Amazing Apps - learn how to build agile Dynamics 365 and Power Platform business apps using Scrum

Neil Benson
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  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Amazing Apps is for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform builders who want to use the Scrum framework to build amazing business apps that everyone will love.  The podcast is hosted by Microsoft MVP, Neil Benson, and produced by Customery. [Dynamics365, D365, Power Apps, PowerApps, Power Pages, Power Apps Portals, Power Automate, Flow, Power Virtual Agents, PVA, PowerBI]

  1. 6D AGO

    Free Customer Academy Courses: Master Agile in the Age of AI

    #163. Ready to rethink what it means to build amazing apps in the age of AI? In this episode, I challenge the growing narrative that agile practices and Scrum are obsolete just because Copilot, Claude, Codex or your favourite AI can write code in seconds. Sure, Power Platform lets you create apps from prompts, and AI can spin up test cases and integrations in a flash, but speed without structure is just faster chaos, not real progress. Join me as I dive into why agile principles like transparency, feedback loops, and stakeholder collaboration matter more than ever, especially when you’re working with Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. I’ll share stories from my nearly two decades in business application delivery, building mission-critical systems for industries where there's simply no room for error. I break down the key areas where AI accelerates delivery but can't replace human judgment, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined prioritization. You’ll hear about some common misconceptions (think skipping estimation and sprint planning entirely!) and the pitfalls that can happen when teams ditch agile for “just vibing it.” I’ll also spotlight the unique, Microsoft Business Apps-focused training and resources available for free from my Customer Academy. Now you, your teams, and even your stakeholders can benefit from real-world agile education at no cost. If you want to master your craft, build apps that organizations trust, and future-proof your career (even while AI changes the game), then this episode is for you. Listen now, and let’s experiment, adapt, and keep building amazing apps together. Keep experimenting 🧪 -Neil 👋 LET'S CONNECT 🌐 Subscribe to Customery Academy newsletter for new episode announcements and special offers 🟥 Subscribe on YouTube 🟦 Follow on LinkedIn 🟦 Neil Benson on LinkedIn 🦋 Neil Benson on BlueSky ⭐ RATE AND REVIEW THE SHOW 👍 Rate Amazing Apps 👨‍💻 MY ONLINE COURSES 🚀 Agile Foundations for Microsoft Business Apps 🏉 Scrum for Microsoft Business Apps 📐 Estimating Business Apps

    11 min
  2. Get Scrum Certified for Free: How Microsoft Partners Can Use Co-Op Funds

    07/12/2025

    Get Scrum Certified for Free: How Microsoft Partners Can Use Co-Op Funds

    #162. Unlocking hidden Microsoft partner benefits? Now that’s my kind of secret! In this episode, I spill the beans on how Dynamics 365 and Power Platform partners can get their teams Scrum trained and certified — on Microsoft’s dime, without touching your training budget, thanks to Microsoft Incentive co-op funds. I walk you through what co-op funds are, how to check your eligibility, and exactly how to claim full reimbursement for my Successful Scrum for Microsoft Business Apps course. The course is tailored specifically for your teams building Microsoft business apps, not just any software project. I share stories from the trenches, like $4 million Dynamics implementations and global customer service transformations, to show the practical impact of genuine Scrum on delivery teams, customer satisfaction, and project profitability. You’ll hear testimonials from consulting partners and students who have used these tactics to become Microsoft Partner of the Year winners—and happier, lower-stress teams as well. There’s even an Exam Pass Guarantee (so your team can certify with confidence), plus step-by-step instructions on using those mysterious co-op funds before they expire. Curious if it really works? Microsoft themselves give it the green light—and I’ll show you how to make it happen. Listen to this episode to discover how to turn unused partner benefits into highly skilled, adaptable delivery pros, and set your practice apart. Ready to build amazing apps, supercharge your team, and let Microsoft foot the bill? Book a call with NeilScrum for Microsoft Business AppsHow to get your training investment reimbursed 👋 LET'S CONNECT 🌐 Subscribe to Customery Academy newsletter for new episode announcements and special offers 🟥 Subscribe on YouTube 🟦 Follow on LinkedIn 🟦 Neil Benson on LinkedIn 🦋 Neil Benson on BlueSky ⭐ RATE AND REVIEW THE SHOW 👍 Rate Amazing Apps 👨‍💻 MY ONLINE COURSES 🚀 Agile Foundations for Microsoft Business Apps 🏉 Scrum for Microsoft Business Apps 📐 Estimating Business Apps

