1. Consultation — Find the Problem Worth Solving
Before we build anything, we help you figure out exactly what to build — and why.
Most organizations have more than one process that could be improved. Not all of them are equally worth addressing first. Our consultation process helps you identify where the real bottlenecks are, which ones have the highest impact when solved, and what an application solution would actually look like for your business.
What happens during consultation:
Process discovery. We sit down with you and your team to walk through how work actually gets done today — not how the org chart says it works, but how it really moves. We ask questions, observe workflows, and map the manual steps, handoffs, approval chains, and data touchpoints involved.
Bottleneck identification. We identify the specific points in your workflows where time is lost, errors are introduced, communication breaks down, or visibility disappears. These are the problems an application can solve.
Feasibility and fit assessment. Not every workflow problem is best solved with Power Apps. We give you an honest assessment of what's possible, what's practical, and what the build and maintenance effort will realistically look like before you commit to anything.
Opportunity roadmap. We produce a prioritized list of automation and application opportunities specific to your business — what to build first, what to tackle later, and what the expected return looks like for each.
You leave consultation knowing exactly what problem you're solving, why it matters, and what the solution will look like. There are no surprises downstream.
Good for: Any organization that knows something isn't working but isn't sure where to start, or wants an expert perspective before investing in development.
2. Design — Build the Right Solution Before Writing a Line of Code
The most expensive mistake in application development is building something your team won't use. Design prevents that.
Before any development begins, we design the application: what it does, how it works, what the user sees, and how it fits into your existing workflows. This is where we turn the problems identified in consultation into a concrete blueprint.
What the design process covers:
User experience and interface design. Applications succeed when they're easy to use. We design layouts, navigation flows, and screens that match the way your team thinks and works — not the way a developer thinks. We build for the actual users: field staff, managers, administrators, executives — whoever will be using the application every day.
Workflow and logic design. Behind every screen is a set of rules: what happens when a form is submitted, who gets notified, what triggers an approval, what data gets written where. We map all of this out before development starts so there are no ambiguous requirements and no backtracking.
Data model design. Good applications are built on good data structures. We design the underlying data model — what information the application collects, how it's organized, how it connects to other systems — so the application performs well and stays maintainable as it grows.
Prototype and review. We build a working prototype and walk through it with your team before development begins. You see exactly what you're getting, can request changes, and sign off before a single production line of code is written. Changes at the prototype stage cost a fraction of what they cost after the application is built.
Good for: Organizations that want to be confident in the solution before committing to full development, and teams that have been burned before by applications that didn't match what they asked for.
3. Development — Applications Built to Work, Not Just to Demo
We build Power Apps applications that are production-ready from day one: fast, reliable, secure, and built to scale.
Development is where the design becomes a real working application. FFI Systems develops custom Power Apps solutions that are built to your exact specifications — not adapted from a template, not bolted together from generic components, but built specifically for your business processes and your users.
What our development practice covers:
Canvas apps. Fully custom applications with pixel-level control over the user interface. Ideal for field teams, mobile workflows, data collection forms, and any situation where you need an experience that looks and feels exactly right for the task.
Model-driven apps. Data-first applications built on Microsoft Dataverse, ideal for complex business processes with rich data relationships — case management, project tracking, customer relationship tools, compliance documentation, and similar structured workflows.
Automated workflows (Power Automate). Application functionality often extends into automation — notifications, approvals, data syncing, scheduled tasks, and document generation. We build the underlying Power Automate flows that make your application do things automatically rather than requiring manual action.
Forms and data collection. Structured forms that replace paper-based or spreadsheet-based data collection — inspection forms, intake forms, compliance checklists, work orders, and more — with validations, conditional logic, and automatic routing built in.
Dashboards and reporting views. Custom dashboards that give managers and executives real-time visibility into operations, performance metrics, approval queues, and key indicators — without having to request reports or export data manually.
Security and access control. Every application we build includes role-based access control so that users see and can do exactly what their role requires — nothing more. This is especially important for organizations handling sensitive business data, regulatory compliance information, or government-related data.
Good for: Any organization ready to move from consultation and design into a working application — whether starting from scratch or picking up a partially built solution.
4. Integration — Connect the Application to Everything Else
An application that lives in isolation only solves half the problem. Integration is what makes it actually replace manual work.
The value of a Power Apps application multiplies when it connects to the other systems your business already runs on. Most organizations have data spread across SharePoint, Excel files, Outlook, Teams, SQL databases, ERP systems, CRM platforms, third-party APIs, and more. Integration pulls that data together and makes your application the single place where work gets done.
