Study guide for Exam PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals
Purpose of this document
This study guide should help you understand what to expect on the exam and includes a summary of the topics the exam might cover and links to additional resources. The information and materials in this document should help you focus your studies as you prepare for the exam.
| Useful links | Description |
|---|---|
| Review the skills measured as of March 24, 2023 | This list represents the skills measured AFTER the date provided. Study this list if you plan to take the exam AFTER that date. |
| Review the skills measured prior to March 24, 2023 | Study this list of skills if you take your exam PRIOR to the date provided. |
| Change log | You can go directly to the change log if you want to see the changes that will be made on the date provided. |
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Updates to the exam
Our exams are updated periodically to reflect skills that are required to perform a role. We have included two versions of the Skills Measured objectives depending on when you are taking the exam.
We always update the English language version of the exam first. Some exams are localized into other languages, and those are updated approximately eight weeks after the English version is updated. While Microsoft makes every effort to update localized versions as noted, there may be times when the localized versions of an exam are not updated on this schedule. Other available languages are listed in the Schedule Exam section of the Exam Details webpage. If the exam isn't available in your preferred language, you can request an additional 30 minutes to complete the exam.
Note
The bullets that follow each of the skills measured are intended to illustrate how we are assessing that skill. Related topics may be covered in the exam.
Note
Most questions cover features that are general availability (GA). The exam may contain questions on Preview features if those features are commonly used.
Skills measured as of March 24, 2023
Audience profile
Candidates for this exam aspire to understand how Microsoft Power Platform technologies can be used to improve processes and help drive business outcomes. The exam is intended for candidates seeking to start their journey building solutions with Microsoft Power Platform.
This exam can be used to prepare for role-based or specialty certifications, but it is not a prerequisite for any of them.
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform (20–25%)
Identify foundational components of Microsoft Power Platform (10–15%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI (10–15%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps (20–25%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate (15–20%)
Describe complementary Microsoft Power Platform solutions (15–20%)
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform (20–25%)
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform services
Describe the value of Power Apps to build applications
Describe the value of Power Automate to automate processes
Describe the value of Power BI to gain insights into data
Describe the value of Power Pages to build websites
Describe the value of Power Virtual Agents to create chatbots
Describe the value of connectors to integrate services and data
Describe the value of Microsoft Dataverse to organize business data
Describe the value of AI Builder to enhance apps and flows
Describe the business value of extending business solutions by using Microsoft Power Platform
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform apps work together with Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform business solutions work together with Microsoft 365 apps and services
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform apps work together
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform works with Microsoft Teams
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform business solutions can consume Microsoft Azure services
Describe Microsoft Power Platform administration and governance
Describe the Microsoft Power Platform security model
Describe environments
Describe where to perform specific administrative tasks including Microsoft Power Platform admin center and Microsoft 365 admin center
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform supports privacy and accessibility guidelines
Identify foundational components of Microsoft Power Platform (10–15%)
Describe Microsoft Dataverse
Describe differences between traditional databases and Microsoft Dataverse
Describe tables, columns, and relationships in Microsoft Dataverse
Describe business logic in Microsoft Dataverse
Describe dataflows for Microsoft Dataverse
Describe connectors
Describe the components of a connector
Describe standard and premium connectors
Identify use cases for custom connectors
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI (10–15%)
Identify basic Power BI components
Describe Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service
Compare and contrast dashboards, workspaces, reports, and paginated reports
Describe how to clean and transform data by using Power Query
Describe how AI Insights helps identify anomalies and trends in data
Build a basic dashboard by using Power BI
Create a Power BI report by adding visualizations
Create a Power BI dashboard
Add visualizations to dashboards by using Q&A
Consume Power BI reports and dashboards
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps (20–25%)
Identify basic Power Apps capabilities
Describe the differences between canvas apps and model-driven apps
Describe use cases for and capabilities of canvas apps
Describe use cases for and capabilities of model-driven apps
