A Guide to Power Platform Governance Without Walkin’ the Plank
Arrr, welcome aboard, ye brave Power Platform administrators!
If ye be navigating the choppy seas of Power Platform Governance, then fear not, for this here guide be yer trusty map to safe and prosperous shores.
Without proper governance, ye risk shipwrecks in the form of security risks, sprawl, and performance issues—so let’s chart a proper course, aye?
Should you ever find yourself adrift in uncharted waters, set your sights on the Flag—it
serves as your steadfast beacon, guiding you safely to harbor.
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Why Governance Matters – Avoiding the Kraken of Chaos
Power Platform be a mighty tool, but with great power comes great risk of rogue citizen developers, unchecked app creation, and security breaches.
A well-planned governance strategy ensures:
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Security and compliance stay shipshape.
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Licensing costs don’t sink the budget.
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Performance remains as smooth as a calm sea.
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Users stay on course with proper training and guidelines.
Now, let’s set sail through the governance framework step by step!
Establish Yer Governance Crew (a.k.a. Admins & Policies)
Before ye set sail, make sure ye have the right crew!
Define clear roles and responsibilities for:
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Platform Admins – The captains who oversee governance strategy.
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Developers – The engineers buildin’ the ship.
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Citizen Developers – The deckhands creatin’ apps and flows.
Deep Dive: Policies and Guardrails
Set up policies so that not every scallywag can build apps, flows and agents unchecked:
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Environment strategy – Separate development, testing, and production environments.
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Data loss prevention (DLP) policies – Keep sensitive data from spillin’ overboard.
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Role-based access control (RBAC) – Make sure only the right crew have access to key areas.
Create Environments – Organize the Fleet
Aye, ye don’t want all yer apps and flows in one leaky boat! Establish multiple environments:
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Production:
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The flagship environment for mission-critical apps. Created and managed by admins or licensed users with enough database capacity, these be the heart of yer operations.
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Security: Full control
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Default:
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A special type of production environment, auto-created for each tenant. Be wary—every licensed user has the environment maker role!
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Security: Limited control. All licensed users have the environment maker role.
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Sandbox:
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A non-production environment for testing and development, offering copy and reset features. Only admins should be provisioning these, lest ye want chaos in yer fleet
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Security: Full control. If used for testing, only user access is needed. Developers require environment maker access to create resources.
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Trial:
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Meant for short-term testing, these vanish into the mist after 30 days. Each user gets only one, and admins can restrict their creation.
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Security: Full control
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Developer:
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Created by those with the Developer Plan license, these be a personal playground for their owner’s use only. Admins can limit their creation, but no security groups be assigned here.
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Security: Limited control. Security groups can't be assigned to developer environments.
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Microsoft Dataverse for Teams:
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Auto-created when a team first launches an app in Teams. These be tricky to manage, as security is tied to Teams membership with little room for admin interference.
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Security: Limited control. Admins have limited settings available for Teams environments. No customizations of security role or assignments are available. Teams members are automatically mapped to their Teams membership type - owners, members, and guests - with a corresponding security role assigned by the system.
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Security and Compliance – Keep the Treasure Safe!
No good captain lets just anyone into the treasure vault. Secure your Power Platform assets with:
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Azure Active Directory (AAD) Groups – Control who gets access to what.
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DLP Policies – Restrict which connectors can talk to each other.
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Audit Logs & Monitoring – Keep an eye on suspicious activity before ye find yerself in Davy Jones' Locker.
Deep Dive: Setting Up DLP Policies
Ye don’t want customer data mixin’ with pirate secrets, so set up connector-based restrictions:
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Block personal storage connectors like OneDrive.
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Restrict who can use external APIs.
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Monitor violations using Power Platform Admin Center.
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Seperate connectors between Buisiness, Non-Business and Blocked
App and Flow Lifecycle Management – Keep Yer Ship in Shipshape
Apps and flows get abandoned like old pirate ships. Implement lifecycle management:
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Version Control – Use source control (like GitHub or Azure DevOps) to track changes.
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Approval Processes – Ensure major changes get reviewed.
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Archival Strategy – Retire old apps before they clog the harbor.
Deep Dive: Automatin’ Lifecycle Management
Use Power Automate and PowerShell to:
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Identify inactive apps.
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Notify owners before deletion.
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Move apps through Dev-Test-Prod with governance in place.
Key components:
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Solutions: These serve as the vessels for your ALM strategy, enabling you to package and distribute customizable components—ranging from tables and columns to canvas and model-driven apps, Power Automate flows, agents, charts, and plug-ins—across environments through export and import.
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Dataverse Stores: Acting as secure repositories, these stores hold all artifacts, including solutions and in-product deployment pipelines, ensuring your digital assets remain well-organized and safeguarded.
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Source Control: Your definitive source of truth, source control is essential for storing, managing, and collaborating on your components, ensuring consistency and traceability across development efforts.
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Azure DevOps: This CI/CD platform automates your build, test, and deployment pipelines, streamlining your ALM processes and integrating seamlessly with in-product pipelines for continuous improvement.
Together, these tools provide a robust framework for managing the lifecycle of your applications, ensuring smooth sailing across development, testing, and production environments.
Monitoring and Reporting – Keep a Spyglass on Yer Fleet
What good be a ship without a crow’s nest? Set up monitoring tools:
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Power Platform Admin Center – See all apps, makers, and environments in one view.
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Microsoft Center of Excellence (CoE) Toolkit – Track usage, sprawl, and security risks.
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Custom Dashboards – Use Power BI to keep track of key governance metrics.
Deep Dive: Alerts and Automation
Automate alerts for:
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Unauthorized connector usage.
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Unusual spikes in flow executions.
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Apps created outside approved environments.
Final Thoughts – Sailin’ Smooth Waters
Power Platform governance ain’t about stoppin’ innovation—it’s about guidin’ it safely to shore.
Set up policies, monitor usage, and keep yer fleet in order, and ye’ll be ruling the seas instead of drowning in chaos.
If ye have questions or need a first mate to discuss governance strategies, add me on LinkedIn and let’s talk!
Fair winds and safe sailin’!
