5 easy projects to get started with Power Platform

Written by Mario Larrúa Vega.

Your first project can be something you understand in seconds: receiving a reminder, organizing tasks or seeing which categories you spend most on. The key is to finish a small version and verify it does what you expect.

These five proposals focus on Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI. You can complete them separately. The first versions use small datasets, generated screens and automations with a few steps.

The examples and extensions are LarrúaTech proposals. You need authorized access to the services and connectors used. The described tests are checks to perform in your own environment.

Before choosing: what you need

For Power Apps and Power Automate, check that your account can access the tools and connections. Exercises using OneDrive for Business, Outlook or Forms need those services to be available in the organization, with appropriate usage rights.

Power BI Desktop is a free Windows application and lets you prepare a local report. Publishing and sharing it in the service is a separate scenario with its own licensing requirements. See how to get started with Power BI Desktop and features by license.

If you do not yet have a compatible work or school account, start with the Power BI project and prepare the other projects’ tables while checking your access.

1. A weekly reminder sent to your email

The idea: receive a message on Mondays to organize your study week.

The flow only needs a schedule trigger and an email action:

Llega el día y la hora elegidos
              ↓
Envía un correo a tu propia dirección de pruebas

How to start

1. Open Power Automate and create a scheduled cloud flow.
2. Set a weekly recurrence and choose the day.
3. Check the time and time zone; for example, the one corresponding to Madrid.
4. Add the Outlook action to send an email.
5. Use your own address, write the subject and save the flow.
6. Run a test and review the run history.

The official guide to creating your first flow without Copilot uses this schedule-and-email pattern. You can also consult how to schedule a flow.

Sample content:

Asunto: Mi pequeño objetivo de la semana

Esta semana voy a terminar una práctica de Power Platform.
Reservaré una sesión para construir y otra para revisar el resultado.

How to know it works

Check that the email reaches the intended address, its content is correct and the schedule uses your intended time. A manual test alone does not prove the schedule is configured correctly.

What you learn: triggers, actions, connections and run history.

What to show: a screenshot of the two blocks and the test email, hiding your address if you publish it.

Optional extension: add a second action to record that the reminder was sent. When testing ends, disable the flow if you do not want to keep it running.

2. A task list with Power Apps

The idea: view three tasks and change one from Pending to Completed.

Prepare a small table in Excel:

How to start

1. Convert the range into an Excel table and give it a name, such as Tareas.
2. Save the workbook in OneDrive for Business and close it before connecting.
3. In Power Apps, use the option to create an application from Excel Online (Business).
4. Select the file and table.
5. Start with the generated screens and forms.
6. Open a task, change its status and save the change.

The current experience offers different options: connecting to Excel Online (Business) keeps the file as the source; uploading a file can convert its data into a Dataverse table. This exercise follows the first option. See creating an Excel-based application.

How to know it works

Reopen the task and verify it retains the saved status. Also check the source table. Use the application and Excel in turn to avoid complicating learning with simultaneous edits.

What you learn: connect data, browse records, use a form and save an edit.

What to show: the same task before and after the change, with a short explanation of where it is stored.

Optional extension: add a deadline or a pending-task filter. The first version does not need both.

3. A small supplies inventory

The idea: know how many notebooks, pens or folders you have and update a quantity.

This project reuses the previous pattern. If you already built the task list, you can focus on numeric data and a different problem.

How to start

1. Create the table Materiales and configure Cantidad as numeric data.
2. Save it in the compatible storage you used for the previous project.
3. Generate another application from that table.
4. Review the item list and form.
5. Change the Notebooks quantity from 5 to 4 and save.

The Excel Online (Business) connector works with files in supported locations such as OneDrive for Business and SharePoint. Use a small table and one editor for these exercises.

How to know it works

Verify that only the chosen item’s quantity changed, its location is unchanged and the change persists when reopened.

What you learn: data types, forms and checking changes.

What to show: a demonstration of viewing an item, changing its quantity and verifying the result.

Optional extension: highlight low quantities or validate that negative numbers cannot be saved. Avoid adding purchasing, suppliers and barcode scanners in the first version.

4. A feedback survey with an automatic notification

The idea: receive an email with the answers whenever someone completes a test survey.

Microsoft Forms belongs to Microsoft 365; in this project it provides input to a Power Automate automation. The Forms connector requires a compatible organizational account, as described in its official documentation.

A three-question form

• Which course have you tried?
• How would you rate it from 1 to 5?
• What would you improve?

Use fictional answers and send notifications to your own test address.

How to start

1. Create the form and submit an initial test response.
2. Create an automated flow in Power Automate.
3. Add the Forms trigger When a new response is submitted.
4. Add Get response details and use the response identifier supplied by the trigger.
5. Add the Outlook action to send an email to your address.
6. Insert the course, rating and comment into the body using dynamic content.
7. Save and run another complete test.

The process is:

Nueva respuesta → Obtener detalles → Enviarme un correo

Microsoft documents examples of this pattern in common ways to use Forms with Power Automate.

How to know it works

Submit two different responses and check that each notification contains the corresponding response data. Verify that you have not accidentally entered a fixed rating in the email.

What you learn: event-driven automation and dynamic content.

What to show: the form, the flow’s three steps and a sample notification.

Optional extension: change the subject when the rating is low. If you only need a basic alert, Forms also has its own notifications; the flow is used here to learn message customization.

5. A fictional expense dashboard in Power BI

The idea: answer a simple question: how much have I spent, and in which categories?

Start with three sample rows in Excel:

How to start

1. Open Power BI Desktop and import the Excel table.
2. Check that Importe has a numeric type.
3. Add a table visual with the transactions.
4. Add a bar chart with category and amount.
5. Add a card showing the sum of Importe.
6. Save the report locally.

You can follow the official introduction to Power BI Desktop. The first version can use basic aggregations without writing custom DAX measures.

How to know it works

The total should be 35. Training should total 20; Transport, 10; and Leisure, 5. Check that the field is summed rather than counted.

What you learn: import data, review types and create visualizations with verifiable figures.

What to show: a report screenshot alongside the source table and total verification.

Optional extension: add a date and a monthly filter. You can demonstrate the project locally; publishing the report online is unnecessary for this first version.

Which order to follow

If you have access to the tools, I would start with the Power Automate reminder: the process is short and the result easy to recognize. Then choose Power BI or the task list depending on whether you prefer data or applications.

Complete the inventory once you understand how an application reads and saves information. Leave the survey to practice linking an input to a personalized alert.

Do one at a time. Add an extension when you can explain and repeat how the first version works.

How to turn them into your first portfolio

For each project, prepare a page or README with five sections:

1. Problem: what you wanted to solve.
2. Tools and access: what you used and what someone else needs to try it.
3. How it works: a short explanation or demonstration.
4. Verification: what result you expected and what you observed.
5. Next improvement: a specific extension.

Include two or three screenshots and use fictional data. An honest explanation of a small solution helps show that you understand what you built and provides a clear foundation for further learning.