BugendaiTech is Building a Better Way with PowerApps

1. Blog Manager:

The marketing department often manages several blog posts with several writers and due dates. Traditional techniques like spreadsheets and email chains can be laborious and time-consuming when tracking progress, assigning tasks, and ensuring the blogs are completed on time. This results in communication gaps and a decrease in productivity among team members.

Solution: We created a user-driven app to resolve the above challenges. Within the Blog Manager app, team leads can designate authors for specific blog submissions, set deadlines, and provide instructions about the assigned blog.

• Deadline Monitoring and Reminders: To ensure that blog posts are completed on time, the tool can automatically monitor deadlines and notify team members when they are approaching that date.
• Improved Communication: Members and Team leads are kept updated about assignments through automated alerts that are sent out upon assignment, completion, or any updates.
• Role-Based Access Control: Role-based access can restrict the app, allowing team leads to manage assignments and writers to view their assigned tasks and deadlines.

2. Advance Leave Tracker:

Many firms still use manual processes to track leave requests within the team. This old system is inefficient and prone to mistakes, and it makes it difficult to maintain leave balances and team schedules.

Solution: A Power Apps advance leave tracker application was implemented to inform all the users about the leave in a better way.

• Simplified Leave Request: Employees can easily submit leave requests directly within the app, specifying dates and reasons for leave.
• Real-Time Notifications: Automated email notifications are sent to managers for approval, keeping them informed about upcoming leave requests.
• Team Schedule Visibility: Managers and team members can view a centralized calendar displaying upcoming leaves, ensuring better planning and coverage. Real-time visibility into team leave schedules helps managers plan workload and avoid staffing shortages.

3. Certification Tracker Tool:

We often use spreadsheets or paper records to track certification expiry dates, progress, and overall employee skillsets, which is a laborious and disorganized process.

Solution: A certification tracker tool was created to offer a single platform for managing employee certification records. This app provides the following functionalities: 

• Centralized Tracking: Employees can add details of their ongoing certifications, such as the name of the certificate, domain, and completion date, record their progress towards completion using timestamped comments, and submit the completed certificate and its expiry dates.
• Automated Alerts: The app sends automated alerts to employees and their team leads when certification is completed or expiry dates approach, ensuring timely submission and renewal. 
• Skillset Visibility: Managers can gain insights into the overall skillsets and certifications of their team members. Better visibility into employee skillsets will help managers identify training needs and opportunities for professional development.

4. Code Review

One of the most important steps in ensuring a project's success is code review among team members. The development lifecycle is slowed down because we frequently exchange the code manually, with fragmented feedback and no communication.

Solution: We developed a PowerApps-based code review application to promote team learning, shorten development cycles, lower mistake rates, and boost developer satisfaction.

• Upload code: Team members can easily upload code for review and assign code reviewers
• Provide structured feedback: Reviewers can leave detailed comments on specific code sections within the app.
• Improved code quality: Structured feedback helps identify and rectify issues, which creates development-ready code.
• Enhanced communication: The app becomes a medium of clear and concise communication between developers and project leads
• Increased transparency: All feedback and code changes are documented within the app, which helps provide a clear audit trail for future reference.

5. KPI Tracking Tool

While evaluating employees, the existing method for manually tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is cumbersome and prone to errors. Manual data collection processes are inefficient, and feedback loops become slow, which hinders performance management.

Solution: A Power Apps KPI tracking tool was developed to streamline performance measurement. This user-friendly app allows:

• Simplified data collection: The app offers a user-friendly interface for self-assessments, improving data collection efficiency. Employees can easily submit self-assessments directly within the app, providing feedback on their performance against pre-defined KPIs.
• Real-time notifications: Managers receive instant notifications when self-assessments are submitted, enabling them to provide immediate feedback.
• Automated and transparent scoring: Pre-defined formulas ensure accurate and transparent performance evaluation.
• Enhanced accountability: Instant access to review forms and feedback encourages accountability and ownership of performance.

6. Sprint Manager

Manual data entry and limited project visibility hindered effective project and task management. Communication gaps and inefficiencies hindered project completion on time and within budget.

Solution: A Power Apps sprint manager application was developed to improve project managers' visibility and control. It will also track project delivery timelines, reduce costs, and increase team productivity. 

• Centralized task management: Team members can enter project details, create tasks, and assign them to team members, ensuring a single source of truth.
• Access control: User roles and permissions control access to edit critical project details, minimizing data manipulation risks
• Real-time notifications: The app triggers instant notifications for task assignments and updates, enhancing communication and collaboration.
• Increased accountability: Automatic audit trails with timestamps track changes and updates, fostering accountability within project teams.

7. Timesheet Guidelines

Inaccurate and inconsistent timesheet submissions can be a major headache for payroll departments. Employees often struggle to understand complex timesheet filling procedures and Statement of Work (SOT) processes, leading to errors and rework. This can cause payroll processing delays and frustration for employees and finance teams

Solution: A Power Apps timesheet guidelines tool was developed to address this challenge. This user-friendly and readily available resource provides employees with:

• Clear and concise instructions: Step-by-step guidance on completing timesheets accurately, ensuring all required information is captured.
• Examples and FAQs: Real-world examples and frequently asked questions with clear answers to address common challenges faced by employees.
• Improved Accuracy and Consistency: Standardized timesheet submissions ensure all necessary information is captured consistently, streamlining payroll processing
• Reduced Errors and Rework: Clear guidelines minimize errors and rework, saving time and resources for both employees and the finance team.
• Increased Efficiency: Faster payroll processing due to accurate timesheet submissions.

8. KM Platform: 

Traditional knowledge management methods often rely on scattered documents, tribal knowledge, and informal channels. This makes it difficult for employees to find the information they need, hindering learning, innovation, and overall productivity.

Solution: A Power Apps KM platform was developed to create a centralized repository for capturing, organizing, and sharing knowledge across the organization. This platform offers:

• Technology Catalog: A searchable database of information about various technologies relevant to employees' work. This could include descriptions, tutorials, best practices, and troubleshooting guides.
• Skill Development Resources: A curated collection of learning materials like online courses, videos, and articles to support employee skill development in specific areas.
• Reduced Duplication of Effort: A central knowledge repository eliminates the need for employees to recreate existing information, saving time and resources.
• Enhanced Onboarding and Skill Development: New hires can quickly learn about the organization's tools and processes while existing employees can develop new skills through readily available resources.
• Empowered Employees: Employees feel more confident and capable with easy access to a wealth of knowledge resources.

BugendaiTech's PowerApps Innovations Drive Efficiency and Success

PowerApps goes beyond the showcased examples. As businesses explore their potential, they expect even more innovative solutions that empower employees, streamline operations, and drive success.