I recently encountered a frustrating issue in my Power Platform environments where newly created Business Process Flows (BPFs) refused to appear in my model-driven app. Despite checking all the usual suspects—permissions, app configuration, the accent color bug, activation status, and entity attachments—the BPFs remained stubbornly invisible.

After reaching out to fellow Power Platform evangelists on LinkedIn, I discovered I wasn’t alone. Even one of my trusted MVPs was stumped by this particular issue.

The Community Solution

Determined to resolve the problem, I contacted Microsoft support and simultaneously posted on the Microsoft Power Platform forums. While awaiting Microsoft’s response, a community member suggested a workaround that proved successful: remove all automations from the app, then systematically add back the required automations and BPFs. You can read more about it here

This approach worked perfectly and restored visibility to my Business Process Flows.

Microsoft’s Diagnosis: Synchronization Issues

When Microsoft support reviewed my findings, they confirmed that this behaviour can occur due tosynchronization issuesbetween the app components and the underlying Dataverse tables. However, they also introduced me to a powerful diagnostic tool I had never encountered before: theBusiness Process Flow Monitor.

This wasn’t just useful for investigating BPF issues—it’s also valuable for monitoring model-driven app sessions and troubleshooting various form-related problems..

Accessing the Monitor Tool

To access the Monitor in your Dynamics 365 or Power Platform environment, follow these simple steps:

Method 1: URL Parameter

At the end of your Dynamics 365 URL, add&monitor=trueand press Enter. You’ll see a Monitor icon appear in the top-right corner of your screen. For example:

https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx?appid=your-app-id&monitor=true

Method 2: Power Apps Maker Portal

Alternatively, navigate to the Power Apps Maker Portal, select your model-driven app, and chooseMonitorfrom the command bar.

Using the Monitor for Debugging

Once you’ve accessed the Monitor:

1. Click on theMonitoricon to open the monitoring session in a new browser tab

2. SelectPlay Model-driven appto launch your app connected to the debug session

3. ClickJoin Debug Sessionwhen prompted

The Monitor will now track all actions and events as you navigate through your app, providing detailed diagnostic information for troubleshooting.

 

Investigating Business Process Flow Issues

To specifically troubleshoot Business Process Flows that aren’t displaying:

1. Navigate to records where the BPF should appear but doesn’t

2. In the Monitor window, search forBPFNotShownin the logged events

3. Expand the data dropdown to view detailed diagnostic information

4. The Monitor will display the specific reason why the BPF isn’t visible on that record

This diagnostic capability can reveal issues such as:

• Missing security privileges on the Process table

• Incorrect BPF configuration in the app designer

• Record-level BPF instance corruption

• Stage progression problems

 

Key Takeaways

The Monitor tool is invaluable for Power Platform developers and can help diagnose:

• Business Process Flow visibility issues

• Form loading problems

• JavaScript errors and exceptions

• Performance bottlenecks

• Command and ribbon button behavior

• Data source connectivity issues

If you encounter BPFs not displaying in your apps, remember to:

1. Verify the BPF is added to your app in the App Designer

2. Check security role permissions on both the BPF table and the Process table

3. Try removing and re-adding automations as a troubleshooting step

4. Use the Monitor tool with&monitor=trueto diagnose the root cause

The Monitor has become an essential part of my Power Platform troubleshooting toolkit, and I hope this guide helps you resolve similar issues more efficiently in your own environments.