The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect job is created for you if you have experience leveraging your technical knowledge to lead Microsoft Power Platform projects that smoothly mix the developer and business demands and that optimize solutions for your organization. This position serves as evidence of your exceptional skill in using technical knowledge to address contemporary business difficulties. It demonstrates to the world that in addition to your years of expertise, you are staying current with technological advancements and updating your abilities through new training.
However, to better understand this role, we will cover an overview of who a Microsoft Power Platform Architect is and what are the ways that you can use to earn this role!
Microsoft Power Platform Architect: Role Overview
A Microsoft Power Platform Architect is responsible for designing and implementing Power Platform solutions to meet business requirements. The Power Platform consists of Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.
The role of a Power Platform Architect includes:
- Understanding business requirements: The architect should have a deep understanding of the business requirements and be able to translate them into a solution that leverages the Power Platform.
- Designing solutions: The architect is responsible for designing solutions using Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI to meet the business requirements. They must ensure that the solution is scalable, secure, and meets performance requirements.
- Developing and testing: The architect should have hands-on experience in developing and testing Power Platform solutions and should be able to troubleshoot any issues that arise during the development process.
- Deployment and maintenance: The architect is responsible for deploying the solution and providing ongoing support and maintenance to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the business.
- Staying up-to-date: The Power Platform is constantly evolving, and it is important for the architect to stay informed about the latest updates, features, and best practices to ensure that the solutions they design and implement are up-to-date.
Market Value
- In the USA, the average compensation for a power platform architect is $124,602 per year or $63.90 per hour. Beginning salaries for entry-level roles are $83,300 per year, while those with the greatest experience may earn up to $159,778.
- And, in India, a Solution Architect at Microsoft is thought to make a total salary of ₹3,813,734 annually. ₹3,333,144 is the expected base salary each year.
Top Companies
- Accenture
- Microsoft
- KPMG
- Infosys
- Capgemini
How to get started with this role?
Becoming a Microsoft Power Platform Architect requires a combination of technical skills, experience, and certification. Here are the steps you can follow to become a Power Platform Architect:
- Gain experience: It is recommended to have experience in developing and deploying Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI solutions. You can gain experience through hands-on projects, working on real-world scenarios, and collaborating with other professionals in the field.
- Study for the certification exams: The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals certification is a good starting point, followed by the Microsoft Certified: Power Apps + Dynamics 365 Developer Associate certification and the Microsoft Certified: Power BI Associate certification.
- Get certified: Pass the relevant certification exams to demonstrate your expertise and validate your knowledge of the Power Platform.
- Stay up-to-date: The Power Platform is continuously evolving, and it is important to stay current with the latest updates, features, and best practices. You can do this by participating in online communities, attending training sessions, and staying informed about industry news and advancements.
- Network: Build relationships with other Power Platform professionals and actively participate in the community. This will not only help you stay informed but also help you build your professional network and establish yourself as a trusted advisor in the industry.
We recommend you work closely with a Microsoft Power Platform or Power Apps solution architect and embark on one or two projects to further your abilities if you don’t feel prepared for this position. By highlighting training opportunities, instructor-led courses, exam pathways, and other helpful resources, we will however explore the accurate method below that will help you to get this role.
1. Passing the role-related certification exam
You must know that in order to achieve the role of Microsoft Power Platform Architect, you are required to pass the PL-600 exam. But, to appear for the PL-600 exam, you have to go through two prerequisite exams out of which you have to pass one exam.
Prerequisite exams for PL-600 (pass any one exam):
Exam PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant
Candidates for the PL-200 test do research, record requirements, enlist stakeholders and subject matter experts, translate requirements, and configure Microsoft Power Platform apps and solutions. They develop bespoke user interfaces, data conversions, system integrations, process automation, and visualizations in addition to application modifications.
Candidates apply standards, branding, and artifacts set by user experience designers as well as the design offered by and in partnership with a solution architect. They create integrations that seamlessly integrate with services and apps from third parties.
Knowledge required:
- You should be comfortable extending and modifying Microsoft programs and services including Teams, Dynamics 365, Excel, and Word utilizing Microsoft Power Platform components.
Skills measured:
- Configure Microsoft Dataverse
- Create apps by using Microsoft Power Apps
- Create and manage Microsoft Power Automate
- Implement Microsoft Power Virtual Agents chatbots
- Integrate Microsoft Power Apps with other apps and services
- Manage solutions
Exam PL-400: Microsoft Power Platform Developer
This exam requires candidates to create, develop, test, protect, and debug Microsoft Power Platform systems. Candidates implement solution elements such as application improvements, customized user experiences, system integrations, data conversions, and bespoke process automation.