What our integration services cover:
Microsoft 365 integration. Power Apps is built to work natively with SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Excel, and OneDrive. We connect your application to these tools so that data flows automatically, notifications appear where your team already works, and documents are generated and stored without manual handling.
Dataverse and SQL integration. For applications requiring structured, scalable data storage, we integrate with Microsoft Dataverse or connect to existing SQL databases — giving your application a reliable, high-performance data foundation.
ERP and business system connectors. Many businesses run on ERP platforms — SAP, Dynamics 365, Oracle, and others. We build connectors between your Power Apps application and your ERP so that data entered in one place doesn't need to be re-entered somewhere else.
Third-party API integration. If your business uses external services — accounting platforms, logistics systems, payment processors, industry-specific tools — we connect your Power Apps application to those services using standard API connections.
Legacy system integration. Not everything can be replaced immediately. We build bridges between new Power Apps applications and older systems, allowing your team to work in modern tools while existing infrastructure continues to function.
Data migration. When an application replaces an existing process, historical data often needs to move. We handle data migration from spreadsheets, legacy systems, and other sources into your new application's data structure — cleanly and without loss.
Good for: Organizations whose workflows touch multiple systems, and anyone who has been frustrated by data that lives in too many places at once.
5. Ongoing Support — Keep the Application Working as Your Business Evolves
Launching an application is the beginning, not the end. Business processes change, teams grow, and requirements evolve. Your application needs to keep up.
FFI Systems provides ongoing support and maintenance services to keep your Power Apps applications performing well and continuing to serve your business as it changes. We don't hand off the application and disappear — we stay involved as your technology partner.
What ongoing support covers:
Bug fixes and issue resolution. When something doesn't work as expected, we diagnose and fix it quickly. We maintain a clear record of all issues and resolutions so that patterns can be identified and addressed at the root.
Feature updates and enhancements. As your business evolves, your application should too. We add new features, adjust workflows, extend data models, and build new screens as your requirements grow — without disrupting existing functionality.
Performance monitoring and optimization. Applications can slow down as data volumes grow or user loads increase. We monitor performance and make proactive optimizations before issues affect your team's productivity.
User training and adoption support. Even the best application fails if people don't use it correctly. We provide training for new users, refresher sessions for existing teams, and documentation that helps people get the most out of the application on their own.
Microsoft platform updates. Power Apps and the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem updates regularly. We monitor platform changes, test for compatibility, and update your applications proactively so that platform updates don't break your workflows.
Compliance and security reviews. As regulations change and your business takes on new types of work, your applications may need to be reviewed and updated to meet new compliance requirements. We provide periodic compliance-focused reviews for organizations with regulatory obligations.
Good for: Any organization that wants their application to continue delivering value over time — and doesn't want the responsibility of maintaining it internally.
Use Cases: What These Services Look Like in Practice
Manufacturing and Operations
A manufacturer replaces paper-based production floor inspection sheets with a mobile Power Apps form. Inspectors fill out structured checklists on a tablet, data is automatically logged to SharePoint, defect reports are routed instantly to quality managers, and a dashboard gives supervisors real-time visibility into production status — all without a single piece of paper or a manually compiled report.
Professional Services
A consulting firm replaces its email-based project approval process with a structured Power Apps workflow. Project requests are submitted through a standardized form, routed automatically to the right approvers based on project type and value, and tracked in a central dashboard. Approval times drop from days to hours.
Government and Defense Contractors
A defense contractor replaces its CMMC compliance tracking spreadsheet with a Power Apps application connected to SharePoint. Compliance evidence is collected through structured forms, control status is tracked centrally, and the SSP is automatically updated based on data entries — making the next assessment significantly easier to prepare for.
Healthcare and Clinical Operations
A healthcare organization replaces paper-based patient intake forms and manual scheduling coordination with a Power Apps solution that collects intake data digitally, routes it to the right staff, and integrates with the organization's existing scheduling system — reducing processing time and data entry errors.
Logistics and Field Operations
A logistics company gives its field teams a mobile Power Apps application for delivery confirmation, issue reporting, and customer signature capture — replacing phone calls and paper forms with real-time digital records that flow automatically into the central operations system.
Human Resources and Administration
An HR team replaces a shared spreadsheet for tracking leave requests, onboarding tasks, and performance reviews with a Power Apps application that routes requests to the right managers, sends automated reminders, and gives HR real-time visibility across the organization.