My Learnings from the Rental Car Power App Guided Project (Coursera)

#powerplatform #powerapps #powerautomate #powerfuldevs

I’m enrolled in the Microsoft Power Up Program and currently learning the Power Platform.

While searching for people working with the same tools, I came across a Coursera guided project called “Create Model-driven Power App for Rental Company” — and decided to take it.

I told myself I’d complete the course and build the app, no matter how long it took.

For the most part, I could follow the labs step-by-step and felt really good about understanding the material — until I hit a roadblock.

🚧 The Roadblock: UI Updates in Power Apps

The course used an older version of Power Apps, while I was working with the updated interface.

I couldn’t find how to create a sitemap for a model-driven app — the course showed it in a different place.

I tried searching (and even GPT’d for help 😅), tried other workarounds, and asked friends, but nothing worked at first.

A few days later, I revisited the Power Up program content to look for solutions and — thankfully — I found it:

👉 The sitemap is inside Solutions!

That moment of relief was indescribable. Once I found it, I continued the guided project and completed the app successfully. 🎉

💡 What I Learned (as an Absolute Beginner)

Here are the key concepts I picked up during the project:

Dataverse Tables — Learned about creating tables (covered in the Power Up program and used in the course).
Column Datatypes — Autonumber, Choices, etc., and how they differ from typical programming types.
Lookup Columns — Still a bit fuzzy, but I’m sure it’ll make sense as I build more projects.
Views and Forms — The basics and how they shape the app’s user experience.
App Types — Differences between Model-driven apps, Canvas apps, and Portals.
Sitemap Basics — Where to find it (inside Solutions) and how it controls app navigation.
Business Process Flows — How to create them and what they do (though my project didn’t trigger stages yet).
Testing the App — How to run and view the entire app after building it step-by-step.

🧠 Final Thoughts

This guided project was a great hands-on way to practice Power Platform fundamentals.

The UI changes in Power Apps can be confusing when training material uses older interfaces, so don’t get discouraged — solutions are usually there, sometimes inside Solutions 😄.

Keep experimenting, stay patient, and don’t hesitate to revisit other modules if you hit a block.

If you’re starting with Power Platform, try guided projects like this one — they’re short, focused, and really help build confidence. 💪

💬 Have you tried building an app with Power Apps before?

I’d love to hear about your first app — share your experience in the comments below! 🚀

Until Next time!
-Vishaka