Build a basic canvas app
Connect to data sources by using connectors
Create an app from data
Add controls to canvas app screens
Build a basic model-driven app
Create a model-driven app from tables
Modify forms
Create and modify views
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate (15–20%)
Identify basic Power Automate components
Describe use cases for cloud and desktop flows
Describe use cases for cloud flow templates
Describe how Power Automate cloud flows use connector triggers and actions
Describe Power Automate use cases for approvals, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and Forms
Describe the Power Automate apps including Power Automate for Desktop, Power Automate mobile, and the Power Automate portal
Describe actions for Power Automate desktop flows
Describe document processing in Power Automate
Build a basic Power Automate flow
Create a cloud flow by using an instant, automated, or scheduled flow template
Modify a cloud flow
Add flow steps to perform data operations
Run a cloud flow
Build a basic desktop flow by recording tasks
Describe complementary Microsoft Power Platform solutions (15–20%)
Describe the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents
Describe use cases for Power Virtual Agents
Describe the purpose of topics, entities, and actions
Create topics from existing FAQs by using Suggest Topics
Describe the capabilities of Power Pages
Describe use cases for Power Pages
Describe use cases for templates
Describe how to share data externally
Describe the capabilities of AI Builder
Describe use cases for AI Builder
Describe the lifecycle to create an AI Builder model
Study resources
We recommend that you train and get hands-on experience before you take the exam. We offer self-study options and classroom training as well as links to documentation, community sites, and videos.
| Study resources | Links to learning and documentation |
|---|---|
| Get trained | Choose from self-paced learning paths and modules or take an instructor-led course |
| Find documentation | Microsoft Power Platform documentation Power BI documentation Microsoft Power Apps documentation Power Automate documentation Microsoft Power Virtual Agents documentation |
| Ask a question | Microsoft Q&A | Microsoft Docs |
| Get community support | Power Platform Community (microsoft.com) |
| Follow Microsoft Learn | Microsoft Learn - Microsoft Tech Community |
| Find a video | #LessCodeMorePower | Shows Browse other Microsoft Learn shows |
Change log
Key to understanding the table: The topic groups (also known as functional groups) are in bold typeface followed by the objectives within each group. The table is a comparison between the two versions of the exam skills measured and the third column describes the extent of the changes.
| Skill area prior to March 24, 2023 | Skill area as of March 24, 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Audience profile | Major | |
| Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform | Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform | No % change of exam |
| Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform services | Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform services | Major |
| Describe the business value of extending business solutions by using Microsoft Power Platform | Describe the business value of extending business solutions by using Microsoft Power Platform | Major |
| Describe Microsoft Power Platform administration and security | Describe Microsoft Power Platform administration and governance | Major |
| Identify the core components of Microsoft Power Platform | Identify foundational components of Microsoft Power Platform | No % change of exam |
| Describe Microsoft Dataverse | Describe Microsoft Dataverse | Major |
| Describe connectors | Describe connectors | Minor |
| Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI | Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI | % of exam decreased |
| Identify common Power BI components | Identify basic Power BI components | Major |
| Connect to and consume data | Removed | |
| Build a basic dashboard using Power BI | Build a basic dashboard using Power BI | Major |
| Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps | Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps | % of exam decreased |
| Identify common Power Apps components | Identify basic Power Apps capabilities | Major |
| Build a basic canvas app | Build a basic canvas app | Major |
| Build a basic model-driven app | Build a basic model-driven app | Minor |
| Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate | Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate | % of exam increased |
| Identify common Power Automate components | Identify basic Power Automate components | Major |
| Build a basic cloud flow | Build a basic Power Automate flow | Minor |
| Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents | Describe complementary Microsoft Power Platform solutions | % of exam increased |
| Describe the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents in Microsoft Teams | Describe the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents | Major |
| Build and publish a basic chatbot | Removed | |
| Describe the capabilities of Power Pages | New | |
| Describe the capabilities of AI Builder | New |
Skills measured prior to March 24, 2023
Audience profile
Candidates for this exam aspire to improve productivity by understanding the capabilities of the Microsoft Power Platform, automating basic business processes with Power Automate, performing basic data analysis with Power BI, acting more effectively by creating simple Power Apps experiences, and creating powerful chatbots by using Power Virtual Agents.
