The platform isn’t the problem. The brief is.
Power Platform is marketed as the low-code dream: rapid delivery, easy integration, and solutions that scale. And it can be – when used right. But that’s not what we’re seeing on the ground.
Instead, what we’re seeing – more often than we’d like – are bloated apps, missed deadlines, confused stakeholders, and a lot of frustration.
The common thread? Most projects start without a clear enough objective. The solution gets scoped before the problem is understood. Or the client expects Power Platform to be a full-stack dev toolkit. (Spoiler: it’s not)
We’re not saying this to be cynical – we say it because we’ve been there, been called in to clean it up, and still believe Power Platform can be brilliant. Just not when it’s misused.
The expectation gap is real
We once worked on a project where the client needed to replace a paper-heavy approval process. The Power Platform was a good fit: automated workflows, structured forms, audit logs. But what they thought they were getting was a sleek, responsive mobile app with custom animations and deep integrations to systems that didn’t even have APIs.
“The tech wasn’t the issue,” says Alva Hernandez, one of our consultants who’s worked across both project management and development. “The challenge was that the goal kept shifting – and didn’t align with what the platform is built to do.”
This is the expectation gap that derails so many projects.
Power Platform is great for:
- Streamlining manual workflows
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Capturing structured data
- Enabling quick iteration with minimal code
It’s not great for:
- Pixel-perfect mobile UIs
- Highly bespoke integrations without middleware
- Replacing full-stack applications
When you start with the wrong assumptions, the project’s in trouble before a single canvas or model-driven app is built.
There’s no Power Platform magic trick. Just hard questions.
A lot of the “unsexy” work – scoping, stakeholder alignment, expectations management – gets skipped in the rush to build. But that’s the work that makes or breaks delivery.
We’ve learned to front-load that part of the process. It’s why the first thing we ask isn’t “What do you want to build?” but:
- What’s the actual problem you’re trying to solve?
- What would success look like to your users, not just your steering committee?
- Can this be solved within Power Platform’s guardrails, or are we pushing it too far?
“Some clients just need someone to challenge their thinking a little,” Alva says. “That’s what turns a half-working app into a solution that actually delivers.”
When it works, it really works.
We’ve delivered Power Platform solutions that now run core operational processes – everything from tracking medication dispersals in hospitals to simplifying grant applications in the NFP sector.
And when those projects succeed, it’s because:
- The scope was realistic
- The stakeholders were aligned
- The users were brought in early
- And we said “no” when necessary
That last one’s key. Sometimes success comes from knowing what not to build.
What we’d tell anyone kicking off a Power Platform project
- Be brutally clear on your goals. Vague “digital transformation” won’t cut it.
- Bring business users into the room. Early and often.
- Don’t try to make Power Platform do things it’s not designed for. If you need custom UX or system-level integrations, consider extending it – or choosing something else.
- Give your team space to iterate. The value of low-code is speed – but only if the foundations are solid.
The wrap-up
Power Platform is an enabler. But only when the fundamentals are respected. When we see projects stall, it’s rarely because the platform “failed.” It’s because the problem wasn’t defined, the scope kept shifting, or the solution outgrew the tool.
If you’re clear about your outcomes, realistic about what Power Platform can do, and open to push back from your delivery team – you’ll get results. Real ones. Fast.
That’s the bit no one puts on the roadmap. But it’s the bit that makes everything else work.
