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Discover new CompanialDeploying Model-Driven Apps: Simplifying ALM with Power Platform Pipelines
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Reading time: 6 minutes
Deploying model-driven apps can be a complex task, but with the right tools and strategies, it becomes much easier. One of the best ways to manage this process is by using Power Platform Pipelines. In this blog post, we will explore how to use these pipelines, why ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) is important, and some details about pricing.
What Are Power Platform Pipelines?
Power Platform Pipelines are tools that help automate and manage the deployment of apps. They make it easier to move your app from development to testing and finally to production. This automation saves time, reduces errors, and makes the whole process smoother.
Why Use ALM in the Implementation Process?
Skipping ALM might seem easier at first, but it can lead to problems later. Here’s why integrating ALM from the start is a smart choice:
- Time saving: Automation through ALM tools reduces repetitive manual work, letting your team focus on more important tasks.
- Risks reduction: Proper testing and deployment processes ensure fewer errors and less downtime for your apps.
- Better scaling: As your app grows, ALM helps you manage more complex systems without losing track of what’s happening.
- Future-Proofing: ALM ensures your app can handle future updates, whether they come from new features you’re adding or platform changes from Microsoft.
- Higher Consistency: ALM ensures that all environments (development, testing, production) are in sync. This means that what you test is what you get in production.
- Higher Quality: By automating testing and deployment, ALM helps catch issues early, improving the overall quality of your app.
Understanding Environments and Their Importance
In the context of application development and deployment, environments are isolated setups where different stages of the application lifecycle occur. Having separate environments is crucial for several reasons:
- Isolation: Keeps different stages of development separate to avoid conflicts and ensure stability.
- Configuration: Allows different configurations for testing various scenarios, ensuring the application works correctly under different conditions.
- Access Control: Provides different permissions to each environment, maintaining security and integrity.
- Debugging: Makes it easier to find and fix bugs early in the delivery process.
The three basic environments are:
- Development (Dev): Where your team builds and configures apps.
- Testing (Test): A controlled space to validate your apps and catch issues before deployment.
- Production (Prod): The live environment where your users interact with the app.
While the basic three environments are essential, having more than one test or production environment can be beneficial:
- Multiple Test Environments: You might have a staging environment for final testing, a UAT (User Acceptance Testing) environment for end-user validation, or environments for performance testing.
- Multiple Production Environments: Organizations with global operations might use separate production environments for different regions or business units.
How Pipelines Helps
Power Platform Pipelines standardize how solutions are deployed across all environments, reducing the risk of inconsistencies. They automate the repetitive tasks of exporting, importing, and publishing solutions, saving significant time and reducing manual errors. Pipelines also make it easier to deploy solutions to different test environments, ensuring thorough validation without disrupting other workflows.
Solutions and Deployment with Pipelines
In Power Platform, apps and customizations are packaged as solutions. A solution is a container that holds all the components of your app, such as tables, forms, automates, etc. Power Platform Pipelines make deploying these solutions easier and more reliable by automating many steps and providing a structured process.
There are two models of solutions management in implementation:
- One Solution: This approach packages all components of an app into a single solution. It simplifies management because everything is in one place, but it may become harder to manage as the app grows larger.
- Multiple Solutions: This model divides components into smaller, modular solutions. For example, you might have separate solutions for core app functionality, integrations, and customizations. This approach provides more flexibility and makes updates easier to manage.
Key Features of Power Platform Pipelines
- Centralized Management: Admins can manage and govern pipelines centrally, ensuring compliance and security across the organization. Makers can deploy solutions easily without needing deep knowledge of ALM processes.
- Automated Deployment: Pipelines enable automated deployments, reducing manual intervention and the risk of errors. Professional developers can extend pipelines using the Power Platform command line interface (CLI), offering flexibility and customization.
- Scalability and Extensibility: Pipelines are designed to scale with your organization's needs. Whether you're just starting or looking to enhance existing processes, pipelines can be extended to accommodate evolving business requirements. Integration with Power Automate allows for custom-tailored pipelines, ensuring that your ALM processes are as efficient and effective as possible.
- Enhanced Visibility and Reporting: Out-of-the-box analytics and Power BI reports provide better visibility into the ALM process, helping organizations monitor and optimize their deployment pipelines.
Pricing
Power Platform Pipelines are part of the broader Power Platform suite, which includes Power Apps, Power Automate, and more. Pricing can vary based on the specific tools and features you need. Using Power Platform Pipelines is included in the Power Platform license, but you may need additional licenses if you are considering tools like Azure DevOps or GitHub, depending on your setup.
- Power Platform License: If you’re already using Power Apps, the pipelines feature is part of your existing license. There’s no extra cost for this.
- Azure DevOps or GitHub: These tools may have separate pricing, depending on your plan and the size of your team. For example, Azure DevOps has free options for small teams but charges for larger setups or advanced features.
Conclusion
Deploying model-driven apps doesn’t have to be hard or stressful. With ALM, you can make the process faster, easier, and more reliable. Power Platform Pipelines take this even further by simplifying automation and giving you the tools to manage deployments like a pro.
If you’re not already using ALM in your app development process, now is the perfect time to start. Your team will thank you for the saved time and fewer headaches, and your users will appreciate the higher-quality apps.
Ready to explore Power Platform Pipelines? Start today and experience the difference!
Partner Technology Specialist
Marko Totovic is a Microsoft MVP for business applications. He currently works as a PTS for Customer Engagement & Power Platform at Companial as well as a freelancer for many global Dynamics partners. He is a frequent speaker at many global conferences—such as Directions Summit, Days of Knowledge, BCTechDays—as well as regional events. He is also a Lead in the UserGroup BizSource.
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