Posted on Updated on
Power Apps, Power Automate Flow

Automagically update the BPF Stage based on the Approval outcome

By Ben den Blanken Leave a comment

Wouldn’t it be cool if we can automatically change the Stage of the Business Process Flow once we get our Approval? It will be especially great if we can do so based on the Approval outcome! In this blogpost I will finish up my posts about Approvals by automatically changing the Business Process Flow to the next stage based on the outcome of the Approval.

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Automagically update the BPF Stage based on the Approval outcome”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps, Power Automate Flow

Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse

By Ben den Blanken Leave a comment

If you send out an Approval from within a model-driven App, you probably want to see the Approval Result in Dataverse. In this post we continue where we left off in our Approval from inside a Business Process Flow. Let me give you some background on the various Approval Flows and how they work. Including a tip on how to keep your Cloud Flows clean.

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps, Power Automate Flow

Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link

By Ben den Blanken 2 Comments

When you are deciding if you want to approve an action, you probably want more information then a description. Luckily we can add a link to our Approval request! This is a follow up on my previous post where I showed how to trigger an Approval inside a Business Process Flow. In this blogpost I will show you how to generate a link to the record we are working on.

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps, Power Automate Flow

Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow

By Ben den Blanken 7 Comments

For some time now we can call Power Automate Flows inside a Business Process Flow Stage. This is perfect for a lot of scenario’s. With this you can automate certain actions. For example we can connect to another system and update inventory. Or we can send e-mail follow-ups to other departments. Or, my favorite, we can start an Approval Flow! In this blog post I’ll share a few of my tricks.

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps

Prettify your BPF by adding a Code Component

By Ben den Blanken One Comment

The final part about “Task groups”, I promise! In this post I want to show you how to add Power Apps Component Framework (PCF) to a Business Process Flow field. This feature will finish my “Task Group” concept. The final step to guide our user to enter the correct task. Instead of showing a disabled “Yes / No” field inside we want to show a Checkmark Control. Adding a Code Component in BPF field is a feature that kind of flew under my radar and now it’s relatively easy to do so!

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Prettify your BPF by adding a Code Component”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps

Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage

By Ben den Blanken 2 Comments

It is imperative to guide the user through each stage of a Business Process Flow. We can set a lot of fields to required in a business process flow stage. However this does not give the best User Experience. In my previous blog I showed how we could use “Task Groups” to keep the stage clean. But now we need to guide the user what fields are required exactly on the form for this stage. This is also possible using Business Rules. Let me show you how!

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps

Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow

By Ben den Blanken 3 Comments

Supporting business users in their work is why I get up in the morning. And in my experience it’s absolutely vital for the adoption of your apps to guide your user. One of the most important tools inside our toolbox of the Power Platform to do so, is a Business Process Flow. On top of that I like to use a concept I called “Task Groups”

This blog is part of a series about guiding users and teams through their work. I have previously blogged about replacing Process Dialogs with embedded canvas apps. We are now 2,5 years further so I would like to present my learnings. There are a ton of new features added to the platform which I would also like to explore. As I write more post on this subject I will add them to the list below.

  1. Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow
  2. Set form fields required based on Business Process Flow Stage
  3. Prettify your Business Process Flow by adding a Code Component
  4. Get Approval from inside your Business Process Flow
  5. Add Model App record link to an Approval Item Link
  6. Capture the Power Automate Approval result into Dataverse
Continue Reading “Task Groups help you guide work in Business Process Flow”
Posted on Updated on
Power Apps, Power Automate Flow, Power Platform, Power Virtual Agent

My 7 Power Platform Picks for the wave 1 release plan

By Ben den Blanken Leave a comment

Twice a year the Power Platform team gives us insight on where they will focus on for the next 6 months. They do so in a so called release plan. This is not the same as release notes as on any given time these plans might change, post-pone or even scrapped altogether. So please always look at the actual release plan when you want to look at what’s coming!

In this post I give my 2 cents on features that caught my eye. These are not necessarily the most anticipated / shiny new feature. It might be the ones I have personally experienced as a pain point or have some more thoughts about.

a person holding a notebook
Photo by Mikael Blomkvist on Pexels.com
Continue Reading “My 7 Power Platform Picks for the wave 1 release plan”
Posted on Updated on
Power Automate Flow, Power Virtual Agent

Extend Power Virtual Agent with vertical buttons and make this reusable

By Ben den Blanken 2 Comments

Sometimes you just want something different then what is possible out of the box. We have a requirement where a client wanted the choices in Power Virtual Agent presented vertically instead of horizontally. Luckily we are working on a platform which helps us achieve such requests. We use the Bot Framework Composer to create a dialog. And with some engineering we can even make such a dialog reusable for the entire bot!

Shows the test window in Power Virtual Agent and how vertical buttons create a nicer user experience inside a chatbot dialog.
Vertical buttons make for a better user experience
Continue Reading “Extend Power Virtual Agent with vertical buttons and make this reusable”
Posted on Updated on
Power Platform

Power Platform at Microsoft Build 2020

By Ben den Blanken Leave a comment

The developer conference Microsoft Build was last week. This online only conference was a great success! The Power Platform even got a bigger stage then last year. And the story is similar as the one carried out by Scott Durow and Sara Lagerquist, #ProCodeNoCodeUnite

As I try to digest the news coming from Microsoft Build I will write down my thoughts. And let us start with the Rapid application development blogpost by Charles Lamanna. A write-up of all tools available in the Power Platform which lets you quickly build enterprise apps and automation. Not a lot of news per see, but it shows the focus the team has going into Build.

Rapid application development with the Power Platform
Rapid application development with the Power Platform

Describing the Power Platform as a rapid application development is something I’m used to since the XRM days. I have built a lot of solutions on Dynamics CRM which are not systems of engagement. But by using the tools available you could quickly build and add value.

Continue Reading “Power Platform at Microsoft Build 2020”