Power Platform ALM Using Native Pipelines: Step-by-Step Dev to Prod Deployment Guide

Introduction

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is critical for building reliable, scalable Power Platform solutions. A proper ALM setup ensures that changes are developed safely, tested thoroughly, and deployed consistently into production.

Microsoft Power Platform Pipelines provide a native CI/CD automation approach to deploy Power Platform solutions across environments while maintaining governance, traceability, and consistency.

This article covers a complete Power Platform ALM implementation using native Power Platform Pipelines.

Below, we'll configure Power Platform Pipelines for a standard Dev → Test → Prod setup and walk through deploying a solution across environments.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you already have:

1. Three Power Platform environments configured:
   • Development (Sandbox - Unmanaged Solutions)
   • Test (Sandbox - Managed Solutions)
   • Production (Managed Solutions)
2. All environments use Dataverse
3. You have Power Platform admin access
4. You have a sample or real solution in the Dev environment

Before You Begin

This guide assumes that at least one solution already exists in your Development environment for deployment validation.

If not, create a new solution and add one or more Power Platform components such as:

• A Canvas or Model-driven Power App
• A Power Automate flow
• A Copilot agent
• A Dataverse table

This solution will be used to validate your Dev → Test → Prod deployments using pipelines.

We’ll refer to this as the example solution throughout the guide.

Setting Up the Power Platform Pipelines Host Environment

Power Platform Pipelines require a dedicated host environment where pipeline configurations, deployment stages, and execution are stored and managed.

This is typically a Production-type environment with Dataverse enabled, dedicated to managing pipeline configurations and execution.

Step 1: Create the Host Environment

1. Go to Power Platform Admin Center → https://admin.powerplatform.com
2. Navigate to Manage → Environments. And click “New”

Use these settings:

• Name: Power Platform Pipelines Host
• Managed: No
• Type: Production
• Add Dataverse: Yes
• URL: companyname-pp-host

Once created, wait for provisioning to complete. Once it’s in Ready state, start with Step 2.

Step 2: Install Power Platform Pipelines App

1. In Admin Center, go to Manage → Dynamics 365 Apps
2. Find Power Platform Pipelines
3. Click Install



4. Select the Host Environment
5. Install

After installation, you’ll see a model-driven app named “Deployment Pipeline Configuration” in the Power Platform Pipelines Host environment. This is where all pipelines are managed.

Step 3: Grant Permissions to the Existing Service Account

A service account typically holds elevated privileges such as the System Administrator role. Although Power Platform Pipelines can run under a personal user account, using a dedicated service account is a recommended best practice to ensure continuity, improve security, and avoid granting elevated permissions to individual users in target environments.

In this guide, we assume your organization already has a dedicated service account for automation and integrations.

Required Permissions

The service account must have System Administrator access in all environments involved in the pipeline:

• Development
• Test
• Production
• Pipelines Host environment

How to Assign Roles

In each environment:

1. Open Power Platform Admin Center
2. Select the environment and go to “Users -> See all”



3. Select the service account from the list of users
4. Assign the System Administrator security role

Repeat this for all environments: Dev, Test, Prod, and Host.

Step 4: Register Environments in the Pipelines App

Open the Deployment Pipeline Configuration app in the host environment.

Register Development Environment

1. Go to Environments → New

1. Fill in:
   • Name: ALM (Dev)
   • Type: Development
   • Owner: You
   • Environment ID: Copy from Development Environment Landing Page

1. Save and wait for validation = Success

Register Target Environments

Repeat the same process for:

Test

• Name: ALM (Test)
• Type: Target

Production

• Name: ALM (Prod)
• Type: Target

Step 5: Create a Pipeline

Open the Deployment Pipeline Configuration app in the host environment.

1. Go to Pipelines, Click New

1. Name: ALM Pipeline
2. Enable: Allow redeployments of older versions
3. Save

Link the Development Environment

Add Development Environment as the source environment to the created pipeline.

Add Deployment Stages

Click New Deployment Stage:

Test Stage

• Name: Deployment to Test
• Target: Test Environment

Production Stage

• Name: Deployment to Prod
• Previous Stage: Test
• Target: Production Environment

Now, we can see both stages in the Deployment Stages section:

Assign Security Roles

Open Security Teams in the Pipelines app.

Pipeline Admins

Add users who are allowed to configure pipelines. This will allow added users to access the deployment pipeline configuration app, add new pipelines, and edit existing pipelines in the host environment.

• Navigate to Deployment Pipeline Administrators
• Click Add existing user

• Search for the required user and add them

Pipeline Users

Add users who are allowed to run deployments.

• Navigate to Deployment Pipeline Users
• Click Add existing user

• Search for the required user and add them

Step 6: Deploy Power Platform Solution to Test Environment Using Pipelines

As we have created the Power Platform pipeline, we can deploy the solution from the Development environment to the Test (Staging) environment using the pipeline. Once it is successfully validated in the Test (Staging) environment, the solution can then be deployed to the Production environment.

• Go to Development Environment
• Open your example solution

• Click Pipelines

• Select your pipeline, and click Deploy here (Test/Staging stage)

• Select Now (or you can select Later to schedule the deployment) and click Next

• Verify the connections and resolve errors if any

• Verify the environment variable values and update them as needed

• Verify the Deployment Notes, modify as needed and click Deploy

• Wait for a few minutes to have the deployment completed. It appears as shown in the screenshot below when deployment is completed

Verify solution appears as Managed in Test (Staging) Environment

• Go to Test (Staging) Environment and the deployed solution should appear here

• Perform functional validation of the solution in the Test (Staging) environment.

Step 7: Deploy Power Platform Solution to Production Environment

Once testing is completed on the staging environment, we can deploy the same solution to production environment using the created pipeline.

• Go to Development Environment, open your example solution, go to pipelines
• Select your pipeline, and click Deploy here (Production stage)

• Then, follow the same steps we followed to deploy to Test (Staging) Environment

 

Verify solution appears as Managed in Production Environment

• Go to Production Environment and the deployed solution should appear here

• Perform final validation of the solution in the Production environment.

Conclusion

Implementing Power Platform ALM using native Pipelines simplifies deployment automation, improves governance, and ensures consistent solution delivery across environments. By following a structured Dev → Test → Prod approach, organizations can reduce deployment risks while accelerating release cycles.

Best Practices for Power Platform ALM Using Pipelines

• Keep Development solutions unmanaged for flexibility
• Always deploy managed solutions to Test and Production
• Use service accounts for pipeline execution
• Maintain environment variables per environment
• Validate deployments in staging before production release

If you need assistance implementing Power Platform ALM or automating enterprise deployments, feel free to contact our SharePoint & Power Platform consulting team here.