Scenario 1: Citizen development

This scenario aims at the legacy canvas app makers and flow makers in Power Apps and Power Automate, respectively, who work in a Microsoft Dataverse environment without a Dataverse database.

You currently build canvas apps and flows that are not part of a solution, and share your apps and flows by specifying each user by name or specifying a security group in Microsoft Entra who can access your app or flow.

The end goal is to move your legacy canvas app and flows to a managed application lifecycle management (ALM) model by creating apps and flows in a Dataverse solution.

Note

You can use the default Dataverse environment as a playground to get acquainted with the app-building experience. However, if you'll be shipping shared components (such as entities and AI models) along with your apps and flows as part of a solution, we recommend you move to a model where you have multiple environments, each dedicated for the development, testing, and release of your apps. For more information about environments, see Types of environments used in ALM.

For legacy canvas app and flow makers to participate and move to a healthy ALM model, you must do the following:

1. Work with your IT admin/organization to discuss your business processes and environment strategy, such as the number of environments, access permissions, groups, and security. More information: ALM environment strategy

2. Understand the concept of solutions in Dataverse as a mechanism to transport and share components with others. You can export a solution from one environment to another to easily and securely share your apps and flows. More information: Solution concepts

3. Follow the steps in Scenario 0: ALM for a new project to move to a healthy ALM.

See also

Scenario 2: Moving from a single production environment