This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: New blog articles in Microsoft Community Hub.
In today's fast-paced business environment where competition is high, efficiency is key. Every minute saved in your workflow translates to increased productivity, better staff satisfaction and ultimately, greater success for your business. That's why we're excited to introduce our latest solution to help you automate and streamline your processes: a new template powered by Microsoft PowerApps and Power Automate. As part of our academic group based project we worked under NDA with a luxury retail company who has already seen the benefits and are integrating the template into their everyday operations.
Meet the Team!
Harshiini Sridhar: Client Liaison, Report Writer, Back-End Developer.
harshiini.sridhar.22@ucl.ac.uk
Radka Zemancikova: Client Liaison, Report Writer, Tester.
radka.zemancikova.20@ucl.ac.uk
Akram Ziane: Front-End Developer.
We are University College London second-year computer science students, exploring the possibilities of Power Platforms as part of our coursework project, working with a luxury retail brand.
What is the project about?
Our project sets out to address the unique challenges faced by luxury retail companies in managing their operations efficiently. By leveraging the capabilities of Microsoft Power Platforms, we aim to reduce the time taken per task by reducing the manual labour required, allowing for enhanced productivity.
The essence of the template focuses on developing an interface that automates the extracting and merging of various data sources. While initially designed for luxury retail products, its flexibility allows for adaptation across diverse sectors such as healthcare, analytics, and more.
Take the journey with us
The journey began with comprehensive research into the methodologies and current ways of working of the luxury retail business. Extensive consultations with clients and users enabled us to identify specific pain points and requirements, forming the foundation of our project. We then meticulously researched and selected the best tools and features to address these needs. With Power Platforms, developers can quickly create custom applications that can connect to automated flows and analyse data.
Despite challenges such as integrating legacy systems, Microsoft Power Platforms emerged as an ideal solution with its low-code/no-code environment, ensuring seamless integration and compatibility with existing infrastructure. Leveraging Power Automate and Power Apps, we tailored a solution perfectly suited to our client's needs.
Power Apps is a service that allows creation of custom applications. We utilised components such as containers, tables and sliders to create a unique and seamless navigation interface. Our program features a client-customised home page, with a navigation bar, date and time and account information and access rights stated. Our specific client required different access rights for different user groups, which is automatically linked to their Microsoft accounts. Power Apps components such as tables, containers, timer settings and more were all used to create an aesthetic and user-appealing front end that aligned with the themes of our client.
Power Automate is an automation tool that allows users to create flows to streamline repetitive tasks and processes. Considering the main requirement of the project, this tool was a perfect fit. Power Automate was used to create the extraction and merging flow, which essentially combines multiple files into a single file with specific requirements.
This file is then displayed using Power Apps components, and is allowed to be manually edited further, as required by our client.
Template Features
Streamlining Data Matching - When text is entered into our template, a matching process is triggered, which displays records containing the entered word on screen. This immediate retrieval saves valuable time and effort, allowing users to focus on actionable insights rather than tedious manual searches.
Record Editing and live updating - Admin-privileged users have the ability to edit various fields within the presented records directly on the interface. These edits are saved into the necessary file immediately without delay.
Enhanced User Experience - Our template prioritizes user experience, and will offer intuitive features such as record enlargement, sorting, searching and filtering options. It also allows for bulk record edits and personal downloads of on-screen records. These functionalities empower users to effortlessly navigate through data sets, ensuring they find the information they need with ease.
Empowering Tech Administration - Behind the scenes, our tech admin holds the keys to fine-tuning user permissions. This access will be handed over to the relevant tech personnel within the company after integration. Non-admin users will be restricted from editing fields, ensuring data integrity and security. Additionally, the tech admin can dynamically adjust permissions, granting or revoking access as needed to maintain a secure and efficient data management environment.
Results and Outcomes
We aim to conduct research through a focus group, where we will measure the time improvements and operational efficiency along with the learnability of the new program. Our aim is to save up to 20 hours per quarter for processing and reduce data-accessing bottlenecks with the current luxury retail company.
Lessons Learned
Through this project, we've learned the importance of adaptability and collaboration in tackling complex challenges technically but also when working with a business. By embracing innovation whilst also considering the essence of the company and brand, we've been able to push the boundaries of what's possible and deliver impactful solutions.
Collaboration and Teamwork
This project wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and expertise of our talented team members. From developers to client liaison, our team member played a crucial role in developing and enhancing the final product. We learned a lot about internal communication and engagement whilst managing our other university modules. We would also like to appreciate the luxury retail company’s efforts in working with us and helping us hone important skills such as integration throughout this project.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, we're excited about the possibilities for future development and enhancement of our solution. We're exploring opportunities to leverage emerging technologies such as AI to further personalize the user experience through generation based on chat responses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our project represents a significant milestone in the evolution of automation for legacy companies, showcasing the transformative potential of Microsoft PowerApps and Power Automate. We're proud of what we've accomplished thus far and look forward to continuing our journey towards using more Microsoft products to enhance workflows.
Call to Action
Ready to explore the world of Microsoft PowerPlatforms and unlock new possibilities for your business? Dive deeper into its capabilities and discover how it can revolutionize your workflow.
Learn more
PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals - Training | Microsoft Learn
Course PL-400T00--A: Microsoft Power Platform Developer - Training | Microsoft Learn
Course PL-100T00--A: Microsoft Power Platform App Maker - Training | Microsoft Learn