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Today’s Agenda

🚀 What We’ll Cover

5 Key Areas Over 40 Minutes

🎯 Foundation - Understanding the Why (5 mins)
🛠️ Hands-On Demos - Building Your First Pipeline (35 mins)
🎁 Resources - Take Home Materials (3 mins)
❓ Q&A - Your Questions (2 mins)

🎯 Foundation

(5 mins)

Why DevOps? Manual deployments = Problems

Prerequisites: Azure DevOps + Power Platform CLI

Repository: Organized folders = Success

🛠️ Hands-On Demos

(25 mins)

Demo 1: Setup Pipeline + Build Tools

Demo 2: Export & Unpack Solutions

Demo 3: Deploy to Target Environment

🎁 Resources & Next Steps

(5 mins)

Templates: Download ready-to-use pipeline YAML files

Takeaways: Start simple, automate gradually, secure always

Link to slides: QR code at the end

Questions: Ask now or connect later for follow-up

TEMPLATE DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE: - Basic solution export pipeline (YAML template) - Solution import/deployment pipeline (YAML template) - Service connection setup guide (step-by-step PDF) - Repository folder structure template - Sample azure-pipelines.yml with comments - PowerShell scripts for local testing - Connection string configuration examples - Environment variable templates

KEY TAKEAWAYS TO EMPHASIZE:

Start simple: Begin with one environment, one solution
Automate gradually: Don’t try to do everything at once
Security first: Never hardcode credentials, always use service connections
Test locally: Use Power Platform CLI to test before committing to pipeline
Document everything: Future you will thank present you
Version control: Every change should be tracked and reversible
Monitor and alert: Know when things break before users do

NEXT STEPS FOR ATTENDEES:

Set up Azure DevOps project (free tier available)
Install Power Platform CLI on local machine
Create service connection to development environment
Download and customize pipeline templates
Start with simple export pipeline
Join Power Platform Community for ongoing support

FOLLOW-UP RESOURCES:

GitHub repository with all templates and examples
Power Platform Community forums
Microsoft Learn modules on Power Platform DevOps
Monthly community calls and webinars
Contact information for further questions
Link to presentation recording and slides

Ian Tweedie

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PowerPlatformClinic.github.io

alt text

North East

Build Your First DevOps Pipeline for the Power Platform

The Journey Starts Here

You’ve exported a solution ✅
Maybe even unpacked it ✅
But what’s next? 🤔

Why DevOps Matters for Power Platform

Why use DevOps

🔒 Enhanced Security & Compliance

⚡ Better Performance & Scalability

🔄 Advanced Branching Strategies

🌐 Tenant Independent

🧪 Expand into Automated Testing

Why use DevOps

🚀 No Managed Environments Required

🔍 Source Code Visibility

📚 Automated Documentation

✏️ Edit Solutions Between Environments

Prerequisites

Before We Start

Dataverse System Admin privileges
Azure DevOps project with basic license
Azure DevOps Parallelism Request

Install Dataverse Build Tools

App Registration

Client ID:

Tenant ID:

Secret:

Give Permission

Create service connection

Client ID:

Tenant ID:

Secret:

Server URL:

Repository Structure

Recommended Folder Structure

MyPowerPlatformProject/
├── solutions/
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── MySolution/
│   └── MySolution.zip
├── pipelines/
│   ├── export-solution.yml
│   ├── build-and-deploy-solution.yml
├── documentation/
└── README.md

Demo 1: Creating Your First Pipeline

Live Demo: Setting up the export pipeline in Azure DevOps

Export Pipeline YAML

name: $(TeamProject)_$(BuildDefinitionName)_$(SourceBranchName)_$(Date:yyyyMMdd)$(Rev:.r)

variables:
  - name: varPowerPlatformSPN
   # value: YOUR-OWN-VALUE-HERE 
    value: Dataverse - Backup
  - name: varSolutionName
   # value: YOUR-OWN-VALUE-HERE
    value: ProjectExpenseLogger