Knowledge required:
- You must have a thorough understanding of the capabilities, limitations, and applications of Microsoft Power Platform services.
- You should have a fundamental grasp of Microsoft Power Platform application lifecycle management (ALM) methods.
- There is a need to have knowledge of JavaScript, JSON, TypeScript, C#, HTML,.NET/ASP.NET, RESTful Web APIs, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365 in addition to Microsoft Power Platform services.
Skills measured:
- Create a technical design
- Configure Microsoft Dataverse
- Create and configure Power Apps
- Configure business process automation
- Extend the user experience
- Extend the platform
- Develop integrations
After passing any one exam out of these two, you can start your Microsoft Power Platform Architect journey by preparing for the PL-600 exam.
2. Enhance your skills with the Power Platform Learning Paths
Microsoft offers learning pathways that are divided into content-rich sections that provide the necessary data to assist in your understanding and learning as you get ready for the Power Platform Solution Architect position. Some of the learning paths include the following:
– Architect solutions for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform
Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/become-solution-architect/
An effective solution’s design, execution, deployment, and adoption are the responsibility of a solution architect. The demands of the client are met both now and in the future by a solution architect. Although they might not “push the buttons” during deployment, the Solution Architect is ultimately in charge of the solution and collaborates closely with the deployment team.
Prerequisites:
- A strong business understanding of Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365.
- Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform functional consultant expertise.
- familiarity with the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 developer roles and responsibilities.
Modules covered in this learning path:
- The requirements for becoming a solution architect.
- Finding out what the customer wants.
- Offering a solution.
- Working under constraints.
- Analyzing fit-gap relationships.
– Solution Architect: Design Microsoft Power Platform solutions
Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/solution-architect-data/
The Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365 applications, associated Microsoft cloud solutions, and other third-party technologies should all be familiar to a Solution Architect both technically and functionally. This Learning Path examines the duties of a solution architect in the areas of architecture, data modeling, security, and associated responsibilities.
Prerequisites:
- Experience working as a developer or functional consultant on Microsoft Power Platform.
- Experience as a developer or functional consultant with Dynamics 365.
Modules covered in this learning path:
- Implement project governance for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform.
- Power Platform design.
- Examine the architecture of Power Apps.
- Investigate the Power Automate architecture.
- Learn more about Power Virtual Agents.
- Examine automating robotic processes.
- For Power Platform solutions, model data
- Security models for Power Platform products.
- Analyze the AI and analytics of the Power Platform.
- Implement Power Platform integrations.
- Prepare application lifecycle management for Power Platform.
- Testing and go-live
3. Use the Microsoft Instructor-led Training
Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect
The considerations a solution architect takes throughout an implementation—including those related to security, integrations, and the architecture of Power Apps and Power Automate—will be covered in this course. You will learn about the Solution Architect position in this course.
Audience Profile:
- Senior Consultants (both functional and technical)
- Current Solution Architects that are new to the role.
4. Gaining real-world experience
This is a vital phase in advancing toward and preparing for the position of Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect. To put it another way, the ideal strategy is to start working on becoming more advanced if you have all of the necessary skills and expertise and are ready to take the PL-600 exam. Begin by:
- Working on one or more projects as a solution architect.
- Offering your help in developing and implementing a client engagement app.
- Additionally designing sessions with other architects.
5. Pass the Microsoft PL-600 exam
Solution architects that oversee successful deployments and concentrate on how solutions answer the wider business and technical demands of businesses are eligible to take the PL-600 exam. This position demands the capacity to spot chances to address company issues.
You should be familiar with the Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365 customer interaction apps, associated Microsoft cloud solutions, and other third-party technologies from a functional and technical standpoint. To maximize the customer’s investment and advance organizational health, you should carry out proactive and preventative activities.
Knowledge required:
- You should have knowledge of the Microsoft Power Platform’s functional and technical domains.
- You must be capable of allowing design options for infrastructure, security, licensing, availability, storage, and change management as well as development, configuration, integration, and licensing.
Exam Format:
- There will be 40–60 questions on the PL–600: Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect exam, and they might be of the case study, short answer, multiple-choice, mark review, drag, drop, etc. kind.
- And a minimum score of 700 is required to pass the test (on a scale of 1000).
