While making your own custom apps has become easier with solutions like Power Apps, a healthy application lifecycle process is critical if you want to manage these effectively. This is where application lifecycle management (ALM) is important. Here at Bridgeall we have a strong background in application development and know the importance of good application lifecycle management. In this blog we explain more about what ALM is and how you can use it for Power Apps and the Power Platform.
ALM is the lifecycle management of applications, this includes governance, development and maintenance.
ALM tools provide a standardised system for communication and collaboration between software development teams and related departments, such as test and operations. These tools can also automate the process of software development and delivery.
ALM combines the disciplines concerned with all aspects of the process to achieve the goal of driving efficiency through predictable and repeatable software delivery.
As Power Apps development rises, IT teams are becoming aware of the need for setting up governance models. Having the basic knowledge of what apps are created, by who, for which audience, for what purpose, through what technologies, on what data sources is often the discussion that needs to be had to analyse the situation.
If you aren’t planning ahead when creating your Power app, this could become problematic for someone later down the line. In the worst-case scenario, your organisation would become reliant on an app that no one really knows much about, only to realise that your processes have already stopped working due to errors caused by a change either inside or outside the system.
When it comes to key areas of ALM, here is what you need to know. Governance includes requirements management, resource management, data security, user access, change tracking, review, audit, deployment control, and rollback.
Application development includes identifying current problems, and planning, design, building, and testing the application. This area includes traditional developer and app maker roles.
Maintenance includes deployment of the app and maintenance of optional and dependent technologies.
The application lifecycle is the cyclical software development process that involves these areas: plan and track, develop, build and test, deploy, operate, monitor, and learn from discovery.
At Bridgeall we work with many organisations to implement an effective ALM process. We recently worked with Edrington to ensure they had their processes in order, here is what we did using the above framework:
A great tool for facilitating this is the Power Platform Center of Excellence (CoE) Starter Kit, which gives you an overview of the big picture for Power Apps and Flows in your tenant. To go deeper into the lifecycle of an individual (potentially business critical) application, we need to start discussing ALM.
Dataverse in Microsoft Power Platform lets you securely store and manage data that’s used by business applications. To use the features and tools available for ALM, all environments that participate in ALM must include a Dataverse database.
The following concepts are important for understanding ALM using the Microsoft Power Platform.
Want to know more about Application Lifecycle Management with Power Apps? Get in touch with our team or explore our range of Power Apps services.
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