The world has been going gaga over low code and no code. You will read about the benefits of rapid application development by citizen developers everywhere around you. And why not? Did you know the Microsoft Power Platform has approximately 16 million monthly active users? The platform is nothing less than a groundbreaking deal as it reshapes and transforms app development, intelligence, and automation. However, there are some hiccups that surface in the rapid app development process. This is where ALM or Application Lifecycle Management in Power Platform comes out as a highly relevant aspect in the development process that you cannot afford to overlook. In this blog, we will dive deep into Application Lifecycle Management or ALM for Power Platform and learn how it benefits the entire end-to-end app development process.
As business requirements keep soaring, so does the demand for business applications, with a steady rise in complexity levels. With the Microsoft Power Platform, not just the IT teams but also the non-technical business teams can harness the low-code properties of this platform and productively build solutions for their business needs, replete with customizations! You feel proud of your team’s achievements.
But then, unexpectedly, something pops up! You find that some functionalities your tester didn’t even get to see. Or that functionality is entirely missing in the final version you were about to deploy! Your app development journey gets messy between the testing and final production stages. Not just that, even if deployed, you may find several complexities in various environments that may make your application appear a poorly made one. What went missing was the concept of Application Lifecycle Management! ALM in Power Platform is a highly crucial practice to have a well-managed and seamlessly deployable application.
What is ALM in Power Platform?
As the name suggests, it is not just the development but the complete end-to-end process of custom application development, including managing the creation, testing, deployment, and seamless maintenance of Power Apps, Power Automate (Flow), and Power BI solutions. Typically, it comprises a set of processes, tools, and methodologies that ensure proper planning to efficient development and management throughout the entire app lifecycle. Furthermore, ALM includes all these disciplines:
- Requirements management
- Software architecture
- Development
- Testing
- Maintenance
- Change management
- Continuous integration
- Project management
- Deployment, and
- Release management
Collectively, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools offer a standardized approach for communication and collaboration among the software development teams and the related departments such as testing and operations. The best part is that these tools have the additional capability to automate the entire software development process.
In Power Platform, the ultimate goal of ALM is just one- to drive efficiency with a predictable and repeatable framework for software delivery. It is high time you bid adieu to all the hassles of having low-quality apps, exhausting movement between environments, and rigid software cycles.
Why do you need ALM for Power Platform?
Let’s find out the typical hiccups you would encounter in app creation:
- Manual movement between environments consumes a lot of time.
- The manual shifting between environments causes errors in the solutions.
- Increase in rework when moving between environments.
But with the ALM best practices, you can overcome all these challenges and have the visibility, transparency, and effectiveness to know about the solution you create, who creates it, and with what technologies and how they move between environments. Ultimately, you can create custom apps that streamline operations, drive business goals, and give you optimal performance in the app development journey.
Benefits of ALM in Power Platform
With the best practices of ALM in Power Platform in place, you can achieve the following benefits when developing a custom business app.
Increased efficiency
The ALM processes in Power Platform streamline the development workflow by reducing the time and effort that you need to build and deploy solutions. It automates repetitive tasks like testing and deployment and helps you streamline the process. Additionally, with ALM practices, developers get a set of best practices and guidelines to follow, leaving no room for ambiguity.
Enhanced Scalability
Integrating ALM processes in Power Platform ensures that developers build the solutions with scalability in mind. As a result, the solutions are adaptable and scalable and can support future growth and changes. By using modular and flexible architectures, coupled with the adoption of best practices in code management, version control, and deployments, developers can achieve better scalability in the solutions.
Improved collaboration
Within the Power Platform, ALM processes foster better collaboration among the stakeholders involved in the app development process. They can be business analysts, developers, testers, and IT operations teams. With a shared framework and set of tools to manage the development process, ALM ingeniously aligns everyone towards common objectives and goals, enabling seamless communication and collaboration.
Better quality
The ALM processes in Power Platform play a key role in improving the quality and reliability of the solutions. It ensures that they undergo thorough testing and validation before production deployment. This reduces the risk of issues or errors in the live environment that lead to downtime. Thus, ALM helps in averting downtime and loss of productivity and safeguards the organization’s reputation.
Compliance and security
Within the Power Platform, ALM processes play a crucial role in ensuring solutions adhere to regulatory compliance and security requirements. ALM ensures compliance by providing a set of standardized procedures and tools for the management and security of data, applications, and infrastructure. As a whole practice, ALM significantly contributes to mitigating the risks of data breaches, legal liabilities, and reputational damage.
Effective ALM with Power Platform: The intelligent way of app development
As we know, Microsoft Power Platform is undeniably a robust platform to build and deploy enterprise applications. But even then, it is crucial to have ALM or Application Lifecycle Management best practices in place and follow them. The results will only ensure that the apps are scalable, maintainable, and reliable and that the development and deployment process happen in a systematic and controlled manner. That, in turn, mitigates the risk of errors, improves quality, and enables smooth management of changes over time.
However, implementing ALM for Power Platform is not that simple and requires an experienced approach. If you are looking for a technology partner who can assist you in your development and deployment journey of Power Platform applications with an ALM approach, we would like you to contact us. At Saxon AI, we have a dedicated team of skilled Power Platform developers who can establish a robust ALM process that aligns with your business goals. Our expertise is in helping enterprises use and optimize Power Platform and its key applications, including PowerApps, Power BI, and Power Automate. You can book an appointment today and find out how we can help you.
