Contoso's Power Platform pipeline is configured with three stages: Development → Test → Production. The platform administrator wants to require explicit human approval before any solution can be deployed to the Production stage. Which pipeline feature should the administrator configure to enforce this requirement?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation and Infographic
Power Platform pipelines have a built-in approval gate toggle on each stage — flip it on for Production, assign approvers, and every deployment requires a human thumbs-up before it proceeds. Answer: A.
Full explanation below image
Full Explanation
Power Platform Pipelines (the in-product ALM feature, not Azure DevOps) support pre-deployment approval gates as a native feature within the pipeline configuration.
Option A is correct. In the pipeline configuration UI, each stage (Development, Test, Production) has an option to require approval before deployment proceeds. When enabled for the Production stage, any developer who initiates a deployment to Production will trigger an approval request. Assigned approvers receive a notification (in Teams or email) and must explicitly approve or reject the request before the deployment executes. This provides human oversight without requiring external tooling.
Option B is incorrect. DLP policies control data flow between connectors — they are not designed to gate solution deployments. DLP has no concept of deployment approval and cannot be used to block or allow pipeline deployments based on who initiates them.
Option C is incorrect. While Azure DevOps pipelines can be integrated with Power Platform via the Power Platform Build Tools extension, the scenario describes the native Power Platform pipeline feature. Configuring Azure DevOps as a separate orchestration layer to gate native Power Platform pipelines adds unnecessary complexity when the native approval feature covers the requirement.
Option D is incorrect. Environment Maker is a security role that controls what users can create and modify within an environment — it does not provide a co-signing or approval mechanism for deployments. Security roles and pipeline approvals serve different governance purposes.
Exam tip: Power Platform Pipelines have native approval gates — no external tooling required. Approvers are configured per-stage, and the approval workflow integrates with Teams for notifications.