Tag: #powerapps

This is related to canvas apps, model driven apps or portal apps

Step‑by‑step project delivery life cycle for Dynamics 365 & Power Platform projects

Goloknath

Here’s a step‑by‑step project delivery life cycle for Dynamics 365 & Power Platform projects, mapped to both SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle). I’ve structured it so you can use it as a governance framework or a delivery playbook.

Dynamics 365 & Power Platform Project Delivery Life Cycle

1. Initiation & Planning

  • SDLC:
    • Define business objectives, scope, and success criteria.
    • Identify stakeholders, governance model, and compliance requirements.
    • Conduct feasibility study and ROI analysis.
  • STLC:
    • Define test strategy aligned with business goals.
    • Identify quality metrics, compliance standards, and risk areas.

2. Requirements & Analysis

  • SDLC:
    • Gather functional and non‑functional requirements (workshops, interviews, user stories).
    • Map business processes to Dynamics 365 modules and Power Platform capabilities.
    • Define integration points (ERP, CRM, CTI, external APIs).
    • Create requirement traceability matrix.
  • STLC:
    • Review requirements for testability.
    • Define acceptance criteria and test conditions.
    • Draft high‑level test scenarios.

3. Solution & Architecture Design

  • SDLC:
    • Design system architecture (Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Dynamics 365 modules).
    • Define security, compliance, and governance frameworks.
    • Create ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) plan with environments (Dev, Test, UAT, Prod).
    • Prepare architecture maps and integration diagrams.
  • STLC:
    • Design test environment architecture.
    • Define test data strategy (synthetic vs. masked production data).
    • Plan automation framework (e.g., EasyRepro, Selenium, Power Automate test flows).

4. Development & Configuration

  • SDLC:
    • Configure Dynamics 365 entities, forms, workflows, and business rules.
    • Build Power Apps (Canvas/Model‑Driven), Power Automate flows, and custom connectors.
    • Implement integrations (Azure Functions, Logic Apps, APIs).
    • Follow coding standards, version control (GitHub/Azure DevOps), and CI/CD pipelines.
  • STLC:
    • Prepare unit test cases.
    • Conduct developer testing (unit, integration).
    • Automate regression test scripts.

5. Testing & Quality Assurance

  • SDLC:
    • Conduct system testing, UAT, performance testing, and security validation.
    • Validate integrations and data migration.
  • STLC:
    • Test Planning: Finalize test plan, entry/exit criteria.
    • Test Design: Create detailed test cases, test scripts, and data sets.
    • Test Execution: Run functional, regression, performance, and security tests.
    • Defect Management: Log, track, and resolve defects in Azure DevOps/Jira.
    • Test Closure: Document results, lessons learned, and sign‑off.

6. Deployment & Release Management

  • SDLC:
    • Execute release plan with governance approvals.
    • Deploy via managed solutions, pipelines, or release automation.
    • Conduct cutover activities (data migration, user provisioning, environment setup).
  • STLC:
    • Validate deployment in production.
    • Conduct smoke testing and sanity checks.
    • Confirm rollback strategy readiness.

7. Training & Change Management

  • SDLC:
    • Deliver end‑user training, admin training, and governance workshops.
    • Provide documentation (user guides, SOPs, governance playbooks).
    • Manage adoption with change champions and feedback loops.
  • STLC:
    • Validate training effectiveness with UAT feedback.
    • Ensure test cases reflect real‑world scenarios.

8. Operations & Continuous Improvement

  • SDLC:
    • Transition to support (L1, L2, L3).
    • Monitor system health, performance, and compliance.
    • Implement enhancements via backlog grooming.
  • STLC:
    • Conduct regression testing for patches and upgrades.
    • Maintain automated test suites for continuous validation.
    • Periodic audits for compliance and data integrity.

This framework ensures governance, compliance, and quality assurance are embedded throughout delivery. It’s especially powerful for Dynamics 365 & Power Platform projects where configuration, low‑code development, and integrations coexist with enterprise‑grade testing.