Plots Approval Service

Before

GR Department employees manually filled out various Excel files with 25+ fields for each potential plot at the plot purchase stage before implementing the service. These files were then sent via email through the approval route.Responsible managers added a preliminary project description to the plot card, calculated the project's economics in a separate Excel file, and returned all materials to the Commercial Department. Commercial Department members analyzed potential plots with C-level executives.

All this made the decision-making process complicated due to reliance on multiple files, difficulty tracking and controlling deadlines, confusion over file versions, unclear data input responsibility, and non-standardized Excel file formats.

Plot profile with visualisation widget and business process

Solution

A Power Platform web application was developed, featuring:

A centralized database of all potential plots for development
A personalized interface for each department with access control and changes tracking
A plot purchase approval process with visual representation of the stages and email/in-app notifications
A preview widget for future development visualizations and land plot plans
A Unit Mix widget for planning project parameters and calculating built-up area by floors (Embedded Canvas App)
A profitability scenarios widget displaying projected profitability for a range of prices per m2
An integrated task tracker for tracking necessary actions for the plot
Generation of a preliminary project brief description based on plot card data in PDF

After

Employees now work with a unified database of land plots (stored in Dataverse); each department uses a unified Power Apps application with a personalized interface:

The process has become manageable: each plot's current status, progress, responsible person, and next required actions are visible.
Visualized business process in the plot card guides users through the next stages.
Convenience for employees: all data on a land plot (parameters, photos, types of buildings, number of floors, investment indicators) are accessible in a unified card, allowing quick review or modification.
Reduced errors: the system controls data entry and prevents incorrect information from being entered.
Project economics calculations are automated according to a unified methodology that can be quickly adjusted.
Decision-making support: profitability scenarios and Unit Mix widgets help employees choose future project parameters.
Accumulation of a historical database of potential land plots facilitates quicker revisiting of previously researched plots and avoids unviable ones.

Roadmap

The service MVP covers the initial process stage - plot registration in the potential projects database and its preliminary assessment. Plans include:

Covering the entire business process - up to construction completion, sale of constructed real estate objects, and post-investment analysis.
Developing a predictive ML model for construction cost estimation.
Developing a recommendation system (based on an ML model) for combining building types (Unit Mix + Residence/Commercial Mix).