More and more organizations are struggling to manage the exponential growth of their digital assets across multiple environments. Poor data governance practices can lead to security risks, compliance issues, and inefficiencies that hinder productivity and decision-making. That's where the Center of Excellence (CoE) Starter Kit comes in - a powerful tool designed to help businesses establish robust data governance frameworks and maintain tenant hygiene.
In this article, we will explore how the CoE Starter Kit can help you on your data governance strategy. We will start by introducing the key features of the CoE Starter Kit, including its ability to streamline flows, create insightful dashboards, and develop custom apps. Next, we will guide you through the process of getting started with the CoE Starter Kit, from installation to configuration. We will then delve into the governance and compliance capabilities of the kit, showcasing how it can help you meet regulatory requirements and enforce best practices across your organization. Finally, we will highlight some of the advanced features and customization options available, empowering you to tailor the CoE Starter Kit to your unique needs and drive maximum value from your data assets.
Introduction to the CoE Starter Kit
The Microsoft Power Platform CoE Starter Kit is a collection of components and tools designed to help organizations develop a strategy for adopting and supporting the Microsoft Power Platform, with a focus on Power Apps, Power Automate, and Microsoft Copilot Studio. This kit provides a reference implementation and templates to assist in establishing a Center of Excellence (CoE) that drives innovation, improvement, and governance within the organization.
What is the CoE Starter Kit?
The CoE Starter Kit consists of various resources, including:
- Templates and best practices for creating and managing a Power Platform environment
- Tools for monitoring the environment and troubleshooting issues
- Resources for optimizing processes and developing custom applications
- Guidance on integrating the Power Platform with other tools and services
By leveraging these resources, organizations can streamline their processes, increase operational efficiency, and save time and effort on manual tasks.
Why It Matters for Organizations
Implementing a CoE using the starter kit offers several benefits:
- Improved productivity: The kit provides tools and resources to streamline processes and increase operational efficiency.
- Enhanced collaboration: It enables the creation of a collaborative environment where teams can work together efficiently and effectively.
- Informed decision-making: Organizations can gain access to data and insights to make more informed decisions based on facts and evidence.
- Reduced costs: The kit helps set up and maintain a Power Platform environment without investing in expensive hardware or software, reducing overall operational costs.
Overview of Key Features
The CoE Starter Kit offers a range of features to support organizations in their Power Platform adoption:
- Admin: Gain insights into your Microsoft Power Platform adoption through setup, use, and deep dive.
- Govern: Establish audit and compliance processes with setup, use, and deep dive.
- Nurture: Accelerate your adoption by thriving with a community of makers through setup and use.
These features provide a solid foundation for organizations to build upon and customize according to their specific requirements, ensuring a successful and tailored implementation of the Microsoft Power Platform.
Getting Started
To get started with the CoE Starter Kit, it's important to ensure that your system meets the necessary requirements and that you follow the proper installation and configuration steps. Let's walk through the process of setting up the CoE Starter Kit in your Power Platform environment.
System Requirements
Before installing the CoE Starter Kit, make sure your system meets the following prerequisites:
- The installing user must have one of these roles: Microsoft Power Platform service admin, global tenant admin, or Dynamics 365 service admin
- Power Apps Per User license (non-trial) and Microsoft 365 license
- Power Automate Per User license or Per Flow licenses (non-trial)
- Power BI Premium per user or per capacity (if using Data Export for inventory)
- Access to an Office 365 mailbox with REST API enabled and meeting all requirements to use the Office 365 Outlook connector
- Access to an Azure app registration with permissions to read data from the Microsoft 365 audit log (only required if using Cloud flows for inventory)
- Power BI Pro license for the installing user (if sharing the Power BI report included in the CoE Starter Kit)
Download and Installation
To download and install the CoE Starter Kit:
- Visit the official download URL: aka.ms/CoEStarterKitDownload
- Extract the downloaded zip file, which contains a set of Power Platform solutions
- Install the solutions in the following sequence:
- Core Components
- Audit Components
- Other components (Innovation Backlog, Nurture Components, ALM Accelerator, Admin, Task Analysis, etc.) can be installed in any desired order
- For Power BI reports, open the .pbit files in Power BI and publish them to a Power BI workspace
Initial Configuration
After installing the solutions, you need to configure the apps and components:
- Open each solution and navigate to the Apps section
- Configure the canvas and model-driven apps within each solution
- Some apps work independently, while others configure apps within your tenant
- Set up a separate Power BI workspace to publish the Power BI reports
- Ensure that all apps are configured before publishing the reports to avoid errors and inconsistencies
By following these steps, you'll have the CoE Starter Kit up and running in your Power Platform environment. Stay tuned for more in-depth videos on installing and exploring the features of the CoE Starter Kit.
Governance and Compliance
The CoE Starter Kit provides a comprehensive set of tools and processes to help organizations establish robust governance and compliance frameworks for their Power Platform environments. By leveraging the kit's features, administrators can ensure that apps, flows, and dashboards adhere to organizational policies and industry regulations.