    13 min
  3. The Inevitable Underestimation of Power Platform Projects

    06/21/2025

    The Inevitable Underestimation of Power Platform Projects

    #161. Whether you’re an internal developer working for a Microsoft customer or a consultant working for a Microsoft partner: every Power Platform or Dynamics 365 project you have ever worked on has been underestimated. Because no one wins overestimated projects...

    7 min
  4. Preparing for the First Sprint: Design Thinking and Discovery with Hamish Sheild

    03/10/2025

    Preparing for the First Sprint: Design Thinking and Discovery with Hamish Sheild

    #160. Hamish Sheild is a Microsoft MVP and Power Platform consultant specialising in applying Design Thinking practices to our apps and projects to make them more human-centred. Hamish and I discuss the different activities and artifacts we've experimented with before starting the delivery phase of our Power Platform and Dynamics 365 projects. Join us as we discuss: 03:43 Design thinking exercises and goal setting 08:45 Inclusion of developers in the discovery phase 09:48 Importance of day in the life sessions 11:59 Exploration of design sprints 17:10 Creating customer and user journey maps 18:48 Utilizing user story maps for clarity 24:21 The role of prototyping in projects 25:11 Developing solution blueprints with Dynamics 365 30:18 Size and refinement of initial product backlog 32:02 Establishing environments 32:48 Business process maps 35:35 Crafting stakeholder maps for project success HAMISH SHEILD Hamish Sheild on LinkedInAppRisingDesigning Business Applications RESOURCES Avion for user story mappingStoriesOnBoard for user story mappingMiro for visual collaboration RECOMMENDED EPISODES 130 Sprint 1 is Done!120 Defining Requirements for Complex Power Apps with Hamish Sheild 👋 LET'S CONNECT 🌐 Subscribe to Customery Academy newsletter for new episode announcements and special offers 🟥 Subscribe on YouTube 🟦 Follow on LinkedIn 🟦 Neil Benson on LinkedIn 🦋 Neil Benson on BlueSky ⭐ RATE AND REVIEW THE SHOW 👍 Rate Amazing Apps 👨‍💻 MY ONLINE COURSES 🚀 Agile Foundations for Microsoft Business Apps 🏉 Scrum for Microsoft Business Apps 📐 Estimating Business Apps

    41 min
  5. Here's when to use a waterfall approach with Power Platform

    02/07/2025

    Here's when to use a waterfall approach with Power Platform

    #159. Should you use a traditional, waterfall approach to build Power Platform apps? In this episode, I break down six situations when you might be tempted to use a waterfall method and share my thoughts on whether that's really the best approach. Highlights00:11 Everyone should try waterfall at least once. 02:18 When to adopt a waterfall approach 02:53 #1 Predictable and well-defined requirements 04:19 #2 Regulated industries 05:49 #3 Fixed-price contracts 06:59 #4 Small or simple projects 08:02 #5 No agile experience 08:59 #6 Lots of dependencies 10:09 Recap ` ResourcesEstimating Agile Business Apps: learn how to quickly, accurately and confidently estimate how long it'll take and how much it'll cost to build your Power Platform or Dynamics 365 app. Cynefin Model: learn how to approach different problems from simple to complex.Successful Scrum for Microsoft Business Apps: learn the Scrum framework, prepare for certification and discover my proven practices for successfully applying Scrum for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.Team Topologies: Matthew Skelton discusses how different team topologies can reduce the impact of dependencies across an organisation.

