Building an Automation Solution with Nintex and PowerApps
Modern organisations often look for efficient ways to automate their workflows and processes. Nintex and PowerApps are two powerful tools that enable businesses to create robust automation solutions. Below, I will outline the step-by-step process for building an automation solution using these technologies.
- Define the Problem and Objectives
The first step in creating an automation solution is understanding the process you wish to streamline. Ask the following questions:
- What specific tasks or workflows need automation?
- What are the expected outcomes or benefits?
- Who will be the primary users of the solution?
Clearly defining the problem and objectives ensures alignment and provides a roadmap for the development process.
- Analyse the Workflow
Break down the process into its individual steps. Identify:
- Inputs: What data or information is required at each stage of the workflow?
- Outputs: What results or actions should the process generate?
- Pain Points: Where are the inefficiencies or bottlenecks?
Document these details to design the automation solution effectively.
- Design the Solution Architecture
Map out the architecture of your solution, incorporating both Nintex and PowerApps:
- Nintex: Use Nintex workflows for process automation and orchestration. Nintex can manage complex workflows, approvals, and document generation.
- PowerApps: Build a user-friendly interface using PowerApps to interact with the automated processes. PowerApps can act as the front end for data input and user interaction
Clearly define how the tools will integrate and interact to achieve the desired objectives.
- Develop Nintex Workflows
Nintex workflows are designed to automate repetitive tasks and manage approval processes. Follow these steps:
- Access Nintex within your SharePoint or Nintex platform environment.
- Create a new workflow and select the appropriate template.
- Configure workflow actions, such as data collection, condition checks, approvals, notifications, and integrations with external systems.
- Test the workflow to ensure it functions as intended.
Nintex provides a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to configure workflows even for users with limited technical expertise.
- Build the PowerApps Application
PowerApps allows you to create custom apps without extensive coding knowledge. Here’s how:
- Open PowerApps and select “Create an App.”
- Choose a blank canvas or a template based on your use case.
- Design the app interface, including input fields, buttons, and navigation elements.
- Connect the app to the data sources and Nintex workflows using connectors.
- Test the app to ensure seamless interaction with the workflows.
PowerApps also supports mobile-friendly designs, enabling users to interact with your automation solution on the go.
- Integrate Nintex and PowerApps
To ensure both tools work together seamlessly:
- Use APIs or connectors to establish communication between PowerApps and Nintex workflows.
- Configure triggers in PowerApps to initiate workflows based on user actions (e.g., form submissions, button clicks).
- Ensure data flows correctly between the app and workflows, maintaining accuracy and efficiency.
- Test and Refine the Solution
Before deploying the automation solution:
- Perform thorough testing of the workflows and application.
- Collect feedback from potential users and stakeholders.
- Refine the solution based on feedback and test results.
Testing ensures that the solution is robust, user-friendly, and aligned with organisational needs.
- Deploy and Monitor
Once the solution is finalised:
- Deploy it within your organisation.
- Train users on how to interact with the app and workflows.
- Monitor the solution’s performance and gather metrics to identify areas for improvement.
Regular monitoring helps ensure the solution remains effective and continues to deliver value.
Conclusion
By combining Nintex’s powerful workflow automation capabilities with PowerApps’ user-friendly app development platform, organisations can create customised solutions to automate processes, enhance productivity, and reduce errors. Following the steps outlined above ensures a methodical approach to designing and implementing an effective automation solution.
Things have been very busy at the Geoff front. Work on the GUI version of GEBestBetAdder is being finalised. This tool will help you migrate and manage Best Bets from SharePoint 2010 enabling you to migrate to Promoted Results in SharePoint 2013 and beyond, including just some of the following features:
- Create Query Rules and Promoted Results into SharePoint 2013 and beyond from SharePoint 2010 Best Bets and Keywords
- Add, Edit and Delete custom Query Rules and Promoted Results without having to access SharePoint
- Export Query Rules, Promoted Results to Excel and XML formats
- Manage existing Query Rules on a site by site basis
The tool has been long in the making and has been great fun to build – its absolutely crammed with features. The tool will be made available on a trial basis very soon, am aiming for release by end of August 2019. It will even include the ability to migrate Query Rules to/from on-premise to Office 365. If you are interested please contact me and I’ll add you on the trial list.
When utilising a collaboration tool the key productivity rationale is to automate processes through the content stored within that collaboration tool. SharePoint has a number of platform flavours (on-premise, hybrid, online) and has integration points which is only limited by creativity it seems (not simply confined to Microsoft products). Therefore, it is crucial that when thinking of what workflow tool should be used to automated business process that you understand also the options, strengths, weaknesses of the various workflow options that can be utilised with SharePoint.
Having had a lot of fun trying to fathom, making mistakes along the way of course, I got together all my notes, including querying lots of knowledgeable people (thanks to you all) – and put together an article; published on Tech Net blogs and also on DOCS!
