Plug N Play 2

Point Taken’s implementation of Dynamics Customer Insights Journeys, combined with Pro-Code addresses several significant business challenges in managing events and classes. This innovative solution enhances operational efficiency, reduces manual workload, and improves the experience for both administrators and students. Here’s how the solution meets these needs:

Solution:
Automated Attendance and Location Tracking
Challenge: Accurately tracking attendance and ensuring real-time location insights for students in large campuses is cumbersome.

Solution:
Attendance is tracked by using MappedIn and presented in Dynamics Customer Insights Journeys to students as a PCF component. Integrated MappedIn APIs and SDKs provide real-time indoor navigation and location tracking for students nearing classrooms or event spaces. Combined functionality with Customer Insights Journeys we are able to send emails with links that registers if the student attended the event or class automatically.

Crawler

Badge: Crawler

FetchXML

We used FetchXML to fetch data from Microsoft Dataverse. It allowed The Golden Snitches to query for complex queries with filtering, sorting, and aggregation, making it ideal for creating dynamic and interactive content in our Power Pages Portal for the students and Professors.


For example this part of the fetch xml is getting the marketing form connected to the event dynamically:

Because we are getting the form dynamically trough fetch xml we can remove another burden from the user that would need to copy a script and add it to a page. But now we can display the form by using liquid:

Search bar for map of Hogwarts

Navigating the vast and magical halls of Hogwarts can be quite the adventure. To make it easier for students and professors to find their way around, we’ve integrated Mappedin’s innovative search bar and routing functionality. Whether you’re looking for a specific classroom, common room, or office, Mappedin provides multiple ways to find your destination quickly and efficiently.

Visual Room Search

One of the standout features of Mappedin at Hogwarts is the ability to search for rooms visually. Users can simply click on an area of the map to explore different rooms within that section. This intuitive approach allows for a more interactive and engaging experience, making it easy to locate rooms without needing to type in specific search queries. Imagine being able to click on the Gryffindor Tower and instantly see all the rooms within!

Comprehensive Room Search

For those who prefer a more traditional search method, Mappedin offers a comprehensive room search functionality. Students and professors can search through every room in the castle by entering keywords or room numbers. This feature ensures that no matter how specific your search criteria are, you can find exactly what you’re looking for with ease. Need to find Professor McGonagall’s office? Just type her name, and you’re set!

Auto-Complete Search

Mappedin’s auto-complete search feature takes convenience to the next level. As you start typing in the search bar, the system automatically suggests possible matches based on the characters entered. This predictive search capability not only saves time but also helps users find rooms even if they only remember part of the room name or number. Start typing “Potions” and the Potions Classroom in the dungeons will pop right up!

Setting Routes

In addition to searching for rooms, Mappedin allows users to set routes to their desired destinations. Once a room is selected, the system provides step-by-step directions, ensuring that students and professors can navigate the castle efficiently. This routing functionality is particularly useful in a large and complex building like Hogwarts, where finding the shortest path can be a challenge. Whether you’re heading to the Great Hall for a feast or the Astronomy Tower for a late-night class, Mappedin has you covered.

  1. Search by clicking a room and get information about where it is visually

2. See all available rooms instead of writing

3. Auto-complete search where it’s intelligence will find rooms based on your input.

Feature Bombing

Badge: Feature Bombing 🌟🚀🤑🪄🪇

Creating a low-code app doesn’t always mean focusing on aesthetics. Sometimes, the magic lies in how different features come together to create an engaging and interactive experience. Here’s a look at five features we’ve integrated into our app, each with its own unique charm, working together to make the app both fun and functional.

1. Rating Feature

Our app includes a simple yet effective rating feature. Users can rate various elements within the app, providing feedback that helps us improve the user experience. While it might not be the flashiest feature, it plays a crucial role in gathering user insights and enhancing the app’s overall functionality.

