Power App/ SharePoint Lists

Hi Hawi,

Based on the requirements you described, I agree that the four-list approach is likely the most maintainable and scalable option for a Management of Change (MOC) solution in Power Apps.

The main reason your current design becomes difficult to manage is that traditional SharePoint forms and many Power Apps forms are tightly connected to the columns in a SharePoint list. If each question is stored as a separate column, adding, deleting, renaming, or reorganizing questions can impact the form structure and cause existing controls or formulas in the app to require rework.

To avoid this, I would recommend treating questions as data records rather than SharePoint columns. In practice, this means storing questions in a dedicated Questions list, where each row represents a single question and contains information such as the department, question text, response type, display order, and active status. This allows administrators to add, remove, reorder, or update questions without modifying the underlying app structure.

A typical design would include the following SharePoint lists:

• Questions: Stores all questions and their configuration.
• MOC Header: Stores the main Management of Change request information.
• Responses: Stores user responses, with one record per question answered.
• Board Review: Stores review, approval, and decision information.

With this structure, Power Apps can dynamically display the relevant questions based on the selected department rather than relying on fixed form fields. For example, if a new Safety question needs to be added, it can simply be added as a new row in the Questions list, and the app can automatically display it without requiring significant changes to the Power App itself.

Another important advantage is that historical data can be preserved. Instead of modifying existing questions, older questions can be marked as inactive and replaced with new versions. This ensures that previously submitted MOC records continue to show the exact questions that users originally answered, providing better traceability and auditability.

For the Power App itself, I would recommend using a standalone Canvas App connected to all four SharePoint lists. The MOC Header information can be collected through a standard form, while the department-specific questions can be displayed dynamically through a Gallery control. This approach provides significantly more flexibility and is generally easier to maintain as business requirements evolve.

Overall, this design reduces the dependency between the Power App and the SharePoint list structure, making future changes much easier to manage while supporting multiple departments and changing questionnaires over time.

For reference:

• Connect to SharePoint from a canvas app - Power Apps
• Understand data sources for canvas apps - Power Apps

I hope this helps clarify the recommended architecture. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like additional guidance on implementing the solution.

Kind regards.

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