- Furthermore, the cost of the Microsoft PL-600 exam, including the additional taxes, is $165 USD.
- The test is available in English, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, and Chinese (Simplified) languages.
6. Get familiar with the Exam Course Outline
A complete grasp of the essential ideas, areas, and exam subjects is necessary to pass the Microsoft PL-600 exam. Exam objectives will assist you in studying and better understanding the differences. The following subjects are covered by the Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect (PL-600) exam:
For Microsoft PL-600, the English language course outline will be updated on March 24, 2023.
– Perform solution envisioning and requirement analysis (35-40%)
Initiate solution planning
- evaluate business requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Identify functional requirements, Identify non-functional requirements)
- identify Microsoft Power Platform solution components (Microsoft Documentation: Solutions overview, Solution concepts)
- identifying other components including existing apps, AppSource apps, third-party components, and components from independent software vendors (ISV) (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft Power Platform ISV Studio, Components and Capabilities)
- identify and estimate migration and integration effort (Microsoft Documentation: Build migration plan with Azure Migrate)
Identify organization information and metrics
- identifying desired high-level organizational business processes (Microsoft Documentation: Identifying the business problem to solve (the use case))
- identify business process improvement opportunities (Microsoft Documentation: Business process flows overview)
- assess an organization’s risk factors (Microsoft Documentation: Identifying the risks)
- review key success criteria (Microsoft Documentation: Project management)
Identify existing solutions and systems
- evaluate an organization’s enterprise architecture
- identify data sources needed for a solution (Microsoft Documentation: Understand data sources for canvas apps in Power Apps)
- define use cases and quality standards for existing data (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft Dataverse)
- identify and document an organization’s exisiting business processes
Capture requirements
- refine high-level requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Create business rules and recommendations, Planning a Power Apps project)
- identify functional requirements
- identify non-functional requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Target and non-functional requirements)
- confirm that requirements meet an organization’s goals (Microsoft Documentation: Pattern: Inspection)
- identify and document an organization’s desired business processes (Microsoft Documentation: Work with business processes, Create a business process flow to standardize processes)
Perform fit/gap analyses
- determine the feasibility of meeting specific requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Perform fit gap analysis)
- evaluate Dynamics 365 apps and AppSource options to solve requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Publish your app on AppSource, Publish your app on AppSource)
- address functional gaps through alternate solutions (Microsoft Documentation: Perform fit gap analysis)
- determine the scope for a solution
– Architect a solution (40-45%)
Lead the design process
- design the solution topology (Microsoft Documentation: Introduction to solutions)
- designing customizations for existing apps (Microsoft Documentation: Customize forms)
- design and validate user experience prototypes (Microsoft Documentation: Start designing and prototyping)
- identify opportunities for component reuse (Microsoft Documentation: Create a component for canvas apps)
- communicate system design visually (Microsoft Documentation: Pattern: Communication)
- design application lifecycle management (ALM) processes (Microsoft Documentation: Overview of application lifecycle management with Microsoft Power Platform)
- design a data migration strategy (Microsoft Documentation: Create a data migration strategy for Dynamics 365 solutions)
- designing apps by grouping required features based on role or task (Microsoft Documentation: Securing the app and data)
- design a data visualization strategy (Microsoft Documentation: Data visualization style guidelines for Office Add-ins)
- designing an automation strategy that uses the Power Automate (Microsoft Documentation: Making phase)
- design environment strategy
Design the data model
- design tables and columns (Microsoft Documentation: Tables: Design Guidelines )
- designing reference and configuration data (Microsoft Documentation: Configure and manage content reference)
- design relationships and relationship behaviors (Microsoft Documentation: Table relationships)
- determine when to connect to external data versus import data
- design data models to address complex sets of requirements (Microsoft Documentation: model-driven apps in Power Apps)
Design integrations
- designing collaboration integrations
- design integrations between Microsoft Power Platform solutions and Dynamics 365 apps
- designing integrations with an organization’s existing systems (Microsoft Documentation: Working with enterprise systems, Integrate data into Microsoft Dataverse)
- design third-party integrations (Microsoft Documentation: Integration with other enterprise management products)
- designing an authentication strategy (Microsoft Documentation: Design authentication and credential strategies)
- design a business continuity strategy
- identify opportunities to integrate and extend Power Platform solutions by using Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft Power Platform Build Tools for Azure DevOps, Configure Azure integration with Microsoft Dataverse)
- design Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- design networking
Design the security model
