Automation gets a lot of hype, has a lot of buzzwords, but it mostly a lot of workflows that probably never should have existed in the first place. This session cuts through the noise and focuses on practical, low-risk automation using Power Automate, starting with how to recognize good automation candidates and, more importantly, when to walk away.
This session will cover the foundational skills and knowledge you actually need to get started (hint: it’s less about being a developer and more about understanding processes), then move quickly into hands-on examples.
Using pre-built Power Automate templates, we’ll walk through three real-world scenarios that will demonstrate how automation done right saves time, is effective, and avoids creating a fragile mess that someone must babysit later.
Topics
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Scenarios Worth Automating
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Skills & Knowledge You’ll Need to Get Started
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Power Automate Fundamentals
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Demonstration
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Q & A
About the Speaker
AJ Hawley began his career as a software developer and quickly moved into business analysis before anyone could deploy his code. Since then, he has fine-tuned the art of existing between procrastination and productivity, perfecting what he likes to call "Just in Time Requirements" or "Hyper-Prioritization" depending on the audience.
He has spent more than 10 years consulting and building client solutions in the Microsoft Power Platform. In 2021 he founded his own independent consulting business where, since its launch, he has won employee of the month every month consecutively while simultaneously underwhelming his boss every day.
While he wouldn't ever consider himself a true business analyst, his calendar suggests otherwise, filled with stakeholder therapy sessions disguised as meetings and his experience has taught him that titles matter far less than who can make sense of the mess.
He spends most of his workdays and an alarming amount of his free time behind a computer. So much so that vitamin D supplements have been reprioritized as a "Must Have" requirement.
While technically a resident of the Sunshine State, his relationship with the outdoors is best described as “it’s complicated”.