PowerApps

 What is PowerApps

PowerApps is a suite of apps, services, connectors and data platform which facilitates us to create custom apps, leveraging many of the features of the Office 365 and Microsoft platform. Apps can be accessed through-

1. Mobile devices
2. Tablets
3. Web browser

PowerApps provides a rapid application development environment to build custom apps for business needs.

Types of PowerApps

Using Power Apps, we can create three types of apps-

1. Canvas
2. Model-driven
3. Portal

When should you not use PowerApps

1. > 2000 Items:- If there are likely going to be more than 2000 items that you need to display within the app then consider the use of a different solution. PowerApps allows for the delegation of queries for larger data sets, however, these can be difficult, limiting, and the documentation is lacking (in particular with regards to limitations to SharePoint).
2. Long Forms:- Proceed with caution if there are more than say 50 questions as this can be difficult to maintain (such as the positions of these questions).
3. > 5 Screens:- Proceed with caution if there are going to be more than 5 screens as this can be difficult to maintain (you will end up with repeat logic in the various screens). It can become tricky to maintain a consistent navigation, aligned, and look and feel across multiple screens.
4. Advanced Logic:- Keep the forms simple. Advanced logic can be difficult to maintain and debug. There are also no easily re-usable functions.
5. Application Life-Cycle Management (ALM) Required:- PowerApps is a power users tool. That is, they can be built by technically savvy users who aren’t necessarily developers. This allows for solutions to be built quickly for the business. However, it does have some limitations if you want to integrate this into the Application Life-cycle Management of a Solution.