The first time I encountered Power Platform was two years ago during a company training on Power Automate. I quickly discovered the broader product family including Power Apps, Power BI. I realized Power Platform is a powerful low-code/no-code toolset. For prototype UIs or quick POCs, Power Apps lets teams spend most of their effort on algorithm design and validation instead of hand-coding interfaces.
Over two years, Power Platform has evolved rapidly, especially with generative AI and LLM capabilities becoming more practical. It’s grown into a more complete application lifecycle platform, and I believe it will become as widely used as Excel. To test my skills and formalize my knowledge, I decided to take the Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900) exam.
Preparation & Registration
I prepared primarily with Microsoft’s official, free learning material.
Official learning and exam page
2. Microsoft Learn Power Platform learning paths — pick the modules that match the skills you need.
My study approach:
- Start with the official practice assessment to find weak areas. I took that assessment multiple times (about 10 practice attempts) to measure progress and identify topics to review.
- Use Microsoft Learn modules mapped to those weak areas for focused study.
- Reinforce concepts with hands-on labs: build a simple canvas app, create a Power Automate approval flow, and make a basic Power BI report.
Books and deeper reading
Official material is sufficient to pass PL-900, but these books helped me build practical, production-ready skills:
Rhodes, Jeffrey M. Creating Business Applications with Microsoft 365 : Techniques in Power Apps, Power BI, SharePoint, and Power Automate / by Jeffrey M. Rhodes. 2nd ed. 2022. Berkeley, CA: Apress, 2022. Web.
Hodel, Brian. Beginning Microsoft Dataverse : Exploiting Microsoft’s Low-Code Database for the Power Platform / by Brian Hodel. 1st ed. 2023. Berkeley, CA: Apress, 2023. Web.
Mohapatra, Biswa Pujarini, Gaurav Aroraa, and Yash Agarwal. Deep Dive into the Power Platform in the Age of Generative AI : Architectural Insights and Best Practices for Intelligent Business Solutions / by Biswa Pujarini Mohapatra, Gaurav Aroraa, Yash Agarwal. 1st ed. 2024. Berkeley, CA: Apress, 2024. Web.
These books are useful for applying Power Platform to real projects, not strictly necessary for the exam.
Getting the Certification
After passing After passing the exam, check your certification status under Profile > Credentials in your Microsoft account to view and share your credential.
Conclusion
The exam is harder than I expected even though I passed it. So getting the certification validated my foundation in Power Platform and gave me more confidence to prototype and deliver solutions faster. If you’re deciding whether to study for PL-900, start with hands-on projects, use Microsoft Learn, and iterate on practice assessments until your weak areas shrink. My next steps are applying these patterns at work.