Power Automate Standards: Naming Conventions

Imported reference from Matthew Devaney's blog for learning purposes. Original: https://www.matthewdevaney.com/power-automate-standards-naming-conventions/. Author: Matthew Devaney.

Power Automate Standards: Naming Conventions Table of Contents

Why Use Power Automate Naming Conventions? Flow Names Action Names “>Trigger Names Variable Names Connection Reference Names

Why Use Power Automate Naming Conventions?

A consistent naming pattern makes it easier for other developers to understand what a flow does without having to review the details of every individual action. Cleanliness of the Power Automate code speeds up work and reduces bugs. Flow Names

A flow name should begin with a verb (action word), describe what outcome the flow will achieve and include the trigger type. Use proper case. Be as concise as possible. Good Examples Bad Examples Bad Reason Send Daily Status Report (Scheduled) Send Daily Status Report No trigger type at end of name Get Currency Rates From Web (Automated) Currency Rates From Web No verb at beginning of name Change App Ownership (Instant) Change app ownership (Instant) Not proper case

Prefix the flow with a group name at the start when it is part of a set of related flows. Do this to communicate the relationship between flows. Not every flow built requires a group name. If a flow does not belong to a set then do not add a group name. Examples With Group Name

Generate Contract: Create & Send PDF Contract (Automated)

Generate Contract: Calculate Line Item Prices (Instant)

Generate Contract: Assemble Terms & Conditions (Instant) Action Names

A flow action name must always start with the action’s original description. It is important to include this so developers can understand which action was selected without having to expand it. Then add more details about what the action is doing within the context of the current flow.

Use proper case. Separate the action name and its context using a colon. Good Examples Bad Examples Bad Reason Get Items: Inspections Table

Download Items From The Inspections Table

Original SharePoint connector action name missing Compose: Email message body Compose Missing description

Send Email (V2): Daily Report To Operations Leadership

Send Email (V2) – Daily Report To Operations Leadership Used a dash instead of a colon Trigger Names

Automated flow trigger names should include the table or event name in the trigger name. Example

When An Item Is Created: Safety Incidents

Scheduled flow trigger names must display the recurrence schedule. Example

Recurrence: On The 1st & 15th Of The Month At 5PM

Instant flows trigger names should also describe the event that triggers them. Example

Manually Trigger A Flow: When An Admin Wants To Create A New SharePoint Team Site Power Apps

flow trigger names should describe the event the app which triggers the flow to start. Example

Power Apps (V2): When The User Submits A New File To Upload Variable Names

A flow variable name should begin with a prefix of “v” and describe its subject/purpose in concise manner. Use camel case. with no spaces between each word. Be as concise as possible. Good Examples Bad Examples Bad Reason vQuantityInBox varQuantityInBox Do not prefix with var vEmployeeFullName strEmployeeFullName

Prefix str to denote a string data type is not necessary vIsPastDue vispastdue Use camel case Connection Reference Names

A connection reference name starts with a noun to describe the connection account. Then it is followed by the connection type, the solution name and a unique identifier. These are automatically added when building inside of a solution. Good Examples Bad Examples Bad Reason

SvcAcct-SharePoint CurrencyExchangeRates-ac3d5 SharePoint CurrencyExchangeRates-ac3d5 Missing noun at beginning

SvcAcct-Dataverse CurrencyExchangeRates-be005 SvcAcct-Dataverse

No solution name or unique identifier found

SystemAlerts-Office 365 Outlook CurrencyExchangeRates-32a0c

DavidJohnson-Office 365 Outlook CurrencyExchangeRates-32a0c Noun is not generic. Did You Enjoy This Article? 😺

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