- design the business unit and team structure (Microsoft Documentation: Create or edit business units)
- designing security roles (Microsoft Documentation: Configure user security to resources in an environment)
- design column and row-level security
- design security models to address complex sets of requirements (Microsoft Documentation: Securing the app and data, Hierarchy security to control access)
- determine security model management policies and processes
- identify Azure Active Directory groups and app registrations required to support a solution (Microsoft Documentation: Register an application with the Microsoft identity platform)
- identify data loss prevention (DLP) policies for a solution (Microsoft Documentation: Overview of data loss prevention)
- determine how external users will access a solution (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft 365 guest sharing settings reference)
– Implement the solution (15-20%)
Validate the solution design
- evaluate detail designs and implementation (Microsoft Documentation: AD DS Design and Planning)
- validate security
- ensure that the solution conforms to API limits
- Assess the solution performance and impact on resources (Microsoft Documentation: A performing solution, beyond infrastructure)
- resolve automation conflicts (Microsoft Documentation: Resolution of Function/Property Name Conflicts in Automation in Extensions)
- resolve integration conflicts (Microsoft Documentation: Resolve merge conflicts)
Support go-live
- identify and resolve potential and actual performance issues (Microsoft Documentation: Diagnosing performance issues, Common sources of slow performance for a canvas app)
- troubleshoot data migration (Microsoft Documentation: Troubleshoot configuration data migration issues)
- resolve any identified issues with deployment plans (Microsoft Documentation: Troubleshoot on-premises deployments)
- identify factors that impact go-live readiness and remediate issues (Microsoft Documentation: Prepare for go-live)
7. Start taking practice exam tests
The practice test is helpful in getting ready for the Microsoft PL-600 exam. Additionally, it will help you improve your responses, which will enable you to save a lot more time. Furthermore, since this will enable you to obtain a thorough review, the best time to start taking practice examinations is after you have finished one entire topic. Enroll in an online course to access the latest and most innovative practice exams with help from instructors to get the best results. Additionally, online course providers can help you become knowledgeable and well-prepared with in-depth information so that you can pass the exam.
8. Join Microsoft Community
Join the Microsoft community of solution developers and architects. Talk to technical executives who are interested in Microsoft Power Platform technologies about your career path. Additionally, you may talk about any questions or concerns you have on the subjects to improve your preparation. Here are some sources where you can exchange information, acquire it, learn from others and connect with experts.
- Microsoft Learn Community
- Business Applications Community
- Microsoft Power Apps Community and Power Automate Community
- Power BI Community
- Microsoft Power Platform job board
Summarizing the basic exam tips:
Here are some tips to help you prepare for the Microsoft Power Platform Architect exam:
- Study the official Microsoft documentation: Familiarize yourself with the Microsoft Power Platform and its components by studying the official Microsoft documentation, including the Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI user guides.
- Use the Power Platform: Get hands-on experience by building and deploying Power Platform solutions. This will give you a deeper understanding of how the components work together and will help you prepare for the exam.
- Take online courses: Consider taking online courses or attending training sessions to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the Power Platform.
- Use practice exams: Make use of practice exams and sample questions to test your knowledge and identify areas where you need to improve.
- Study the exam objectives: Make sure you understand the exam objectives and the skills that are being tested. Focus your study efforts on these areas to ensure that you are well-prepared for the exam.
- Join online communities: Participate in online communities and forums to connect with other Power Platform professionals and to stay informed about the latest updates and best practices.
- Get hands-on experience: Try to get as much hands-on experience as possible working with Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI solutions. This will help you build your skills and prepare for the exam.
- Manage your time: Make sure to allocate enough time for study and preparation, and manage your time effectively to ensure that you are ready for the exam on the day of the test.
Final Words
The Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect role has been thoroughly discussed above, including resources and exam pathways. You are knowledgeable enough about technology to understand that there are always fresh routes to explore. You’ve experienced many changes and have managed to keep ahead of the curve by continuing to learn new things. By offering the finest technical and business solutions for your firm, this job will provide you with the ability to assess the demands of business applications.
As a result, careful study and information development are necessary. Using the information above, you can access a range of helpful features, knowledge, training, and practice exams to help you pass the PL-600 exam and become a Microsoft Certified Power Platform Solution Architect. Last but not least, after completing the test, remember to use badges to share your success with your network. Update your LinkedIn profile in under a minute to showcase your accomplishments, promote your talents, and advance your job prospects.
