As many people are aware, Microsoft is changing the certification landscape somewhat. With the emergence of the Power Platform, there’s a need to test skills other than the traditional Dynamics 365 ones.

To this end, a new series (the PL-XXX) has been created. The first (main) one of these exams is the PL-100, which is the entry level exam.

You can take a look at the exam requirements & learning paths by going to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/pl-100.

Now, when I say ‘entry level’, I’m not referring to basics. This isn’t a Fundamentals exam – for that, you’ll be wanting to take a look at the PL-900 exam (which came out a while ago). To put it into perspective, the PL-200 (which is aimed to launch in September 2020) will replace the MB-200 exam!

So, the exam went live (in Beta) just over a week ago (July 17th). I’ve been waiting for this for a while, as I’ve really been wanting to see how the new exams are structured. Taking it in Beta means I’m going to have to wait (a little while) for my results to come through, but it gives me the opportunity to see the new landscape upfront.

I booked it as soon as it was available, for Wednesday July 22nd. Nicely (as mentioned above), there were already learning paths in place, so I eagerly went through them (again) in preparation. I was feeling pretty much quite prepared, but then….

See, I had signed up to attend the Power Platform Virtual Happy Hour (PPPVHH) on the same day as I had booked the exam for. Incidentally, if you haven’t come across this before, take a look. It’s hosted every month, and has some AMAZING speakers. Clarissa Gillingham presented on the ‘Infinity Form’, and it was a joy to behold. But I’m digressing.

After the event had finished, some of us remained chatting in the virtual room. Amongst them was none other than Chris Huntingford, who we all love and adore!. I mentioned that I had to sign off soon to get ready for the exam. No sooner had I mentioned this than Chris said to me something along the lines of ‘BRO….WATCH OUT!! It’s REALLY HARD!!’.

I might mention here that I have a slight (friendly) rivalry with Chris, in seeing who can take newly released exams first. I had figured that he’d be so busy with everything going on that I’d get this one before he did. Little did I know that he had ALREADY taken it.

Here I was, about to go sit down for the exam, and he got me TOTALLY freaked out. I’m not sure how much of it he did on purpose, but I’m sure that when I get him into a corner, I’ll find out…one day!

Anyhow – I sat the exam, took most of the time available (pretty sure I hit the 2 hour mark), and found it quite good overall. One or two things that seemed to be totally random/in the wrong place, but otherwise it was fine. Definitely much better that the MB-600 (MB-600 Solution Architect Exam), and I felt much more comfortable than I did with the MB-400 (MB-400 Power Apps & Dynamics 365 Developer Exam).

It really is very cleared aimed at app developers (both model & canvas), as well as other Power Platform skills. According to the exam description:

The app maker builds solutions to simplify, automate, and transform tasks and processes for themselves and their team where they have deep expertise in the solution domain. They are skilled in key technical business analyst tasks such as data modeling, basic UX design, requirements analysis, process analysis, etc.

The app maker creates and enforces business processes, structures digital collection of information, improves efficiency of repeatable tasks, and automates business processes.

The app maker uses the maker tools of Power Platform to solve business problems. They may have experience with Visual Basic for Applications, Excel pivot tables, Teams, and other tools. They should have a basic understanding of data models, user interface, and processes. The app maker is aware of the capabilities and limitations of available tools and understands how to apply them.

The app maker is self-directed, and solution focused. They may not have formal IT training but are comfortable using technology to solve business problems with a personal growth mindset. They understand the operational need and have a vision of the desired outcome. They approach problems with phased and iterative strategies.

So, as before, it’s not permitted to share any of the exam questions. This is in the rules/acceptance for taking the exam. I’ve therefore put an overview of the sorts of questions that came up during my exam. (Note: exams are composed from question banks, so there could be many things that weren’t included in my exam, but could be included for someone else!).

• Canvas App Test Studio. What it does, how to carry out tests in it, how to set up Test Suites, etc
• Developing Power Automate Flows. Different types of connectors, different types of steps/actions. How to deploy properly between environments using solutions
• Field Level Security. What it is, what it does, what it can/can’t be used for
• Canvas Apps:
  • Publishing rights
  • Access rights
  • Versioning
  • Editing vs using
  • Sharing & security
  • Saving changes, & deploying them to users
  • Collections. What they are, what they do, how they work
  • Galleries. What they are, what they can do, how to configure them in different way
  • Navigation around screens. How to set this up, how to pass information from one screen to the next
  • New vs Display vs Edit forms. What each one is, how each one is used
  • Charts. Which ones are available, how they’re configured
  • Using AI features, such as text/data recognition. What’s able to be used, how are they configured, what the benefits of each are
  • Versioning. How to handle this, what the benefits are
  • Accessibility for less-abled users. What options are available to facilitate this, how are they configured
• Data Security. Different types of security available (roles/teams/access teams/business units) etc. Configuring security roles with different levels of permissions
• Power BI Security. Showing/hiding information for specific users/teams, and how to configure this
• Solution publishers. How these are set up, what you can modify after they’ve been set, considerations between default & other solutions
• Business Logic. Differences between Business Process Flows, Business Rules & Power Automate. What each one can/can’t do, and is best suited for
• Creating environments. Where to do this, how to do this, what steps are needed
• Connecting to data sources. Different types of data connections, what each one is suited for
• Model Apps:
  • Forms & Views. What these are, how to set up & configure them
  • Navigation, Sitemap etc.
• Business Rules. How they work, what the different levels of scope are, how they affect functionality
• Automation. Workflows vs Power Automate Flows. The different types (eg On Demand, Instant, Scheduled)
• Arrays. What they are, what they do, how they work
• DLP (Data Loss Prevention). How this works, how to set it up, different options available
• Data field types. What each one is, how each one is used & able to be configured
• Calculated/Rollup vs Autonumber. What each is, when to use each one

That’s quite a lot of stuff, with an emphasis on canvas app functionality & solutions. It definitely is important to ensure that you’re really on top of these. Thankfully not too much mention of Power BI (at least not in my exam), and for that I’m quite grateful!

I do have to say that in one respect, I found something quite amusing. See, on the same day as I took the exam, Microsoft Ignite was taking place. One of the major announcements was the ‘rename/rebrand’ of CDS to Dateflex (Pro). I therefore kept laughing when questions would refer to CDS again & again! Obviously I’m expecting this to change in the exam (at some point?).

In summary, I think that this is a good start for the new range of exams, and look forward to the other ones in the series coming out!

Have you taken this? What was your experience like? Drop a comment below – I’d love to hear!