The article is quite large therefore I had it split into four parts (great idea from Charlotte C at Microsoft – thanks)
Sections in Part 1 are:
1: Introduction to the business process automated
2: What does a workflow system need to accomplish
3: Mind set of developing workflow
4: Types of workflow
5: What does the full article cover in terms of product, scope
Link: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uktechnet/archive/2014/12/10/part-1-sharepoint-workflow-service-delivery-options.aspx
Sections in Part 2 are:
1: Options for workflow with on-premise SharePoint
2: Options for developing custom workflows using SharePoint Designer / Microsoft Visual Studio
Link: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uktechnet/archive/2014/12/18/sharepoint-workflow-service-delivery-options-part-2.aspx
Sections in Part 3 are:
1: Options for workflow in SharePoint Online through Office365
2: Options for workflow in hybrid situations
3: The ‘workflow manager’
4: Publishing workflows to Azure
5: Workflow options available through third parties
6: Strengths and weaknesses of covering all options
Link: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uktechnet/archive/2015/01/19/sharepoint-workflow-service-delivery-options-part-3.aspx
Part four completes the article by summarising the key take-away – what tasks should be carried out concerning an approach to choosing the workflow solution that suits you and the customer
Link: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uktechnet/archive/2015/01/26/sharepoint-workflow_3a00_-service-delivery-options-_2d00_-part-4.aspx
Happy reading!
Are you into technology? Really? Software Design? Coding? Systems Analysis? Would you like a chance for your ideas to be heard? Want to join the worlds only Institute dedicated to those who design, build, test, implement and analyse software solutions? Then you should consider writing for the Institute of Analysts and Programmers.
The Institute of Analysts and Programmers is Britain’s leading professional organisation for people who work in the development, installation and testing of business systems and computer software. The institute produces every quarter the ‘Software Development Practice’ (I’m on its Editorial Team).
We’re always keen to see new articles from anyone working in the systems analysis and programming fields, so why not go for creating an article to the Software Development Journal? To find out more about the Institute of Analysts and Programmers go here: http://www.iap.org.uk/main/. For more Information concerning article submission go here: http://software-development-practice.iap.org.uk/submitting-articles/
Am particularly keen for any SharePoint articles relating to software / web / app development or systems analysis, so for any further information about submission please contact me
Challenge. You are asked to get a listing of document libraries in a site where there are email address IDs set against them. Or – you are asked to get a listing of documents in a specific document library and also list who has got READ access to those documents.
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List one or all sites on a farm with information concerning size, storage, bandwith, owner, optionally including a switch for displaying those with a specific right on the sites. An enhancement upgrade to the nifty utility GEGETRIGHTS, this is yet another nifty application and FREE! Works with Sharepoint 2013 and SharePoint 2010.
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GEBESTBETADDER is a FREE command line application that carries out the following:
1: Lists existing keywords and best bets
2: Connects to a managed SharePoint keyword list for the import into a keyword search list
3: Exports keywords
4: Imports keywords
5: Clears keywords
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Was asked today – is there anyway to remove Mysites en-mass in SharePoint 2010?
Yes, because I’ve written a free tool available for download that works using the following parameters:
-a Create file for ALL sites within the chosen collection
-d Create file for sites within the chosen collection that have been modified in the last day.
-w Create file for sites within the chosen collection that have been modified in the last week.
-n Lock State is None
-x Lock State is NoAdditions
-y Lock State is ReadOnly
-z Lock State is NoAccess
-u URL of the Site Collection whose subsites you want to lockdown
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I’d like to bring to your attention to a great journal called the ‘Software Development Practice’ of which I am an Editorial Board member. This journals readership is worldwide and run by the Institute of Analysts and Programmers (IAP).
Am making a call to for article submission to the Software Development Journal. For more information:
The Institute of Analysts and Programmers is located here: http://www.iap.org.uk/main/
Software Development Practice Journal, is located here: http://software-development-practice.iap.org.uk/welcome
Information concerning article submission is located here: http://software-development-practice.iap.org.uk/submitting-articles/
If you are keen to submit articles to the Journal, please contact me.
Hi Folks,
For some time now I put down the SharePoint automates pen, but, seeing as 2013 is definitely out I thought, hey lets upgrade and develop all the tools and release new ones in my ‘suite’. GEPDOCPERMS is a new utility, one of my favourites, it’s a free download and it is available for SharePoint 2013. GEPDOCPERMS is a utility that will list document libraries from all or a specific SharePoint site, with the ability to show the permissions set against documents, the ability to list the email enabled document libraries, the ability to list permissions against a specific individual. The output of this utility is TEXT, however, further releases will include the ability to write to XML and HTML.
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Introduction
From a conversation I had with a SharePoint Administrator:
“Eeee. The client wants site by site backup – that’s going to take me a while to sort out. I need to backup 500 sites via command line but want to know how big the sites are. I also need to know how long each backup took. I know SharePoint has Powershell but I simply don’t have the time to write a script – also, I only want to backup sites which have changed either today, this week, or just want to backup them all up”.
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Introduction.
Trying to extract a GUID from a site component directly is a hassle. And the developers always asked for a GUID from a list etc. Options was to give them Design Rights to a List so they could use the ahem ‘Famous’ hack of extracting it from the List Settings, or writing a script! I thought, aha, a script sounds better, but lets give it some options!
GEGETLISTID gets the list title, description, number of items in the list, the list items (and optionally the ability to turn that output off) and of course, the List ID! It works against all components of the site, e.g. Shared Documents, Calendars, Tasks, Web Parts List, etc. GEGETLISTID works against a site, do you must enter the name of the site when running the command.
The output can be pushed to a text file of your choice or by default goes to GEGETLIST.TXT
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The command line backup / restore routine in SharePoint environment whilst good does not offer any scheduling capability. There are of course products providing granular backup (e.g. DOCAVE) but this is geared to corporate site collections. This document describes the GEMBACKUP application, that can facilitiate the backup of the SharePoint environments and how to backup site collections using a tool I wrote that enumerates the sites and creates a backup batch file that can be scheduled using Windows Scheduler.
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