Unlocking an Underutilised PowerApp and Automating Reporting
A state government department was losing time to manual Excel reporting and an underutilised Project Management PowerApp. We unlocked the existing investment and automated what was missing - giving the team 20% of 2 FTE back.
The Situation
A state government department was running into two related challenges.
Excel-based reporting was creating a bottleneck. Staff were spending real time transferring data manually between spreadsheets and reports. The process worked, but it was slow, error-prone, and the more data the team handled, the more strain it put on the workflow. Complex reporting issues were piling up because nobody had the time to do more than keep the existing process moving.
A Project Management PowerApp wasn’t reaching its potential. A Power Platform solution was in place, but the data model and configuration hadn’t yet been tuned to match how the team actually worked. The tool had promise - the foundations were there - but staff weren’t getting the value the platform was capable of delivering. Investment made, value still to be realised.
Two challenges, one underlying theme: the department had already invested in the right tools - they just needed help making them work the way the team needed.
What We Built
Automated reporting pipeline - We built a PowerApp solution that captured information directly from stakeholders and fed it into Power BI dashboards. Data entered once, flows through to the reports that need it. No more manual transfer, no more version confusion, no more “which spreadsheet has the current numbers?”
Re-tuned the existing Project Management PowerApp - We performed a corrected data import to the model-driven Project Management solution and customised the application to increase the value it provides to the team. What had been an underutilised tool became one the team actively uses and relies on.
Sometimes the best technology investment is unlocking what you’ve already paid for. This was one of those times.
The Result
20% of 2 FTE working hours returned to the team - time previously spent on manual data transfer is now available for actual work.
70% reduction in time spent curating reports - automated data flow from capture to dashboard means reports produce themselves from the underlying data.
The Project Management solution is now in production and continues to evolve. As the department’s needs change and grow, the tool grows with them - we keep customising and improving functionality rather than rebuilding from scratch.
From manual data transfer and underused apps to automated reporting and tools the team actively relies on. The department didn’t need more technology. They needed the technology they already had to reach its full potential.
