What is the PL-100 Exam? All You Need to Know.

The PL-100 Exam is a certification offered by Microsoft. It is designed to validate the skills and knowledge of individuals in the field of Power Platform.

Those who pass the exam earn a Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate certification, which demonstrates their ability to build low-code apps and automate workflows using Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.

Definition of PL-100 Exam

The PL-100 Exam is a certification exam that tests an individual's knowledge and skills in building low-code apps and automating workflows with the Microsoft Power Platform. It is designed for individuals who want to demonstrate their expertise in using Microsoft's suite of tools for app development and data analysis.

Importance of PL-100 Exam in the IT industry

In today's digital world, organizations are looking for ways to streamline their business processes and improve productivity. The PL-100 Exam provides IT professionals with the skills they need to develop custom solutions using low-code platforms like Microsoft Power Platform. This helps companies reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction.

Moreover, as more companies adopt these platforms as key components of their digital strategy, there is a growing demand for skilled professionals who can create customized solutions using them. By earning the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker credential, you can meet it.

Associate certification through passing this exam, individuals can demonstrate to potential employers that they have the skills necessary to meet this demand.

This article will explore what exactly is covered in the PL-100 Exam as well as provide insight into its format and structure. Additionally, it will explore some tips on how best to prepare for this exam along with some rarely known details about it.

Overview of PL-100 Exam

The PL-100 exam is a certification exam that focuses on the Microsoft Power Platform. The Power Platform is a suite of applications by Microsoft that include Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. This exam tests the candidate's knowledge and understanding of these applications and their ability to use them to build and manage business solutions.

Purpose of the Exam
The main purpose of the PL-100 exam is to assess the candidate's ability to build, manage, and automate business solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform. This exam tests whether or not candidates have mastered the skills required for designing and building applications using Power Apps, automating workflows with Power Automate, analyzing data with Power BI, and integrating these services with other tools.

Target Audience for the Exam
The PL-100 exam is intended for individuals who are involved in building or managing business solutions or IT professionals interested in gaining expertise in this area. This includes developers, solution architects, business analysts, functional consultants, project managers as well as IT professionals who want to demonstrate their proficiency in using Microsoft’s low-code platform.

Exam Format and Structure
The exam consists of 40 – 60 questions that test candidates’ knowledge in different areas such as creating canvas apps; building model-driven apps; integrating power apps with other services; designing effective workflows with power automate; creating custom connectors for power automate; analyzing data with power bi. Candidates have 180 minutes (three hours) to complete the test which can be taken online from any location that has an internet connection.

The passing score required to achieve certification varies but usually ranges from 700 - 800 out of a total score of 1000 points. It is important for IT professionals interested in gaining expertise in building or managing business solutions using Microsoft’s low-code platform to understand the purpose of the PL-100 exam, who the target audience is, as well as the exam format and structure before taking it.

Key Concepts Covered in PL-100 Exam
Understanding Power Platform architecture and components
To pass the PL-100 exam, one must have a comprehensive understanding of Power Platform architecture and its various components, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. This section of the exam tests your knowledge of how these components interact with each other to create robust solutions that meet business needs.

The exam will test your understanding of the fundamental concepts behind the platform’s architecture; you’ll be expected to know how data flows between different environments within the platform. Additionally, you’ll need to understand how to manage user roles and permissions as well as how to troubleshoot common issues that arise in these environments.

Creating and managing apps with Power Apps
Power Apps is a key component of the Power Platform that allows users to build custom applications quickly without requiring specialized coding skills. In this section of the PL-100 exam, you will be tested on your ability to create canvas apps—custom applications designed for mobile devices or web browsers—and model-driven apps—apps built around a specific data model.

To pass this section, it’s essential to have hands-on experience building custom applications using Power Apps. You’ll need to demonstrate your ability to design app layouts using drag-and-drop functionality, create custom connectors using Azure Functions or other services available through Microsoft’s cloud platform.

Building and automating workflows with Power Automate
Power Automate is another essential component of the Microsoft Power Platform that allows users to automate business workflows across various services and platforms. To pass this segment of the exam successfully, you must understand how this service works along with its capabilities. In this section of the PL-100 exam, you’ll be asked about building automated workflows from scratch using templates or creating them from scratch by integrating other services into your solution via connectors such as HTTP or custom connectors.

Analyzing data with Power BI
Power BI is a tool that allows users to visualize and analyze data with ease. To pass this section of the exam, you must have a solid understanding of how to use the tool to create clear and concise reports that provide insights into your organization's business performance.

You will be tested on your ability to connect data sources to Power BI and build dashboards, reports, and data models using the platform's drag-and-drop functionality. This section of the exam also tests your ability to apply security measures while sharing power bi reports securely with stakeholders inside or outside the organization.

Subtopics Covered in PL-100 Exam
Creating canvas apps
Canvas apps are a type of app that allow users to create custom, responsive and mobile-friendly interfaces for data entry or presentation. Canvas apps offer a wide range of UI components such as charts, tables, forms, and galleries that can be arranged and customized.

In the PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to create canvas apps from scratch using the Power Apps Studio. They will also learn how to connect to data sources, build formulas for dynamic behavior, and apply best practices for design.

Building model-driven apps
Model-driven apps are another type of app available in Power Platform. They are built on top of a data model that defines the structure of entities and relationships between them. Model-driven apps provide an out-of-the-box UI based on the metadata defined in the data model.

In PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to build model-driven apps using the App Designer interface provided by Power Platform. They will also learn how to add business logic using workflows or plugins.

Integrating Power Apps with other services
Power Apps can be integrated with other services such as Office 365, Dynamics 365 or Azure through connectors or APIs. In PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to leverage these integrations to create powerful workflows that automate business processes across different systems. They will also learn how to authenticate against external APIs using OAuth protocol and manage API limits.

Designing effective workflows with Power Automate
Power Automate is a tool that allows users to automate tasks across multiple applications by creating flows or workflows. Flows can be triggered by events such as button clicks, email arrivals or changes in data sources like SharePoint lists or Dynamics 365 records.

In PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to design efficient and reliable flows using conditions, loops, and actions. They will also learn how to handle exceptions and troubleshoot common issues.

Creating custom connectors for Power Automate
Custom connectors are a way to extend the list of available connectors in Power Automate with specific APIs or services. In PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to create custom connectors by defining endpoints, authentication types, and actions using OpenAPI standard. With Power Automate Training, they will also learn how to test and publish the custom connector for others to use.

Analyzing data with Power BI
Power BI is a tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards and reports based on data from various sources such as Excel spreadsheets or SQL databases. In PL-100 exam, candidates will learn how to connect Power BI with different data sources, build visualizations using charts or maps and configure settings such as filters or drill-throughs. They will also learn how to publish reports securely using Power BI service.

Conclusion

Overall, the PL-100 exam is an important certification for those looking to work with Microsoft's Power Platform. The exam covers a variety of skills related to creating and managing apps with Power Apps, building and automating workflows with Power Automate, and analyzing data with Power BI.

By achieving certification through the PL-100 exam, individuals can demonstrate their expertise in these areas to potential employers and clients. Plus, they'll have a better understanding of how to leverage these powerful tools to create innovative solutions.

And once you've achieved certification, be sure to keep your knowledge up-to-date by staying informed about updates and new features in the Power Platform.