The Employee Recognition App is a production-ready Power Platform application that transforms traditional paper-based employee recognition into an intelligent, automated digital workflow. Developed with full stakeholder collaboration, 100+ incremental releases, and comprehensive GitHub automation with CI/CD workflows. Features seven distinct award recognition types allowing consolidated submission, automated routing/triage, ChatBot safety checks, automated documentation storage, and enterprise-grade security compliance for VA Healthcare environments.
- Smart Forms: Award-specific forms with dynamic question sets and intelligent validation
- Automated Workflows: Multi-level approvals with intelligent triage and routing
- Mobile-First Design: Responsive and accessible across all devices and platforms
- Enterprise Integration: Teams and Outlook integration with a "Patient Safety Event" ChatBot
- Analytics & Reporting: Comprehensive dashboards for recognition metrics and insights (Power BI analytics component introduced in v1.1.0)
- Security & Compliance: Enterprise-grade security with complete audit trails
- DevOps Pipeline: Complete CI/CD automation and professional documentation
- User Experience: Embedded video tutorials, feedback system, and bug reporting
- Triage workflow overhaul: Complete redesign of the Triage screen with dynamic form visibility, guided team routing options, and a dedicated submit action that clears state and refreshes the app.
- Office365 API migration: Updated user profile lookup from
Office365Users.SearchUserV2toOffice365Users.SearchUserfor improved connector compatibility. - Platform modernization: Updated Power Apps manifest/platform settings (including MSAppStructureVersion) and upgraded control packages (e.g.,
groupContainer) enabling grid layout properties. - Improved audit trail behavior: Auto-populated triage action tracking fields using the current user context.
- Packaging/source format alignment: Adds/retains portable
.pa.yamlartifacts underOther/Src/alongside the primary.fx.yamlsources.
See src/power-apps/v1.1.2/README.md and src/power-apps/v1.1.2/v1.1.2_ReleaseMessage.md for detailed screen-by-screen notes.
The Employee Recognition App is built on a comprehensive Power Platform foundation with enterprise-grade automation:
- Power Apps Canvas App – Mobile-first responsive design supporting 4 award recognition types with accessibility compliance
- Power Automate Flows – Automated triage, multi-level approval routing, and AI safety chatbot integration
- SharePoint Lists – Secure data storage with structured content types, privacy controls, and comprehensive audit trails
- PowerShell Automation – 19 local development scripts + 14 public deployment scripts for comprehensive lifecycle management
- GitHub Actions – 2 active CI/CD workflows (changelog-enforcement.yml, repository-health.yml) with automated quality gates
- VS Code Integration – 32 custom tasks across 6 categories for complete development workflow automation
- Microsoft Approvals – Multi-level approval processes with executive routing capabilities
- Teams & Outlook – Collaboration and notification systems with embedded safety chatbot integration
📁 Employee Recognition App/
├── 📂 .github/ # Workflows, issue templates, CODEOWNERS
│ ├── 📂 workflows/ # CI/CD automation
│ └── 📄 copilot-instructions.md
├── src/ # Component-first source tree
│ ├── 📂 power-apps/
│ │ └── 📂 v1.1.2/ # Current Canvas App version
│ │ ├── 📂 .unpacked/ # Source-controlled YAML/JSON/XML
│ │ ├── 📂 .msapp/ # Packaged app artifact
│ │ ├── 📄 app-config.json
│ │ └── 📄 README.md
│ ├── 📂 power-automate/
│ │ └── 📂 v1.0.1/ # Current flow set version
│ │ ├── 📂 .unpacked/ # Source-controlled YAML/JSON/XML
│ │ ├── 📂 flow_PatientSafetyEvent/ # Source-controlled YAML/JSON/XML
│ │ └── 📂 flow_TriageAndApproval/ # Source-controlled YAML/JSON/XML
│ │ ├── 📄 flow-config.json
│ │ └── 📄 README.md
│ ├── 📂 sharepoint/ # List schemas & provisioning docs
│ │ ├── 📂 lists/
│ │ └── 📄 README.md
│ ├── 📂 powershell/ # Public automation scripts
│ ├── 📄 INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md
│ └── 📄 RELEASE_NOTES.md
├── 📂 docs/ # Extended documentation set
│ ├── 📄 PROJECT_STATUS.md
│ ├── 📄 PROJECT_MIGRATION_PLAN.md
│ ├── 📄 SECURITY.md
│ ├── 📄 CONTRIBUTING.md
│ ├── 📄 NOTICE
│ └── 📄 SECRET_SCANNING_CHECKLIST.md
├── 📂 assets/ # Non-code assets (images/videos)
├── 📄 CHANGELOG.md # Historical log (legacy paths retained for audit)
├── 📄 LICENSE
├── 📄 README.md # Authoritative overview (merged)
└── (removed) README_alternative.md # Legacy file merged then removed (Oct 28 2025)
Legacy
src/v1.0.x/v1.0.0/...references remain only in CHANGELOG & historical docs for traceability.