2. Power BI Tiles for Hogwarts House Points

To add a touch of magic, we’ve embedded Power BI tiles that display house points from Hogwarts. These tiles dynamically update to show the latest standings of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. This feature not only adds a fun, Harry Potter-themed element but also demonstrates the power of data visualization in a low-code environment. And of course house 🐍Slytherin🐍 is in the lead, as you can see 💁🏻‍♀️✨

3. PCF Control for Gamification

Gamification is a key aspect of our app, and we’ve implemented a PowerApps Component Framework (PCF) control to achieve this. The PCF control introduces game-like elements, such as badges and rewards, to motivate users and make their interactions more engaging. This feature enhances user participation and adds a competitive edge to the app. The game is simple: Catch (click) the Golden Snitch. Once you manage to click it, you will level up and earn points for your house. As you level up, the Snitch will increase in speed and leveling up will become more and more difficult.

4. App Check In

The app also allows students to check in to events effortlessly using the barcode scanner. When a QR code is scanned, it triggers a Power Automate flow that instantly registers the student’s attendance. This streamlined process saves valuable time for both students and teachers, letting everyone focus on enjoying the event rather than worrying about manual registration.

5. Image Recognition for Sentiment Analysis

To take user interaction to the next level, we’ve integrated an image recognition control that analyzes facial expressions to perform sentiment analysis. This feature can detect emotions and potentially identify if someone is cheating based on their facial cues. It’s a fascinating blend of technology and psychology, providing deeper insights into user behavior. The camera will also take a photo of the student whenever they level up their Golden Snitch Level (GS Level). The photo is saved as an attatchment in a SharePoint list to laugh about at a later time😉.

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While these features might not be the most visually stunning, they work together to create a fun and engaging low-code app. By combining practical elements like the rating feature and Power BI tiles with more playful aspects like the Golden Snitch game, we’ve crafted an app that’s both functional and enjoyable. Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or just looking for a unique app experience, our low-code creation has something for everyone.

Power Of The Shell

Badge: Power Of The Shell

Our Goal

In this hackathon, we wanted to focus our energy on building creative and impactful solutions so, to avoid getting bogged down by deployment challenges and manual processes, we set up a streamlined Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) process from the start. This allowed us to focus on innovation, confident that our solutions would transition smoothly from development to production.

Here’s how we scripted the configuration of our entire solution:

  1. Git Connect OOTB Integration with DevOps
    We used Power Platform’s new Git Connect functionality to automate the commit process for solution changes.
Example of solutions connected to the repository

This feature allows changes made in Power Platform to be committed directly to an Azure DevOps repository, with the user who made the changes reflected as the commit author. This integration not only saved time but also ensured proper traceability and alignment with our team’s Git workflows.

1. Components contained in the solution separated by name
2. Authors of the commits.

Pipeline for Building PCFs
To handle the custom PowerApps Component Framework (PCF) components, we reused and adapted an existing pipeline. This pipeline automates:

  1. Version Updates: Using a PowerShell script, we increment version numbers to maintain proper versioning.

2. Solution Packaging: The pipeline packs the updated PCF into a deployable solution.

3. Deployment: The final step deploys the solution directly to our environments.
This automation reduced manual effort, minimized errors, and ensured smooth delivery of components across environments.


By scripting and automating these processes, we ensured our development workflow was both efficient and scalable, freeing up valuable time to focus on building innovative solutions that truly shine in this hackathon 😀

Dataminer

Badge: Dataminer

In the world of low-code development, efficiency and data integration are key to creating powerful and engaging applications. Here’s a glimpse into how we used a couple of APIs to fetch data efficiently and populate Dataverse with valuable information.

Utilizing the Harry Potter API

The Harry Potter API, available at hp-api.onrender.com, provides a wealth of data about the characters from the Harry Potter universe. For our project, we focused on retrieving information about the school’s staff and students.

Efficient Data Integration

By using the Harry Potter API, we were able to quickly and efficiently gather the necessary data. This approach saved us significant time compared to manually entering or sourcing the data from multiple locations. The API provided structured and reliable information that we could seamlessly integrate into Dataverse, ensuring our data was both accurate and up-to-date.

Populating Dataverse

With the data retrieved from the API, we populated Dataverse, Microsoft’s cloud-based data storage solution. This step was essential for creating a centralized repository of information that could be easily accessed and utilized across our Power Apps and Power BI dashboards. By having all the data in one place, we streamlined the development process and ensured consistency across our applications.

