Microsoft’s Power Automate Desktop (PAD) is a powerful automation tool, but like any platform, it has its limitations. Users frequently request enhancements such as version control, better documentation, compliance enforcement, and advanced analytics. Without these features, organizations struggle with automation governance, scalability, and security.
Blueprint Assess fills these gaps by providing robust automation intelligence, governance, and optimization tools that elevate PAD’s capabilities. Here’s how Assess solves seven of PAD’s most significant shortcomings:
1. Lack of Change Tracking & Version Control
The Problem: One of the most requested features for PAD is version control for Flows. Currently, there is no native way to track Flow changes or restore previous versions, making it difficult to manage automation updates effectively.
The Solution: Assess provides comprehensive version control, tracking all changes throughout a Flow’s lifecycle. Users gain complete visibility into how their automation evolves over time, with the ability to review past versions and roll back changes when necessary.
2. No Automated Process Documentation
The Problem: PAD lacks an automated way to document processes beyond AI-generated Flow descriptions. This forces teams to spend hours manually creating documentation, increasing the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
The Solution: Assess automatically generates detailed process documentation, similar to a Process Design Document (PDD) or Solution Design Document (SDD). These reports include:
By eliminating manual documentation work, Assess ensures process records remain accurate and up to date.
3. No Flow Structure Visualization
The Problem: Understanding the structure of complex Flows in PAD can be challenging, as there is no built-in way to get a high-level view of a Flow’s architecture.
The Solution: Assess offers a Structure Diagram that provides a bird’s-eye view of an automation’s call tree. This visualization helps users quickly grasp a Flow’s complexity, relationships between subflows, and dependencies.
4. No Built-In Ideation & Tracking for Automation Opportunities
The Problem: PAD does not offer a structured way to submit and track potential automation ideas, making it challenging to organize and prioritize automation opportunities.
The Solution: Assess introduces an Automation Ideation Portal, allowing teams to:
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Submit potential automation ideas
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Assign an idea score and estimate potential cost savings
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Link ideas to Flows, tracking them from concept to production
This structured approach ensures teams focus on the most valuable automation opportunities.
5. Limited Flow Activity Insights
The Problem: PAD allows users to review Flow runs but does not provide advanced analytics to detect subtle performance anomalies.
The Solution: Assess enhances visibility with advanced Flow analytics, helping teams:
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Identify performance anomalies
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Detect potential issues even in successfully completed runs
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Optimize automation performance based on data-driven insights
6. No Built-In Sensitive Data Detection
The Problem: PAD does not detect or flag when users hardcode sensitive information into Flows, increasing security risks.
The Solution: Assess includes sensitive data scanning, which automatically detects and flags potentially exposed sensitive data. This allows teams to secure their automations and comply with data protection policies proactively.
7. No Native Compliance & Best Practices Enforcement
The Problem: PAD does not provide built-in compliance enforcement, making it difficult for organizations to ensure best practices are consistently followed across automations.
The Solution: Assess introduces a Compliance Dashboard, enabling teams to:
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Define custom compliance rules
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Detect non-compliant Flows
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Ensure governance standards are maintained across all automations
This proactive compliance management reduces risk and enhances automation reliability.
Conclusion
While Power Automate Desktop is a strong automation tool, it lacks several key features that organizations need for scalable, compliant, and efficient automation. Blueprint Assess bridges these gaps by offering version control, automated documentation, compliance tracking, sensitive data detection, and advanced analytics.
By leveraging Assess, businesses can maximize the value of their PAD investments, enhance governance, and improve automation outcomes. Ready to take your Power Automate Desktop implementation to the next level? Learn more about Blueprint Assess today!
