subscribe to the channel. This way, you get notified as soon as I post the latest news available. Thank you so much for watching.
