About PL-100 Exam
The Microsoft PL-100 exam, also called Microsoft Power Platform App Maker qualifies learners for the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate certification. It validates the candidate’s technical knowledge of designing as well as creating and managing solutions, skills in data analysis, and more. It is worth reminding that just like other Microsoft tests, PL-100 costs $165 for every attempt and is administered by Pearson VUE. At the moment, it can only be taken in the English language with other versions expected to become available in the coming years.
Certification Level and Target Audience
The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate certification relates to the intermediate level and verifies a solid understanding of working with diverse solutions from a technical point of view. This path validates one’s passion to design Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with simplicity, automation, and transformation in mind. Ideally, it fits all IT professionals who suit the role of an app maker. Such individuals demonstrate a strong understanding of the technical business analyst duties, including process and requirement analysis, basic UX design, and data modeling.
If you are solution-oriented and have background experience in working with the maker tools within the Microsoft Power Platform, you may want to enhance your skills by getting enrolled in this program. In addition, you will need to demonstrate your knowledge of the pivotal tools such as Teams, Visual Basic for Applications, and Excel Pivot Tables.
Describing PL-100 Exam Content Outline
The preparation process is as important as taking the exam itself. For your comfort, we’ve prepared an overview of the major domains covered in the test PL-100. These are general sections and detailed topics to learn:
1. Designing Solutions
This domain will start by validating one’s competence in the data models’ design, the creation of a high-level design, identifying the necessary components of the Power Platform, and designing the user interface. What’s more, it addresses the concepts of creating output, designing security, privacy, and compliance, and working efficiently with Power Platform environments. In summary, students should demonstrate their technical knowledge of collecting business requirements, identifying data sources and relationships, designing for localization as well as for accessibility, and identifying data types and fields, among other similar tasks to improve their chances of success in the test.
2. The Creation of Solutions
This section of the syllabus covers the management of development environments for Power Platform, the creation of canvas apps as well as model-driven ones, the use of controls, the configuration of data stores, creation of business logic, and creation of Power Automate flows. Simply put, this topic covers the technical skills associated with creating a solution, running Solution Checker and interpreting results, making a site map, building the app components for canvas, using formulas, testing a flow, configuring triggers along with flow steps, setting up a connection, using variables and collections, and interpreting app checker results, among the rest.
3. Analyzing and Managing Solutions
To understand the details of this topic, you must have acquired an in-depth knowledge of the creation of Power BI reports, a description of AI Builder models, and the implementation of other reports. Here, it's prudent to have the skills associated with creating Power BI report using BI Desktop and BI service, creating model-driven charts and dashboards, identifying model types, describing the process involved in preparing training models and data, and using a model that’s obtained from Power Apps and Power Automate.
4. Implementing and Managing Solutions
To easily pass the Microsoft PL-100 exam, you will also be required to showcase your understanding of the configuration of the security of Common Data Service, security of a solution, testing apps and flows, deployment of the solution, and management of versions of canvas apps. At this point, the test will focus on your skills in configuring security roles, setting up field security, managing data security, managing app security, sharing power BI reports as well as flows, validating accessibility, and implementing the testing tools for the Power Platform. Also, you should be proficient in exporting solutions, moving flows and apps between different environments, creating new app versions, restoring previous app versions, and publishing new app versions.
Career Prospects: Breaking Down the Role of an App Maker
The Microsoft PL-100 exam can be taken by professionals when they want to become app makers with proven experience. This is a fast-rising field in the modern employment industry given the recent surge in demand for applications that achieve specific objectives.
An App Developer or an App Maker is a competent IT specialist who creates, tests, and programs applications for computers, tablets, and mobile phones. Usually, these individuals work as part of a knowledgeable team that is responsible for taking ideas from their companies, the general public, or a target group and designing an app that suits those needs. App makers demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of coding languages and know how to apply them right. They may work closely with data scientists, software engineers, and graphic artists to create suitable applications. As part of their job scope, app developers may be responsible for testing and fixing bugs during product launching. With the recent advancements in technology, it is fair to say they are now the go-to professionals when the company prioritizes innovation, inventiveness, and accelerated growth. According to PayScale.com, a typical app developer earns an average salary of $70k per year.
Aside from this, passing PL-100 exam is also associated with the following roles:
- Data Analyst ($61k)
- Developer ($72k)
- DevOps Engineer ($96k)
- Technology Manager ($100k)
Certification Path: Climbing the Corporate Ladder
If you have an IT background in working with the Microsoft Power Platform Maker tools, you have a great chance of becoming a competent professional. But, that should never be the end, given the stiff competition for job roles at the intermediate level. So, after passing PL-100 exam, the next best path is to aim for advanced-level certificates that validate similar skills. If you are ready to take the next step as an app maker, the best program to pursue is Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification which you can obtain by acing the Microsoft PL-600 exam.
