Glossary¶
Shared terminology across BOLT, SCALE-OPS, DIALOGE, and SHIELD.
A¶
ALM (Application Lifecycle Management): The discipline of managing a solution from creation through development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and retirement. Covered in DIALOGE Go-Live (solution-level) and SCALE-OPS Automation (platform-level infrastructure).
Application User: A non-interactive, non-licensed Dataverse account associated with an Azure AD app registration. Used for integrations, flows, and external systems instead of personal accounts. Covered in DIALOGE Data.
Approved Connector Library: The published list of connectors assessed and approved by the security / compliance function for use in Tier 1 and Tier 2 solutions without individual approval. Covered in BOLT Guardrails and BOLT Foundation.
B¶
BOLT: Business-Owned Low-Code Technology Enablement. The enterprise operating model defining how business and IT collaborate to build, own, and scale digital solutions on low-code platforms.
Business Unit: An organisational hierarchy structure in Dataverse used for data isolation between groups. Users belong to exactly one business unit; security role scope uses business units to determine data visibility. Covered in DIALOGE Data.
C¶
Citizen Developer: A business user (not a developer by training) who uses no-code platform capabilities to build Tier 1 personal productivity solutions. One of the six BOLT roles.
CoE (Centre of Excellence): The team responsible for platform governance, enablement, and operations. In BOLT, this maps to the Platform Team role. In SCALE-OPS, CoE setup and operations are core capabilities.
CoE Starter Kit: Microsoft-provided Power Platform tooling for platform visibility, telemetry, and governance. Deployed and operated by the Platform Team. Covered in SCALE-OPS Operations.
Column-Level Security (CLS): Dataverse security mechanism that restricts access to specific fields within a table, independent of broader table access. Covered in DIALOGE Data and SHIELD Harden.
Connection Reference: A solution component that decouples connector credentials from solution logic, enabling connections to be updated per environment without reimporting the solution. Critical ALM practice. Covered in DIALOGE Integration and DIALOGE Go-Live.
Custom API: A Dataverse server-side endpoint that exposes reusable business logic callable by apps, flows, and external systems. Preferred over Custom Actions for new development. Covered in DIALOGE Integration and DIALOGE Logic.
Custom Connector: An OpenAPI definition that enables Power Platform to connect to APIs not covered by standard connectors. Requires governance review. Covered in DIALOGE Integration and SHIELD Inspect.
D¶
Data Classification: Categorisation of data by sensitivity level — typically Public, Internal, Confidential, and Regulated. Determines which tier and workspace can process the data. Covered in BOLT Guardrails, DIALOGE Data, and SHIELD Harden.
Dataverse: Cloud-hosted, low-code relational data platform built into Power Platform. The enterprise data foundation for solutions requiring security, governance, audit, and relational data. Covered in depth in DIALOGE Data.
DIALOGE: The seven building blocks of a modern solution — Data, Integration, AI, Logic, Operations, Go-Live, Experience.
DLP (Data Loss Prevention) Policy: Platform-level policy controlling which connectors can be used together in the same app or flow. Tiered by environment type. Covered in SHIELD Harden (design rationale) and SCALE-OPS Containment (deployment and management).
E¶
Environment: An isolated container for Power Platform resources (apps, flows, tables, data). Environment strategy is covered in SCALE-OPS Containment and SHIELD Lockdown.
Environment Variable: A solution component that stores configuration values (URLs, IDs, secrets references) per environment, enabling the same solution to work differently in Development, Test, and Production. Covered in DIALOGE Go-Live.
F¶
Fusion Team: A collaborative team combining business expertise and IT technical expertise for Tier 3 solution delivery. Defined in BOLT Roles.
I¶
Inspect: SHIELD's risk-based application security review pillar. Operates in three modes: Safe Zone auto-pass, Workload Pattern approval, and Full Security Review.
L¶
Line of Business IT: Enterprise IT teams that co-develop Tier 3 solutions and own Tier 4 solutions end-to-end. One of the six BOLT roles.
