Enterprise Strategy — Secure Government Delivery
The enterprise governance strategy for large-scale Power Platform deployments in secure and regulated environments is maintained in GovFLOW — the Government Federated Low-Code Operations Framework.
View the Full Enterprise Strategy →
What Is GovFLOW?
GovFLOW (Government Federated Low-Code Operations Framework) is an enterprise governance framework purpose-built for Microsoft Power Platform deployments in U.S. federal, DoD, and similarly regulated environments. It addresses operational realities that generic guidance often misses: ATO requirements, personnel churn, CUI handling, sovereign-cloud constraints such as GCC High / IL4 / IL5, and the need for centralized standards with decentralized execution across commands and programs.
GovFLOW covers the full governance stack — from tenant strategy and environment topology to security architecture, maker governance, leadership reporting, and DevSecOps maturity — designed for Army, Navy, USMC, and similar large-agency scale.
LP-ALM is the ALM methodology layer within GovFLOW. It governs how solutions are structured, versioned, and deployed within the environments and governance model that GovFLOW defines. The two frameworks are designed to be used together.
How LP-ALM and GovFLOW Relate
| GovFLOW Covers | LP-ALM Covers |
|---|---|
| Tenant and environment strategy | Solution decomposition into five layers |
| Security architecture, RBAC, DLP | Security role design within a solution |
| Governance board and intake process | ALM pipeline and source control structure |
| Maker governance and fusion team model | Multi-developer workflow and branch strategy |
| Leadership reporting and CoE tooling | Per-solution deployment and rollback |
| Azure integration and shared services | _Integration layer extension pattern |
Use GovFLOW to design and govern the platform. Use LP-ALM to build and deploy within it.
Getting Started
If you are adopting LP-ALM as part of a secure Power Platform program:
- Read GovFLOW — understand the environment strategy, governance model, and security architecture your program will operate within
- Read LP-ALM Methodology — understand how your solutions will be structured, deployed, and maintained
- Follow the Onboarding Checklist — environment setup, pipeline configuration, and first deployment
LP-ALM Tier Model for Secure Delivery
LP-ALM uses tiers so programs can right-size physical solution layers without weakening the secure control baseline.
| Tier | Recommended Solution Set | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | {ProjectCode}_Security, {ProjectCode}_Core, {ProjectCode}_UI_Operations | Small applications with no external integrations, no cross-boundary or CUI movement, and no privileged admin UI |
| Standard | Minimum + {ProjectCode}_Automation | Automation exists, but integrations are not shared, cross-boundary, or independently governed |
| Enterprise | Standard + warranted optional layers such as {ProjectCode}_Integration, {ProjectCode}_UI_Admin, reporting, or test data | CUI exchange, shared connection references, cross-system orchestration, separately governed integrations, or external ATO dependencies exist |
Every tier should preserve the same secure ALM controls: _Security first, schema only in _Core, schema-free UI solutions, managed-only Test and Prod, and non-secret configuration evidence. For connection references, dedicated service-account bindings are the recommended default; when they are not available, use an approved least-privilege delegated identity with documented ownership, rotation/review cadence, and evidence in the Environment Register. GCC High / IL4 / IL5 programs are example contexts where sovereign URLs such as .crm.microsoftdynamics.us and PAC authentication with --cloud UsGovHigh may apply.
Tier Selection Evidence
Tier selection should be recorded before implementation as an ADR-style decision. The record should identify the selected tier, facts supporting the decision, rejected alternatives, and where evidence will be kept for audit review.
- Minimum is recommended only when there are no external integrations, no cross-boundary or CUI data movement, and no privileged admin UI.
- Standard applies when automation exists but integrations are not shared, cross-boundary, or independently governed.
- Enterprise is recommended when CUI exchange, shared connection references, cross-system orchestration, separately governed integrations, or external ATO dependencies exist.
This guidance helps teams avoid selecting a smaller tier to bypass governance. Smaller tiers reduce empty solutions; they do not reduce the recommended secure controls.
Auditor Evidence Model
When _Config is not used as a dedicated solution, configuration governance is proven through linked non-secret evidence:
| Evidence | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Environment Configuration Register | Authoritative metadata record for CM-2, CM-3, and CM-6: logical name, environment, owner, required/optional status, secret classification, source variable name / Key Vault reference, approval/change reference, and last-reviewed date |
| Azure Key Vault / Azure DevOps audit logs | Evidence that values and secrets are stored, accessed, and changed through approved systems without exposing raw values in source control |
| Approval and change records | Evidence of authorized configuration changes and tier decisions |
| Deployment run history | Evidence that managed solutions were deployed to Test and Prod through approved Azure DevOps pipelines and Config Gate checks |
The evidence model stores metadata and references only. It should never include client secrets, passwords, API keys, connection strings, tenant secrets, or raw environment variable values.
LP-ALM is part of the GovFLOW ecosystem.