Stop Designing Screens First: Start with Use Case, Tables & Layout

In my previous post, I explained why a container-first approach is the best way to avoid broken layouts and endless rework. (Link: Why Manual Alignment is Killing Your Power Apps Productivity ) Now it’s time to use that approach in a real example. In this series, we’ll build a real Inventory Management Canvas App with Dataverse — step by step. By the end, you’ll have a real asset: ✅ a reusable responsive app shell ✅ a clean Dataverse data model ✅ working modules (Products → Transactions → Reports) We’ll build it like a solution architect: Start with a clear use case Create only the minimum Dataverse tables Build a reusable layout shell (side nav, header, content, footer) Grow feature-by-feature without breaking the UI Use Case: Inventory Management App Problem In many teams, inventory is maintained using paper registers or multiple versions of spreadsheets. Over time, it becomes difficult to know the latest stock, track stock movement, or avoid duplicate product entries. Solution Build