Microsoft Power Automate RPA Developer (PL-500) Practice Exam

The Microsoft Power Automate RPA Developer (PL-500) certification validates your expertise in automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks using Microsoft Power Automate. 

Who should consider this Certification:

• Developers and IT professionals seeking to build and implement Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions with Power Automate.
• Business analysts and process owners wanting to understand and optimize business workflows for automation.
• Individuals looking to transition into a career focused on RPA development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and develop RPA solutions: Analyze business processes, identify automation opportunities, and design and develop robust RPA solutions using Power Automate.
• Utilize automation tools and features: Master various features and functionalities within Power Automate, including UI automation, data manipulation, and API integration.
• Deploy and manage RPA solutions: Deploy automation workflows into production environments, monitor their performance, and ensure their ongoing functionality.
• Test and troubleshoot solutions: Implement effective testing strategies to ensure the accuracy and reliability of RPA solutions, and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
• Collaborate with stakeholders: Collaborate effectively with business stakeholders and developers to understand requirements, design solutions, and ensure successful implementation.

Knowledge Required

The candidates should have experience with -

• JSON
• Cloud flows and Desktop flows
• Integrating solutions with REST and SOAP services
• Analyzing data by using Microsoft Excel, VBScript, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), HTML, JavaScript
• Microsoft Power Platform suite of tools (AI Builder, Power Apps, Dataverse, and Power Virtual Agents)

Exam Details:

• Format: Multiple-choice questions and multiple response
• Time Limit: 120 minutes
• Languages:  English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean
  
• Passing Score: around 70%

The Exam PL-500: Microsoft Power Automate RPA Developer covers the following domains:

Design automations (30–35%)

Describe Power Automate features and capabilities

• Identifying the Power Automate ecosystem and offerings
• Identifying the differences among cloud flows, and desktop flows, and business process flows
• Identifying when to use a desktop flow or a cloud flow, and when to use them together
• Identifying the different trigger types for cloud flows
• Identifying options for interacting with target applications and browsers
• Identifying the different methods for running a desktop flow
• Identifying considerations for running cloud and desktop flows concurrently
• Identifying considerations for running desktop flows attended versus unattended
• Differentiate HTTP actions in cloud and desktop flows

Work with other Microsoft Power Platform offerings

• Identifying how canvas apps and model-driven apps work with automation
• Identifying use cases for connectors, custom connectors, connection references, and connections for cloud flows
• Identifying use cases for Microsoft Dataverse

Record and analyze processes

• Create processes in Process Advisor
• Identifying the steps for Process mining
• Identifying the steps for Task mining
• Identifying the use cases for Process Advisor

Identifying how to analyze and enhance data and documents

• Identifying Microsoft AI options for processing documents in desktop and cloud flows
• Identifying Microsoft AI options for processing data in desktop and cloud flows
• Identifying optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities in desktop flows
• Identifying use cases for the Document Automation Toolkit

Identifying use cases for scripting languages in desktop flows

• Identifying use cases for scripting languages including PowerShell and VBScript
• Identifying use cases for application-specific macro languages including VBA in Microsoft Excel and Office Scripts
• Identifying use cases for using JavaScript
• Identifying how to use the document object model (DOM) in automation

Develop automations (40–45%)

Create and manage cloud flows

• Create a cloud flow
• Create a cloud flow that calls a desktop flow
• Create and use child cloud flows including how to pass data to a child cloud flow and return data back
• Perform actions in cloud flows by calling external APIs
• Configuring filter conditions and concurrency in cloud flows
• Configuring timeout and retry policies in cloud flows
• Implement data objects in cloud flows
• Identifying common processes for parsing text including JSON, XML, and CSV in cloud flows
• Configuring cloud flow action to run Microsoft Office Scripts

Create and manage desktop flows

• Create desktop flows to launch, connect to, and authenticate target application
• Configuring user interface (UI) options
• Configuring datatables, lists, and custom objects in desktop flows
• Implement subflows in desktop flows
• Add desktop actions to exit from target applications
• Perform actions in desktop flows by calling external APIs
• Configuring timeout and retry in desktop flows
• Implement data objects in desktop flows
• Identifying common processes for parsing text including JSON, XML, and CSV in desktop flows

Implement logic in cloud and desktop flows

• Configuring flow control in cloud and desktop flows including loops
• Configuring expressions in cloud flows
• Configuring variable actions for cloud and desktop flows
• Configuring secure input and output data in actions in cloud flows
• Configuring secure variables in desktop flows
• Configuring priority for desktop flows in a queue
• Create exception handling blocks in cloud and desktop flows to handle system exceptions
• Create error handling routines in cloud and desktop flows to handle business exceptions
• Configuring document processing by using AI Builder

Create and configure custom connectors

• Create a custom connector
• Implement authentication for custom connectors
• Identifying custom connector policy templates
• Write code in a custom connector

Manage automation infrastructure

• Configuring credential management
• Connect cloud flows to on-premises data by using the on-premises data gateway
• Create and manage components in Microsoft Dataverse solutions

Test automations and finalize development efforts

• Run and test a cloud flow
• Run and test a desktop flow
• Manage configurations by using environment variables and configuration files
• Debug solutions by using Power Automate cloud and desktop flows debugging features

Deploy and manage automations (20–25%)

Prepare target environments

• Implement Microsoft Power Platform application lifecycle management (ALM)
• Differentiate credentials used for different environments
• Deploy RPA solutions to other environments
• Prepare virtual desktop environments for unattended desktop flow execution

Evaluate data loss prevention (DLP) policies for RPA execution

• Identifying Microsoft Power Platform data loss prevention (DLP) policies
• Determining how DLP policies impact actions in cloud and desktop flows
• Determining how DLP policies apply to custom connectors

Manage access to RPA components

• Share a cloud flow
• Share a desktop flow
• Share machines and machine groups
• Identifying security roles required to run and monitor cloud and desktop flows
• Create service accounts and service principals

Configuring machine groups and queues required for desktop flow automations

• Identifying use cases for and capabilities of machines and machine groups
• Manage machine registrations
• Create and manage machine groups
• Implement load balancing of desktop flows by using machine groups and queues
• Work with queues and queue operations for desktop flows
• Evaluate cloud and desktop flow run history from the Power Automate portal