- Power Platform CLI – Microsoft Learn (required for packaging and deployment)
- Visual Studio Code with recommended Power Platform extensions (Power Platform Tools, Power Apps CLI)
- Power Platform Environment (admin access required for solution import and configuration)
- SharePoint Site (with list creation and permission management capabilities)
- Git (for version control and repository management)
- PowerShell 5.1+ (for automation scripts and deployment utilities)
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/KCoderVA/Employee-Recognition-App.git
cd Employee-Recognition-App
# Open in Visual Studio Code with workspace configuration
code EmployeeRecognitionApp.code-workspace
# Authenticate to Power Platform (required for CLI operations)
pac auth create --environment [your-environment-id] --tenant [your-tenant-id]For immediate deployment without source modifications:
- Pre-built Application Package:
src/power-apps/v1.1.2/.msapp/v1.1.2.msapp - Enhanced Features: Modern VA branding, integrated tutorial videos, animated loading components
- Public PowerShell Scripts:
src/powershell/(pack/unpack, validation, diagnostics) - Deployment Utilities: CLI automation & validation scripts for enterprise environments
- Installation Documentation: INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md
VA USGov Cloud Users: The application is configured for VA USGov environments with specific tenant and authentication requirements:
The Employee Recognition App maintains comprehensive security and compliance standards for enterprise healthcare environments:
- VA Healthcare Compliance: Full compliance with Veterans Affairs security requirements, FISMA controls, Privacy Act regulations, and HIPAA standards
- Enterprise Security: 50+ VA Healthcare enterprise restrictions implemented and validated through automated security compliance scripts
- Data Protection: Zero sensitive data, PHI, or PII included in repository - only sanitized template files and configuration examples
- Audit Trails: Complete audit capabilities with SharePoint integration for all recognition submissions and approval workflows
- Access Controls: Role-based permissions and principle of least privilege implementation throughout all components
- Secure Deployment: All deployment artifacts undergo security validation before public release
See SECURITY.md for comprehensive security policy, threat model, and compliance framework documentation.
We welcome community contributions! The Employee Recognition App follows comprehensive contribution standards:
- Code Standards: Power Fx best practices, delegation-aware patterns, and enterprise-grade naming conventions
- Documentation Requirements: Complete documentation for all contributions with license header compliance
- Testing Protocols: Multi-device testing, integration validation, and security compliance verification
- Review Process: 2-step review with automated quality gates and manual stakeholder approval
- Community Guidelines: Professional collaboration standards with VA Healthcare compliance requirements
See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines, code standards, submission process, and community expectations.
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| CHANGELOG.md | Complete development history |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | Contribution guidelines and best practices |
| SECURITY.md | Security policy and compliance framework |
| PROJECT_STATUS.md | Project status and roadmap |
| INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md | Installation and setup instructions |
| RELEASE_NOTES.md | Release notes and highlights |
- Select award directly or use "Help Me Choose" guided flow.
- Enter nominee, context, justification (dynamic fields per award).
- Track statuses from My Nominations panel.
- Review queued submissions in Approvals.
- Act within SLA windows (Level 1: 5 days, Level 2: 3 days).
- Use escalation or info requests; overdue items auto-escalate.
- Monitor flow runs & error logs.
- Adjust minimal config JSONs (avoid mid-cycle source edits).
- Review monthly KPIs and backlog metrics.
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Canvas App (v1.1.2) │
└────────────┬────────────┘
│
┌────────────▼────────────┐
│ Flows (v1.0.1) │
└────────────┬────────────┘
│
┌────────────▼────────────┐
│ SharePoint Data Layer │
└─────────────────────────┘
Independent versioning reduces coupling; minimal configs decrease drift risk.
src/power-apps/v1.1.2/app-config.json (excerpt):
{
"appReleaseVersion": "1.1.2",
"features": { "enableDrafts": true },
"validation": { "descriptionMaxLength": 600 }
}src/power-automate/v1.0.1/flow-config.json (excerpt):
{
"releaseVersion": "1.0.1",
"approval": { "level1TimeoutDays": 5, "level2TimeoutDays": 3 },
"reminders": { "intervalDays": 2 }
}| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| General Project | https://github.com/KCoderVA/Employee-Recognition-App |
| VA Internal (SharePoint) | https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/vhahin/svc/ci/ |
| Development / Analytics | HINClinicalAnalytics@va.gov |
- Teams adaptive card notifications
- Advanced Power BI dashboards
- Bulk approval tooling
- Certificate generation automation
- Localization & multi-language UI
- Extended recognition analytics
Organization: Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital (Station 578), VISN 12, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Development Team: Advanced Analytics & Clinical Informatics Project Lead: Kyle J. Coder (Developer/Program Analyst) Primary Stakeholder: Christina Conway (Health Systems Specialist) Executive Sponsor: James Doelling (Executive Director/CEO) Project Timeline: April 9, 2025 – August 12, 2025 (125 days of active development) Total Releases: 100+ incremental development releases with complete traceability Repository Statistics: 1,800+ lines in CHANGELOG.md documenting complete project history (legacy paths retained for historical accuracy) License: Apache License, Version 2.0 – See LICENSE for complete terms and conditions Contact:
- [PREFERRED] GitHub Repository: https://github.com/KCoderVA/Employee-Recognition-App
- [VA INTERNAL ONLY] SharePoint site: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/vhahin/svc/ci/
- [ALTERNATE] Email: HINClinicalAnalytics@va.gov
Historical releases referenced a monolithic directory (src/v1.0.x/v1.0.0/...). During the Oct 28, 2025 restructure we adopted a component-first model (src/power-apps/v1.1.2, src/power-automate/v1.0.1, etc.). Legacy paths are intentionally retained in:
Forward-looking docs reference the current Canvas App version under src/power-apps/v1.1.2/.
- CHANGELOG.md entries
- Archived release documentation
- Older release notes
They should NOT be globally replaced to preserve audit fidelity and traceability of historical build outputs. All forward-looking guidance now uses the component-first structure.