Low-Code Plugin: A server-side Dataverse plugin written in Power Fx rather than C#. Maker-accessible server-side extensibility. Covered in DIALOGE Logic.
M¶
Managed Environment: A Power Platform environment with enhanced governance features enabled — solution checker enforcement, sharing limits, and usage insights. Recommended for all non-developer environments. Covered in SCALE-OPS Containment and SHIELD Lockdown.
Managed Solution: A solution deployed as read-only in the target environment — components cannot be edited directly. The production standard. Covered in DIALOGE Go-Live.
MCP (Model Context Protocol): An emerging open standard defining how AI agents interact with external systems and tools. Power Platform's MCP support enables AI assistants to interact with the platform programmatically. Covered in DIALOGE AI.
P¶
Platform Team: The custodian of the BOLT operating model. Owns platform standards, guardrails, connector library, enablement, and monitoring. Does not build business solutions. One of the six BOLT roles.
Power Fx: The low-code formula language used across Power Platform — in canvas apps, model-driven apps, Dataverse calculated columns, and low-code plugins. Covered in DIALOGE Logic and DIALOGE Experience.
Pre-Approval: Formal security approval covering a defined solution profile, enabling Tier 1 and Tier 2 solutions to be built without individual security review. Covered in BOLT Guardrails and SHIELD Enforce.
R¶
Row-Level Security (RLS): Dataverse security mechanism controlling which records a user can see — through security role scope, record sharing, and team membership. Covered in DIALOGE Data and SHIELD Harden.
S¶
Safe Zone: The set of conditions under which a lower maturity level is acceptable. Used in DIALOGE (per pillar) and SHIELD Inspect (auto-pass criteria). Solutions within the safe zone are appropriately governed for their risk profile.
SCALE-OPS: The eight-capability platform operating model — Stewardship, Containment, Automation, Lifecycle, Enablement, Operations, Performance, Scalability.
SHIELD: The six pillars of enterprise security — Sight, Harden, Inspect, Enforce, Lockdown, Defend.
Solution: The fundamental unit of deployment in Power Platform. A container packaging all components (tables, apps, flows, plugins, etc.) into a single deployable artefact. Non-negotiable for enterprise deployment. Covered in DIALOGE Go-Live.
Solution Checker: An automated analysis tool that scans solutions for performance, reliability, and security issues. Used as a deployment gate. Covered in DIALOGE Go-Live and SHIELD Inspect.
T¶
Tech Solution Team: IT Support / Client Services — first point of contact for citizen developers with day-to-day Tier 1 questions. Routes to Platform Team for anything outside routine support. One of the six BOLT roles.
Tier (BOLT): One of four delivery levels determined by solution complexity. Tier 1 (Personal Productivity), Tier 2 (Business Solutions), Tier 3 (Fusion Team Solutions), Tier 4 (Enterprise & Strategic).
Trusted Enablement: The T pillar of BOLT — IT's role as enabler rather than gatekeeper. Provides secure platforms, guardrails, and oversight to make business ownership safe and sustainable.
V¶
Virtual Table: A Dataverse table backed by an external data source — external data appears as native Dataverse records without copying it. Covered in DIALOGE Integration.
VNet (Virtual Network) Integration: Azure networking capability that routes Power Platform traffic through an organisation's Azure VNet rather than the public internet. For regulated workloads. Covered in DIALOGE Integration and SHIELD Lockdown.
W¶
Workspace: An environment provisioned for a specific purpose within the BOLT model. Default workspace (Tier 1), Business workspace (Tier 2), Solution workspace with Dev/Test/Prod (Tier 3–4). Covered in BOLT Guardrails.
WYSIWYIS (What You See Is What It Stores): Design principle ensuring what the UI displays reflects what is actually stored in the data layer. Covered in DIALOGE Experience.
Part of powerplatform.wiki Last updated: March 2026