Microsoft Power Platform Solution Deployment Pipeline

Introduction

Managing Application lifecycle in the Microsoft Power Platform has always been critical to maintaining quality, governance, and productivity.

With the introduction of Power Platform Pipelines, Microsoft has simplified the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) process by offering a native, low-code deployment experience that empowers makers and admins to move solutions across environments like Development, Test, and Production without complex DevOps configurations.

What Are Power Platform Pipelines?

Power Platform Pipelines (currently in preview) are a built-in, no-code/low-code ALM feature that:

• Automate the deployment of solutions across environments.
• Support Managed and Unmanaged solution movement.
• Maintain governance with environment roles and approvals.
• Track deployment history, status, and user comments.

What is a Deployment Pipeline?

A Deployment Pipeline helps you move your Power Apps, Flows, and customizations from:

1. Development → where you build your app
2. Testing (UAT) → where you test the app
3. Production → where real users use the app

It’s like a train moving through 3 stations: Dev → Test → Prod

Key Concepts

• Environment = A logical container (Dev, UAT, Prod) for apps, flows, data, etc.
• Solution = A package containing apps, flows, tables, plugins, and more.
• Managed Solution = Read-only solution used in UAT/Production.
• Unmanaged Solution = Editable solution used during development.
• Pipeline = A configured workflow that moves a solution from Dev to UAT to Prod.

Step-by-Step Deployment Pipeline Setup:

Step 1: Prepare Your Environments

Create three separate environments in the Power Platform Admin Center:

1. Development Environment:

• Type: Sandbox
• Developers build and test changes here.

2. Test / UAT Environment:

• Type: Sandbox
• Used for user acceptance testing and QA validation.

3. Production Environment:

• Type: Production
• Used for live deployment for end users.

Step 2: Enable Deployment Pipelines Feature

1. Go to Power Platform Admin Center.
2. Select Environments > Choose your Environment (e.g., Dev).
3. Under Settings > Product > Features, turn on: Deployment Pipeline Configuration

Step 3: Create a Deployment Pipeline

1. Open Power Apps Maker Portal: https://make.powerapps.com.

2. Go to Pipelines (Preview) from the left navigation.

3. Click on + New pipeline.

4. Fill the below details:

• Name: e.g., HospitalMgmt Deployment Pipeline
• Description: Optional
• Environment Details:

Development: Select your Dev Environment

Test: Select your UAT Environment

Production: Select your Production Environment

5. Click Create Pipeline.

Step 4: Prepare Your Solution

1. Go to Dev Environment in Power Apps.

2. Create a new Solution (or use an existing one):

• Name: HospitalMgmt_CoreSolution
• Publisher: e.g., Hospital
• Version: 1.0.0.0

3. Add all components:

• Model-Driven Apps
• Tables
• Power Automate Flows
• Custom APIs
• Business Rules, Plugins, etc.

Use Managed Solution for UAT and Production.

Only use Unmanaged Solution in Dev.

Step 5: Link Solution to Pipeline

1. Go to the Pipelines section in Power Apps.
2. Select the pipeline you created.
3. Click + Deploy new solution.
4. Choose the solution you built in Dev.
5. Select Deploy to Test environment.
6. Add a note or tag (e.g., version 1.0).
7. Click Deploy.

Power Platform will export from Dev, convert to Managed, and import into UAT.

Step 6: Perform UAT Testing

• Open the Test (UAT) Environment.
• Test all functionality.
• Report and fix bugs (repeat step 4 for fixes).

Step 7: Deploy to Production

After UAT sign-off:

1. Go back to Pipelines > Your Pipeline.
2. Select the same solution.
3. Click Deploy to Production.
4. Confirm deployment.

The system automatically handles:

• Export from UAT (or Dev)
• Import to Production
• Logs and tracking

Step 8: Monitor Deployment Status

After deployment:

• Check Deployment History in Pipelines.
• View logs, errors, and timestamps.

Why Pipelines Are Awesome?

• No code needed
• No manual ZIP exports
• Easy version tracking
• Safe & consistent deployments
• Built into Power Platform — no Azure DevOps required

Power Platform Pipelines move the solution automatically, so you don’t have to export/import ZIP files or worry about missing anything.