How do you plan a Power Apps project before building?
How do you plan a Power Apps project before building?
I have been working on improving how I plan Power Apps projects before jumping straight into Power Apps Studio.
One thing I have learned is that it is really easy to start building screens too early.
At first, the app seems simple. Then later you realize you need approvals, user roles, notifications, admin screens, reports, permissions, and a better data structure.
So now I try to slow down and answer a few basic questions first.
My simple Power Apps planning checklist
- What problem is this app solving?
- Who will use the app?
- What does each user role need to do?
- What does the current process look like?
- What should the future process look like?
- What data needs to be stored?
- Should the data live in SharePoint or Dataverse?
- What Power Automate flows are needed?
- Who can view, edit, or delete records?
- How will the app be tested?
- Who will support the app after launch?
Example
For an equipment request app, I might plan:
Users: employees, managers, admins
Data: requests, departments, request types, approval history
Screens: home, new request, my requests, manager approvals, admin view
Flows: new request email, manager approval, status update, reminder flow
Permissions: employees see their own requests, managers see assigned requests, admins see everything
Helpful Microsoft resources
Power Apps project planning module:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/plan-app-project/
Power Apps documentation:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/
Power Apps Plan Designer:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/plan-designer/plan-designer
Power Platform ALM:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/
I am curious how others handle this.
Do you use a planning template, a checklist, a diagram, Planner, Lists, Excel, or do you mostly build as you go?