The data is populated!

We got 103 students into our table and managed to set the student value and their House (Which was a lookup so more advanced flow was needed):

Link Mobility

Badge: Sponsor Link Mobility

At Hogwarts, keeping students informed about their class schedules is crucial for smooth operations. To achieve this, we leveraged the power of automation and SMS notifications through the Link Mobility API.

Power Automate and Link Mobility API

We created a Power Automate flow that sends messages directly to students via SMS for reminders of all Hogwarts events. We also intend to use the API to trigger SMS to students when Finals/OWLs are approaching. By integrating the Link Mobility API, we ensured that messages are delivered promptly and reliably. This automation simplifies the process of notifying students about when and where their next big event is, reducing confusion and enhancing their overall experience.

How It Works

  1. Data Retrieval: The Power Automate flow retrieves classes that is occurring that day from our database, Dataverse, once a day.
  2. Retrieving student for that class: The flow then gets the related students to that class. and then their contact to access the mobile number in their contact record.
  3. Message Formatting: The information is formatted into a clear and concise SMS when the date for an event is approaching soon.
  4. SMS Delivery: Using the Link Mobility API, the SMS is sent to the students’ mobile phones.

Benefits for Hogwarts

  • Efficiency: Automating the notification process saves time for both staff and students.
  • Reliability: Students receive timely updates, ensuring they are always aware of their schedules.
  • Convenience: The SMS notifications are easy to access and read, making it simple for students to stay informed.

Conclusion

By integrating Power Automate with the Link Mobility API, we’ve created a seamless and efficient way to keep Hogwarts students informed about their classes. This innovative solution not only simplifies their work but also enhances their overall experience, demonstrating the power of automation in education.

Thieving Bastards

Badge: Thieving Bastards

For this hackathon, we integrated MappedIn into the Power Platform. They are a top provider of indoor mapping solutions, offering advanced tools for creating multi-floor maps and optimized direction systems, much like Google Maps for interiors.

We developed a PowerApps Component Framework (PCF) using MappedIn’s React-based SDK documentation. This allowed us to embed their robust mapping and navigation functionality directly into Dynamics 365. The solution enables users to visualize spaces, navigate between rooms, and even calculate optimal routes within buildings.

Example of the PCF showing the route to the Biology classroom.

To access MappedIn’s advanced features, we secured a paid trial by collaborating with their team, who were intrigued by our use case. This partnership not only enriched our project but also highlighted the value of integrating third-party APIs to accelerate innovation and improve user experience in the Power Platform.

Example extracted from MappedIn’s developer documentation.

Sharing is caring

We have made our PCFs code public in our github.

GitHub is designed for collaboration. By making your repository public, we’re inviting the community to participate by reviewing, providing feedback, reporting issues, or even contributing improvements. This demonstrates a clear intent to share and work together, which embodies the “Sharing is Caring” principle.

Link to repository

The Golden Snitches provided EVIDIosa, not leviosaaaa with a nice piece of YAML code for responsive containers in Power Apps. Sharing some nice design with competing teams 🙂

ALM

Microsoft Entra ID Security Groups
To simplify user administration and have better control of user access to the environments, we have created teams of type Microsoft Entra ID security groups.

We created a security group in Entra ID where we add the users we want to give access to the environment.

We then created a team of type Microsoft Entra ID Security Group in Power Platform where we assigned the Entra Group to the team. We then assigned the team the desired security roles:

We now only have to add users to the Group in Entra ID to give access and assign the users security roles.

Power automate – Force Sync users from Entra ID Groups
Now that we have automated and gotten more control of the granting access to users to the environment apps and automations, we need to force sync the users.

The users will not appear in Dataverse unless they have logged into the environment. But building a power automate flow we can solve this issue:

The flow will be triggered once a day and then it will get the members of the Entra ID group. The flow then uses the force sync action to sync the users.

Solution Strategy
The team have created a solution strategy that separates the different types of components in different solutions for easy deploy and a better development process.

Power Platform Pipelines
We have used Power Platform Pipelines to automate the deployment process between environments.