Power Apps: Task App in SharePoint

Key insights

• Demo summary: The video demonstrates building a full task‑management app that uses Power Apps with SharePoint as the data store and Power Automate for flows.
  It tracks task progress, syncs changes in real time across lists, exports "Not started" tasks to Excel, and provides clear dashboards for workload awareness.
• Core architecture: Use one or more SharePoint lists (Tasks, Owners, Status/Priority) as the backend, connect a canvas app to those lists, and add Power Automate flows for notifications and exports.
  This keeps the app Microsoft 365‑native and ready for Teams and browser use.
• Data model & UX: A minimal Tasks list includes Title, Description, AssignedTo, Status, Priority, StartDate, DueDate and PercentComplete.
  Build screens with a Gallery or board view, a detail/edit form, and a Dashboard with charts and cards for workload and progress.
• Automation patterns: Create scheduled or trigger flows to send reminders, escalate overdue items, export filtered tasks to structured Excel, and start approvals.
  Use item queries (filter by DueDate and Status) and connector actions to keep notifications timely and consistent.
• 2024–2025 updates & best practices: Follow refreshed Microsoft guidance that emphasizes delegation, correct column choices, and role‑based access to avoid permission issues.
  Leverage updated maker features and community templates to speed development and scale apps securely.
• High‑level build plan & governance: Plan the data model and permissions first, create lists and views, build canvas screens, add automations, then test and monitor performance.
  Apply enterprise governance and admin controls to keep security and lifecycle management in place.

The Microsoft channel published a demonstration video that walks through building a task management app using a combination of Power Apps, SharePoint, and Power Automate. Presented by Syed Md Maruf Hasan, the demo shows a full working app that tracks task progress, visualizes status on dashboards, and synchronizes changes across lists in near real time. It also demonstrates an automated export of “Not started” tasks to Excel for reporting, providing a practical example for teams that want a low‑code solution inside Microsoft 365.

Overview of the demo

The video begins by explaining the core idea: use a SharePoint list as the primary data store, build a user interface with a canvas app in Power Apps, and automate reminders and exports with Power Automate. The presenter walks viewers through the app screens, including galleries for task lists, a detail screen, and a dashboard that highlights workload and percent complete. Consequently, the demo emphasizes a familiar Microsoft 365 experience that can live inside Teams or a browser, which many organizations find convenient for adoption.

Core architecture and required components

At the center of the architecture is a set of SharePoint lists for Tasks, Owners, and optional reference lists like Priority and Status. The Power Apps canvas app connects to these lists with the SharePoint connector and implements the UI and business logic, while Power Automate flows handle scheduled checks, notifications, and exports. This combination supports rapid, low‑code development and integrates with Outlook, Teams, and Excel for collaboration and reporting.

The video also outlines a minimal data model that keeps things simple: Title, Description, AssignedTo, Status, Priority, StartDate, DueDate, and PercentComplete. This model reduces complexity and avoids heavy nested structures that can complicate delegation and performance. Moreover, the demo highlights UX patterns such as responsive containers, galleries filtered by user or status, and clear detail forms to make the app usable on both desktop and mobile.

What’s new in 2024–2025 and why it matters

Microsoft’s guidance and platform updates for 2024–2025 introduced features and templates that make these solutions more maintainable and scalable. The presenter references release wave improvements that enhance canvas app performance and new components that simplify common patterns, which helps makers build reliable dashboards and boards. As a result, developers and citizen makers benefit from clearer guidance on delegation and connector limits, helping large lists perform better when designed correctly.

Community templates and updated best practices also play a role by providing starter patterns like Kanban boards and hybrid trackers that teams can adapt. The demo emphasizes these assets as time savers while cautioning makers to adjust templates for their own data models and security needs. Therefore, leveraging templates accelerates development but still requires careful planning for permissions and governance.

Build process and highlights from the walkthrough

The presenter demonstrates a practical build sequence that begins with planning the data model and permission levels in SharePoint, then moves to creating the canvas screens and wiring forms to list fields using EditForm or Patch as appropriate. Subsequent steps include creating gallery filters, building a dashboard with simple visual elements, and adding Power Automate flows to send reminders and export tasks. Throughout the walkthrough, the demo shows how changes in the lists sync across the app in real time and how scheduled flows pick up items that need attention.

In particular, the export flow for “Not started” tasks is useful for structured reporting because it produces an Excel workbook that non‑makers can consume easily. The demo also shows how to handle attachments and person fields, and how to present workload awareness through percent complete and priority visual cues. These practical touches make the presentation valuable for teams ready to implement a production app with minimal coding.

Tradeoffs and common challenges

While the combined approach offers speed and Microsoft 365 integration, the video notes tradeoffs around scale and complexity that builders must manage. For example, SharePoint lists work well for many scenarios but require delegation‑aware formulas and careful column design when lists grow large, which can limit certain lookups and queries. In addition, using person fields, complex JSON columns, or nested schemas can introduce performance and permission challenges that makers must plan for.

Governance and permissions are another key challenge because enterprise environments often need role‑based access and tenant controls that go beyond simple list permissions. The presenter recommends using Power Platform admin features and secure patterns, while also balancing usability so end users can adopt the app without heavy training. Ultimately, the demo frames these tradeoffs clearly and offers practical tips so teams can weigh maintainability against speed of delivery.

Overall, the Microsoft demo provides a clear, actionable blueprint for building a task management app using Power Apps, SharePoint, and Power Automate. It balances practical how‑tos with guidance on modern best practices, and it highlights the tradeoffs developers must navigate when scaling and governing solutions in a real-world environment. For organizations using Microsoft 365, the walkthrough offers a useful starting point to build a maintainable, integrated task tracker that fits common enterprise needs.

Keywords

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