This course introduces Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft Fabric for automating business processes, preparing data, and developing business reports. Participants learn to create cloud flows, manage approvals, automate basic desktop tasks, and use Fabric to ingest, transform, store, and analyze data.

The course connects business automation with analytics through a practical scenario, progressing from data collection and approval to reporting. It covers foundational to intermediate skills, with introductory desktop automation and a capstone project. The scope aligns with Microsoft’s documentation for Power Automate and Microsoft Fabric.

 

Duration 6 Days – 42 hrs.

 

Objectives

• Explain the roles of Power Automate and Microsoft Fabric in business automation and analytics.
• Identify business processes suitable for automation.
• Create automated, instant, and scheduled cloud flows.
• Use connectors, expressions, conditions, loops, and approvals.
• Implement basic error handling and monitor flow execution.
• Create basic desktop flows for repetitive tasks.
• Navigate Fabric workspaces and explain OneLake, lakehouses, and warehouses.
• Ingest and transform data using Fabric Data Factory.
• Query data and build basic semantic models and Power BI reports.
• Apply foundational access control, governance, and maintenance practices.
• Build a solution that combines business workflow automation with Fabric analytics.

 

Target Audience 

• Business analysts and process improvement professionals.
• Business users responsible for repetitive administrative tasks.
• Automation specialists and aspiring RPA developers.
• Data analysts and business intelligence professionals.
• IT professionals supporting Microsoft 365 and Power Platform.
• Reporting specialists and junior data professionals.
• Team leaders overseeing workflow automation and operational reporting.

 

Prerequisites 

• Basic familiarity with Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel and SharePoint.
• Understanding of common business workflows and approval processes.
• Basic knowledge of tables, data types, and spreadsheet formulas.
• Familiarity with relational data concepts; basic SQL knowledge is helpful.
• A Microsoft work or school account with access to the required training services.
• A configured Power Automate environment with permissions and licenses for the connectors used.
• Access to a Fabric-enabled workspace with suitable capacity or an eligible trial.
• A Windows computer with Power Automate for desktop and Power BI Desktop installed.
• Access to training datasets and approved sample business applications.

 

 

Course Outline 

Day 1: Power Automate Foundations

Module 1: Introduction to Business Process Automation

• Business automation concepts and common use cases.
• Identifying repetitive tasks and process bottlenecks.
• Overview of Power Platform and Power Automate.
• Cloud flows and desktop flows.
• Environments, connections, and licensing considerations.

 Module 2: Creating Cloud Flows

• Automated, instant, and scheduled flows.
• Triggers, actions, and connectors.
• Working with Microsoft 365 services.
• Dynamic content and basic expressions.
• Creating and running a basic business workflow.

Module 3: Flow Logic and Data Handling

• Conditions and branching.
• Loops and switch actions.
• Variables and data types.
• Working with dates, text, and collections.
• Filtering and transforming flow data.

  

Day 2: Approvals, Reliability, and Desktop Automation

Module 4: Business Approvals and Notifications

• Designing approval workflows.
• Sequential and parallel approval patterns.
• Recording approval outcomes.
• Sending notifications and reminders.
• Managing rejected and incomplete requests.

 Module 5: Maintaining Reliable Cloud Flows

• Reviewing run history and diagnosing failures.
• Scopes and configure run after.
• Retry policies and exception handling.
• Managing connections and flow ownership.
• Introduction to solutions, connection references, and environment variables.
• Data policies and secure handling of business information.

 Module 6: Introduction to Desktop Automation

• Navigating Power Automate for desktop.
• Desktop actions, variables, and control logic.
• Automating files and Excel tasks.
• Basic browser and user interface automation.
• Handling desktop automation errors.
• Cloud-to-desktop execution concepts and access requirements.

  

Day 3: Microsoft Fabric Foundations and Data Ingestion

Module 7: Microsoft Fabric Architecture

• Fabric capabilities and common analytics scenarios.
• Workspaces, items, and capacity concepts.
• OneLake and shared data storage.
• Lakehouse and warehouse fundamentals.
• Understanding the path from source data to reporting.

 Module 8: Creating a Fabric Data Environment

• Navigating the Fabric interface.
• Creating and organizing workspace items.
• Creating a lakehouse.
• Loading files and exploring tables.
• Introduction to shortcuts and data access.

 Module 9: Data Ingestion with Fabric Data Factory

• Data connections and source configuration.
• Introduction to data pipelines.
• Copying data into Fabric.
• Pipeline parameters and scheduling.
• Monitoring ingestion runs and resolving common failures.

  

Day 4: Data Transformation and Querying

Module 10: Data Preparation with Dataflows Gen2

• Connecting to source data.
• Applying Power Query transformations.
• Correcting data types and handling missing values.
• Merging and appending queries.
• Configuring data destinations.

 Module 11: Lakehouse and Warehouse Operations

• Organizing analytical tables.
• Lakehouse SQL analytics endpoint fundamentals.
• Introduction to Fabric Warehouse.
• Basic SQL queries, joins, and aggregations.
• Selecting an appropriate storage approach.

 Module 12: Building Maintainable Data Pipelines

• Coordinating ingestion and transformation.
• Managing activity dependencies.
• Using parameters for reusable pipelines.
• Refresh patterns and incremental loading concepts.
• Monitoring failures and maintaining data quality.

  

Day 5: Business Intelligence and Solution Integration

Module 13: Semantic Models and Power BI Reporting

• Semantic model fundamentals.
• Table relationships and star schema concepts.
• Basic DAX measures.
• Introduction to Direct Lake.
• Creating business reports and key performance indicators.
• Publishing and sharing considerations.

 Module 14: Connecting Automation with Analytics

• Designing the flow from business transactions to analytical reporting.
• Capturing approved business records in a supported source.
• Ingesting workflow records into Fabric.
• Coordinating data availability and refresh schedules.
• Using supported Power Automate and Power BI actions.
• Connector, authentication, and API integration considerations.

 Module 15: Security, Governance, and Operations

• Workspace roles and item permissions.
• Introduction to report data access controls.
• Data lineage and sensitivity labels.
• Monitoring flows, pipelines, and refresh operations.
• Ownership, documentation, and support responsibilities.

 

Day 6: Integrated Capstone Project

Module 16: Capstone — Automated Business Requests and Operational Reporting

• Define a business request and approval scenario.
• Create a Power Automate flow to capture and route requests.
• Record request details, approval decisions, and status changes.
• Ingest the resulting records into Microsoft Fabric.
• Transform the data and prepare analytical tables.
• Create a semantic model and Power BI report.
• Display request volumes, approval turnaround, and pending items.
• Configure failure handling and operational notifications.
• Document dependencies, access requirements, and maintenance steps.

 Module 17: Solution Refinement and Implementation Planning

• Troubleshoot workflow and data integration issues.
• Improve flow clarity and data quality.
• Review security and ownership settings.
• Prepare a rollout and maintenance checklist.
• Identify opportunities for further automation and analytics.