    12 min
  6. What is Scrum and why should Power Platform teams care?

    01/01/2025

    What is Scrum and why should Power Platform teams care?

    #158. It's 2025, and I still meet Power Platform and Dynamics 365 professionals that don't know what Scrum is or have an incomplete understanding of what Scrum is. Especially in job interviews! In this short episode, you'll learn: What Scrum really isWhy it's a framework and not a methodologyA simple hack for remembering the 18 components of Scrum 🚀 Agile Foundations for Microsoft Business Apps: Learn the basics and benefits about adopting agile approach to building business applications. https://customery.com/foundations

    6 min
  7. Are Scrum Masters Overrated?

    12/02/2024

    Are Scrum Masters Overrated?

    #157. Rethink the role of the scrum master. Two recent events—a thought-provoking article by agile coach Maarten Dalmijn and a leave of absence by Matthew, a beloved scrum master in my team—prompted me to question if scrum masters might be overrated. Comparing scrum teams to sports teams like Ultimate Frisbee, where players self-regulate without referees. Imagine a world where your scrum team operates the same way, holding each other accountable and mastering the game without a dedicated scrum master. You'll learn about Maarten's controversial stance: in startups and scale-ups with fewer organizational impediments, having a scrum master might be unnecessary overhead. Instead, Martin suggests that with a deep understanding of scrum, your team could self-manage effectively. I share my own team's bold experiment—replacing a traditional scrum master with a hybrid scrum master-developer. Spearheaded by Sapan, who has extensive experience in both development and scrum, this experiment offers surprising results. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution for all Power Platform teams. But it does highlight the importance of being open to new practices and continuous experimentation in agile development. Keep experimenting 🧪 -Neil RESOURCES Maarten Dalmijn on LinkedInMaarten Dalmijn, 'Are Scrum Masters Too Much Overhead?'

    8 min
  8. Improving Your Scrum Practice - Mastering Professional Scrum - chapter 1

    08/04/2024

    Improving Your Scrum Practice - Mastering Professional Scrum - chapter 1

    #156. Drawing on the book "Mastering Professional Scrum" by Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl, I outline critical areas for team success, such as creating valuable products and understanding organizational influences. I emphasize five core capabilities needed for continuous improvement: teaching, facilitation, coaching, technical excellence, and servant leadership. I discuss the continuous improvement process recommended by Ockerman and Reindl, which includes self-assessment questionnaires and root cause analysis to address team issues. I highlight the importance of the Scrum pillars—transparency, inspection, and adaptation—and shows how sprint events like planning and review foster a culture of empiricism, allowing teams to run experiments and refine their practices based on real-world outcomes. Celebrating the traits of high-performing scrum teams, I underscore the significance of being cross-functional, self-managing, and collaborative. I touch upon practices that bolster collaboration within these teams, such as backlog refinement and pair programming, while also stressing the freedom scrum teams have to define their workflows within Scrum guidelines. You'll also learn about common challenges, such as the absence of key roles during refinement sessions, and recommends using the Five Whys technique to tackle root causes. I provide practical tips like conducting multiple short refinement sessions to prevent release delays. RESOURCES Simon Reindl on LinkedInStephanie Ockerman on LinkedInMastering Professional Scrum from Amazon (affiliate)Mastering Professional Scrum audiobook on Audible (affiliate)Stephanie Ockerman's site, Agile SocksMastering Professional Scrum on InformIT

    33 min
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Amazing Apps is for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform builders who want to use the Scrum framework to build amazing business apps that everyone will love.  The podcast is hosted by Microsoft MVP, Neil Benson, and produced by Customery. [Dynamics365, D365, Power Apps, PowerApps, Power Pages, Power Apps Portals, Power Automate, Flow, Power Virtual Agents, PVA, PowerBI]

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