The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate accreditation is intended for professionals engaged in the business sphere and working with Microsoft Powel Platform solutions. To be exact, they are knowledgeable of how to UX design, data modeling, process and requirements analyses. In addition, they are able to simplify and automate tasks for their team. Such professionals are in high demand nowadays, as they are solution-focused and self-directed. They are able to solve business issues through collaboration with IT administrators and Microsoft Power Platform developers. Also, among the skills they possess, they are competent in using such tools as Excel PivotTables and Visual Basic for Applications.
Though the certification doesn’t require you to have compulsory experience, you can volunteer on a project that includes the concepts tested, to get real experience and to test your skills. You also can enroll in the instructor-led course and join the official Microsoft community to get the latest news and updates on the certification and find the suitable learning paths on Microsoft Learn.
The certification process itself is not difficult if you know the topics tested. For that, you need to pass one exam PL-100. This is an associate-level evaluation with a duration of 120 minutes comprising from 40 to 60 questions of various types. The exam is priced at $165, though you can pay just $15 for taking it if you’ve lost your job due to the COVID-19 crisis. Since it’s a limited-time offer, check the vendor’s website for more information.
So, the content of the PL-100 exam is divided into 3 parts, each is dedicated to a specific topic. Each topic in its turn checks your specific skills. The first part revolves around designing business solutions. You should be proficient in creating a high-level design, defining Microsoft Power Platform elements, and designing data models along with reporting. Besides, your skills to create the UI intended for business solutions should also be performed in this domain.
The second topic focuses on creating solutions. Here, you are expected to operate Microsoft Power Platform development environments, create canvas and model-driven apps. In addition, your skills to design Microsoft Dataverse, create flows related to Microsoft Power Automate as well as Microsoft Power Virtual Agents within Microsoft Teams will be assessed.
The third topic deals with analyzing and visualizing data. In this section, you will be tested on your competence in creating Microsoft Power BI reports and applying other reports. That’s why you should be knowledgeable of how to use Power BI Desktop and service to create Power BI reports, how to share them, and incorporate data into an Excel or Microsoft Word template. Apart from that, you should be ready to demonstrate your skills to deal with AI Builder models. This includes your proficiency in describing custom and prebuilt models and utilizing a model from Power Apps or Power Automate.
The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate accreditation will validate your skills and help you build a career of a business analyst, data analyst, DevOps engineer, App Maker, business user, and business owner. According to the Ziprecruiter website, with this certification, you can earn annually about $113, 889 per annum.