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform (20–25%)
Identify the core components of Microsoft Power Platform (10–15%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI (20–25%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps (25–30%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate (10–15%)
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents (1–5%)
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform (20–25%)
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform services
Gain insights into data by using Power BI
Build applications quickly by using Power Apps
Automate processes by using Power Automate
Use connectors to integrate services and data
Create powerful chatbots by using the Power Virtual Agents web app and Power Virtual Agents in Microsoft Teams
Describe the business value of extending business solutions by using Microsoft Power Platform
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform apps work together with Dynamics 365 apps
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform business solutions work together with Microsoft 365 apps and services
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform apps work together
Describe how to use Microsoft Power Platform solutions with Microsoft Teams
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform business solutions can consume Microsoft Azure services including Azure Cognitive Services
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform business solutions can consume third-party apps and services
Describe use cases for AppSource
Describe Microsoft Power Platform administration and security
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform implements security including awareness of Microsoft Dataverse security roles, Azure Identity Services, and Access Management (IAM)
Describe how to manage apps and users
Describe environments
Describe where to perform specific administrative tasks including Microsoft Power Platform admin center and Microsoft 365 admin center
Describe data policies
Describe how Microsoft Power Platform supports privacy and accessibility guidelines
Describe Microsoft Power Platform governance capabilities
Describe analytics and how they can be used
Identify the core components of Microsoft Power Platform (10–15%)
Describe Microsoft Dataverse
Describe the difference between databases and Dataverse
Describe differences between Dataverse and Dataverse for Teams
Describe tables, columns, and relationships
Describe how to use common standard tables to describe people, places, and things
Describe business logic uses including business rules, real-time workflows, and actions
Describe dataflows and their uses
Describe solutions and their purpose
Describe Connectors
Describe triggers including trigger types and where triggers are used
Describe actions
Describe licensing options for connectors including standard or premium tier
Identify use cases for custom connectors
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI (20–25%)
Identify common Power BI components
Identify and describe uses for visualization controls including pie, bar, donut, and scatter plots and KPIs
Describe the Power BI Desktop Reports, Data, and Model views
Compare and contrast Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service
Compare and contrast dashboards, workspaces, and reports
Describe the Power BI security model
Describe using Power BI in mobile apps
Connect to and consume data
Connect to and combine data from multiple sources including Microsoft Excel
Describe how to use Power Query to clean and transform data
Describe and implement aggregate functions
Identify available types of data sources including Microsoft Excel
Describe use cases for shared datasets
Describe use cases for template apps
Describe options for viewing Power BI reports and dashboards
Build a basic dashboard using Power BI
Create a Power BI report
Create a Power BI dashboard
Publish and share reports and dashboards
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps (25–30%)
Identify common Power Apps components
Describe the differences between canvas apps and model-driven apps
Describe use cases for formulas
Build a basic canvas app
Describe types of data sources
Connect to data sources by using connectors
Create an app from data
Use controls to design the user experience
Publish and share an app
Describe embedding into Microsoft Teams
Build a basic model-driven app
Create a model-driven app from tables
Modify forms
Create and modify views and columns
Publish and share an app
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate (10–15%)
Identify common Power Automate components
Identify flow types including cloud, desktop, and business process flows
Describe use cases for flows and available flow templates
Describe how Power Automate uses connector triggers and actions
Describe loops and conditions including switch, do until, and apply to each
Describe expressions
Describe use cases for approvals
Describe the Power Automate apps, including Power Automate Desktop, Power Automate mobile, and Power Automate portal
Build a basic cloud flow
Create a cloud flow by using the instant, automated, or scheduled flow template
Modify a cloud flow
Use flow steps to perform data operations
Run a cloud flow
Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents (1–5%)
Describe the capabilities of Power Virtual Agents in Microsoft Teams
Describe use cases for Power Virtual Agents within Microsoft Teams
Describe topics, entities, and actions
Describe message nodes, question nodes, conditions, trigger phrases, and the authoring canvas
Build and publish a basic chatbot
Create a chatbot
Create a topic
Call an action
Launch a Power Automate flow from a chatbot
Publish a chatbot to different applications including Microsoft Teams, websites, and other apps