Setting Up Governance Processes
The CoE Starter Kit streamlines the setup of governance processes through its compliance components. Administrators can configure the kit to automatically monitor apps and flows based on predefined criteria, such as the number of users shared with or the frequency of launches. When an app or flow meets these thresholds, the kit triggers a compliance request to the owner, prompting them to provide business justification and support details.
Administrators can also manually initiate compliance requests for specific apps or flows that require additional scrutiny. The kit's Developer Compliance Center app allows makers to submit the requested information, which is then reviewed by the admin using the Power Platform Admin View app. This centralized approach ensures that all compliance data is captured and stored in a single location, making it easier to track and manage.
Monitoring and Reporting Compliance
The CoE Starter Kit enables administrators to monitor compliance across their Power Platform environments effectively. The kit's Power BI dashboards provide detailed insights into app and flow usage, allowing admins to identify highly used apps and active makers. These dashboards also highlight apps that are not compliant with organizational policies, helping admins prioritize their governance efforts.
In addition to the dashboards, the kit generates compliance reports that provide a comprehensive view of the organization's Power Platform landscape. These reports include information on app and flow ownership, usage statistics, and compliance status. Administrators can use these reports to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate compliance to auditors and stakeholders.
Best Practices for Policies
To ensure effective governance and compliance, it is essential to establish clear policies and communicate them to makers and users. The CoE Starter Kit provides best practices and templates for creating policies that align with organizational goals and industry regulations. These policies should cover areas such as:
- Data classification and handling
- App and flow development standards
- Security and access controls
- Licensing and capacity management
- Support and maintenance processes
Administrators should regularly review and update these policies to keep pace with changing business requirements and regulatory landscapes. The kit's nurture components can be used to communicate policies and best practices to makers through welcome emails, training materials, and community engagement initiatives.
By implementing the governance and compliance features of the CoE Starter Kit, organizations can ensure that their Power Platform environments are secure, compliant, and aligned with business objectives. This foundation of trust and transparency enables organizations to harness the full potential of the Power Platform while minimizing risks and maximizing value.
Advanced Features and Customization
The CoE Starter Kit offers a range of advanced features and customization options to help you tailor the governance framework to your organization's unique needs. Let's explore some of these capabilities in more detail.
Using the Power BI Dashboard
The Power BI dashboard included in the CoE Starter Kit provides a comprehensive view of your Power Platform adoption, with visualizations and insights into resources such as environments, apps, flows, connectors, and audit logs. The dashboard allows you to:
- Monitor usage across your entire tenant and within each environment
- Drill down and filter data by maker department, country, city, connector usage, or premium feature usage
- Identify trends and patterns in resource creation and usage over time
By leveraging the Power BI dashboard, you can gain valuable insights to drive informed decision-making and optimize your Power Platform governance strategy.
Customizing the Data Views
The CoE Starter Kit enables you to customize the data views to better align with your organization's priorities and requirements. Here are a few ways you can adapt the kit:
- Modify the global choices in the "PowerApps App" table to reflect your organization's data classification options
- Create new columns in the "PowerApps App" table to capture additional metadata relevant to your governance processes
- Customize the canvas and model-driven apps within each solution to include organization-specific branding and functionality
By tailoring the data views and app components, you can ensure that the CoE Starter Kit seamlessly integrates with your existing governance frameworks and business processes.
Advanced Tips and Tricks
To get the most value out of the CoE Starter Kit, consider these advanced tips and tricks:
- Stay up-to-date with the latest releases by subscribing to notifications on the CoE repository in GitHub
- Ensure that updates are properly applied by removing any unmanaged solution layers that may block managed solution changes
- Make the "Admin – Command Center" app your go-to hub for Power Platform administration, utilizing its features for managing sync flows, environment variables, and email templates
- Enable personalization of visuals in the Power BI report to allow admins to customize their views without impacting the underlying dataset
- Leverage the solution inventory data to track versions and modification dates across your dev, test, and production environments
By implementing these advanced techniques, you can streamline your CoE Starter Kit management, adapt the tools to your specific needs, and maximize the value of your Power Platform investment.
Conclusion
The CoE Starter Kit is a powerful tool that can really help you out on your data governance strategy, enabling you to establish robust frameworks and maintain tenant hygiene. By leveraging its key features, such as streamlined flows, insightful dashboards, and custom apps, organizations can drive innovation, improvement, and governance within their Power Platform environments. The kit's governance and compliance capabilities help ensure that apps, flows, and dashboards adhere to organizational policies and industry regulations, while advanced features and customization options allow you to tailor the framework to your unique needs.
As your organization works towards better data governance, the CoE Starter Kit will be an invaluable asset. You can unlock new levels of productivity, collaboration, and informed decision-making, all while reducing costs and minimizing risks. With the CoE Starter Kit at your disposal, you are well-equipped to navigate the landscape of data governance and drive maximum value from your digital assets.
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