Photo By Troy Miller | Code 109.35 IT Solutions System Analyst Valeri Umstetter (Left) and Microsoft Power...... read more read more
Nowadays, there is an app for almost anything. There are your typical apps that one uses for their banking needs; ordering groceries and food; showing proof of car insurance; and apps to post tidbits of oneself for others to react to and make nice and rude comments alike. And of course, let’s not forget all the types of app-ragous gaming apps app-earing on cell phones, computers and tablets each and every day.
Now imagine if Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) had its own apps to help meet the mission of repairing, modernizing and inactivating our Navy’s warships and training platforms? Oh snap! There is!
One such NNSY app allows the supervisor/mechanic to submit a hot work, cold work and/or safe-to-enter request via a government-issued device including cellphones, computers and tablets. This should help in ensuring there is less walking around NNSY trying to find the right people to sign off on the request.
“It’s all automated now. Instead of using the old paper process where the mechanic would fill out and make carbon copies for all the required signatures, they just need to log into the app,” said Information Technology and Cybersecurity Department IT Solutions Branch (Code 109.35) IT Solutions Analyst Valeri Umstetter. “Not only does this save valuable time, but it also saves on costs as well.”
The tool used to create this type of app for NNSY is Microsoft Power Platform which consists of five products: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, and Microsoft Forms. Each product can be used individually or together.
“Microsoft Power Platform is a low code software which allows users with varying levels of expertise to build custom business applications, automate workflows, and analyze data,” said Power Platform Technical Specialist for Microsoft Federal Representative Ruth Delaney.
As the demand for applications to handle specific NNSY processes continues to grow, Code 109 has recently sponsored an app-tacular, groundbreaking Power Apps build-a-thon, where employees from various shipyard departments, with previous Power Platform experience, collaborated to build Power Apps. Attendees were split into two teams with each team consisting of five participants, one Microsoft subject matter expert and one Code 109 Power Platform developer.
The three-day build-a-thon wasn’t a typical training course and allowed each team to collaborate in real time to create Power App solutions for two NNSY departments.
“This build-a-thon was truly beneficial to us and answered a considerable amount of questions we had,” said Nuclear Material Division (Code 2305) Supply Systems Analyst Maggie Collins. “For instance, licensing and funding is a hurdle for each app. We went over the correct process on receiving the proper licensing and funding needed.”
Code 2305 Supply Systems Analyst Christopher Parrish added, “Although I’ve been using Power Platform to create various apps for my code, I had some ‘aha’ moments that will resolve some of the issues I’ve been having.”
Attendees said they enjoyed interacting with each other as they teamed to come up with a solution for the app request that was given to their particular group.
“Build-a-thons are really fun to watch people learn and see the lightbulbs come on and understand why or what the benefits would be for them, their work center and for the shipyard as a whole,” said Delaney.
The experience gained from working together was app-solutely invaluable, promoting cross-team learning and camaraderie. As the students tackled data models and responsive applications, they discovered new ways to optimize their development processes. Furthermore, the event highlighted the importance of team support, emphasizing that NNSY app developers will need to rely on each other for future Power Apps initiatives.
By the end of the three-day course, the participants had taken a byte out of the app-le and were energized and ready to tackle future apps for America’s Shipyard.
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2024 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 480790 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Norfolk Naval Shipyard App-tivates First Microsoft Power Platform Build-a-Thon, by Troy Miller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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