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Is the PL-900 worth it?

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Microsoft’s Power Platform, which includes Power BI, Power Apps and Power Automate, was available under Dynamics 365 for years. Despite their increasing popularity, any certifications that included these tools were only used in a supporting role. Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals is the tech giant’s latest attempt to draw out these tools and give them their own focus. It highlights how useful they can be for many business applications.
What is the PL-900?
To earn the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals certification, you must pass the PL-900 Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals test. It is intended to be an entry-level certification that bridges the gap between technical proficiency, and non-technical users. There are no prerequisites and no follow up certifications have yet been developed.
What is the PL-900 Test?
The PL-900 was almost exclusively focused on the business application aspect when it was first created. This is how the initial skills breakdown looked.
Power Platform’s business value: 20-25%
Learn the Core Components and Benefits of Power Platform: 25-30%
Demonstrate Power BI’s business value: 15-20%
Demonstrate the Business Value of Power Apps: 15-20%
Demonstrate the business benefit of Microsoft Flow: 15-20%

Microsoft added a sixth domain to their site and made significant changes to the areas they were seeking. This took less than a year. Here’s the current breakdown.
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Identify the core components for Power Platform: 15-20%
Demonstrate Power BI’s capabilities: 15-20%
Power Apps capabilities: 15-20%
Demonstrate Power Automate’s capabilities: 15-20%
Demonstrate the business benefits of Power Virtual Agents: 10-15%

Initially, any domain that required you to demonstrate something revolved around the concept and value of business. Core components or capabilities were only 25-30 percent of the exam. The current PL-900 changes these priorities. 25 to 35 percent of the test focuses on business value, while the remaining two-thirds to four-quarters of the test focuses on identifying, describing and demonstrating your ability with core components and capabilities.
This transition means that Power Platform was more than just being aware of its potential. Although the material isn’t necessarily technical (one skill is “create powerful chatbots using a guided no-code graphical interface”) it does require you to understand how Power Platform works.
What is the PL-900’s Price?
The PL900 exam costs $99, which makes it very affordable. The Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals exam consists of 40-60 multiple-choice questions. It takes 60 minutes to complete.
What experience do you need for the PL900?
Microsoft does not have any pre-requisites for the PL900 exam. First, open the current skills outline. If you feel confident with each requirement, you are well on your way. You can use the Skills outline as a study guide if you feel less confident.
Who Should Take the PL-900 Exam?
This exam is for Power Platform users who want to go beyond the basics and create or modify their own tools. If your experience is based on only working with existing applications, the PL-900 exam can prepare you to take Power BI, Power Apps and Power Automate to design and build tools that meet your needs.
PL-900 Mic

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What is a WBS? Bill asked a great question about a WBS and how it can be used to plan project scope. Josh, please clarify. I am only at chapter 7, so if you have any questions, please forgive me. So far, it seems like the WBS is different than the schedule. Is this a point you’re making? Or am I misunderstanding it? I thought the WBS was the basis of the schedule. RegardsBill Bill, you are correct. The WBS is separate from the schedule. You should be able to focus only on the deliverables when creating the WBS. This is true regardless of the time. (I hesitate to recommend phase-based deliverables in general but I recognize that some programs may use this structure) I also recommend that you do not use staff roles to organize your work breakdown structure. Next, you break down the deliverables into tasks. The tasks will be what you use to create your schedule. Your schedule will most likely be influenced at least partially by the WBS structure. But not always. My version of a WBS is called a Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) in the PRINCE2 world. When I speak of task decomposition in a Base of Estimate (BOE), they use the same terminology for what they call a WBS. Although we do the same thing, the terminology can be confusing if you try to translate across the pond. I recommend that you never open a scheduling tool without first completing the necessary steps.
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Project Failure: We are at It Again Serendipity happens. I replied to a student Inside pmStudent eLearning with what turned to be an article about project success and failure. Shim wrote, “Projects failure rates?” a few days later. The conventional wisdom is wrong! His blog is amazing. I began leaving comments, and it quickly became one of those comments that should be its own post. Chaos I mean the reports that various organizations have on project failure rates. Shim outlined the following in his post:
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Project Failure: We are at It Again Serendipity happens. I replied to a student Inside pmStudent eLearning with what turned to be an article about project success and failure. Shim wrote, “Projects failure rates?” a few days later. The conventional wisdom is wrong! His blog is amazing. I began leaving comments, and it quickly became one of those comments that should be its own post. Chaos I mean the reports that various organizations have on project failure rates. Shim outlined the following in his post:
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