trigger: none

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
- checkout: self
  persistCredentials: true
  clean: true
- task: PowerPlatformToolInstaller@2
  inputs:
    DefaultVersion: true
    AddToolsToPath: true
- task: PowerPlatformSetSolutionVersion@2
  inputs:
    authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
    PowerPlatformSPN: '$(varPowerPlatformSPN)'
    SolutionName: '$(varSolutionName)'
    SolutionVersionNumber: '1.0.0.$(Build.BuildID)'
- task: PowerPlatformExportSolution@2
  inputs:
    authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
    PowerPlatformSPN: '$(varPowerPlatformSPN)'
    SolutionName: '$(varSolutionName)'
    SolutionOutputFile: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\$(varSolutionName)_1.0.0.$(Build.BuildID)_managed.zip'
    Managed: true
    AsyncOperation: true
    MaxAsyncWaitTime: '60'
- task: PowerPlatformExportSolution@2
  inputs:
    authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
    PowerPlatformSPN: '$(varPowerPlatformSPN)'
    SolutionName: '$(varSolutionName)'
    SolutionOutputFile: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\$(varSolutionName)_1.0.0.$(Build.BuildID).zip'
    Managed: false
    AsyncOperation: true
    MaxAsyncWaitTime: '60'
- task: PowerPlatformUnpackSolution@2
  inputs:
    SolutionInputFile: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\$(varSolutionName)_1.0.0.$(Build.BuildID).zip'
    SolutionTargetFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\src\$(varSolutionName)'
    SolutionType: 'Both'
- task: PowerShell@2
  inputs:
    targetType: 'inline'
    script: 'pac solution create-settings --solution-zip $(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\$(varSolutionName)_1.0.0.$(Build.BuildID).zip --settings-file $(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\$(varSolutionName)-settings.json'

- task: CmdLine@2
  inputs:
    script: |
      echo commit all changes
      git config user.email "$(Build.RequestedForEmail)"
      git config user.name "$(Build.RequestedFor)"
      git checkout -b main
      git add --all
      git commit -m "Latest solution changes."
      echo push code to new repo
      git -c http.extraheader="AUTHORIZATION: bearer $(System.AccessToken)" push origin main

Demo 2: Exploring an Unpacked Solution

Live Demo: Understanding the solution structure

Demo 3: Deploy Solution

Live Demo: Deploy the solution

Deploy Solution

name: $(TeamProject)_$(BuildDefinitionName)_$(SourceBranchName)_$(Date:yyyyMMdd)$(Rev:.r)

variables:
  - name: varSolutionName
   # value: YOUR-OWN-VALUE-HERE
    value: FirstPipeline
  - name: varPowerPlatformSPN
   # value: YOUR-OWN-VALUE-HERE 
    value: Dataverse - mightora

trigger: none

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
- checkout: self
  persistCredentials: true
  clean: true
- task: PowerPlatformToolInstaller@2
  inputs:
    DefaultVersion: true
    AddToolsToPath: true

- task: PowerPlatformPackSolution@2
  inputs:
    SolutionSourceFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\solutions\src\$(varSolutionName)'
    SolutionOutputFile: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)\solutions\build\$(varSolutionName).zip'
- task: PowerPlatformImportSolution@2
  inputs:
    authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
    PowerPlatformSPN: 'Dataverse - Backup'
    Environment: 'https://mightora.crm11.dynamics.com/'
    SolutionInputFile: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)\solutions\build\$(varSolutionName).zip'
    AsyncOperation: true
    MaxAsyncWaitTime: '60'

Common Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Large Solutions

Problem:

Solution export times out

Solution:

Use AsyncOperation: true
Increase MaxAsyncWaitTime
Split large solutions

Challenge: Connection References

Problem:

Connections fail in target environment

Solution:

Use deployment settings files
Parameterize connection references
Update connections post-deployment

Challenge: Environment Variables

Problem:

Environment-specific values

Solution:

Use environment variables in solution
Configure per environment
Automate variable updates

What next

Automated testing with Test Engine
Multi-solution management
Branch strategies for teams
Release management
Monitoring & alerting

Key Takeaways

Remember

DevOps is a Journey, Not a Destination

✅ Start with basic export/deploy
✅ Add source control
✅ Automate what you can
✅ Iterate and improve
✅ Share knowledge with team

Resources

Questions?

You now have the tools to automate your Power Platform solution lifecycle!

Slides

Connect