PL-900 Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Apps Practice Question
An organization has a canvas app that uses a SharePoint list as its data source. Users report that the app loads slowly and sometimes times out. The developer needs to improve performance. Which approach should the developer take?
⚠ Common exam trap
PL-900 often tests the misconception that increasing timeout or splitting screens solves performance issues, when the real fix is delegation — candidates confuse symptom relief with root-cause resolution.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use delegable queries to filter data at the source
Delegable queries push filtering and sorting operations to the data source (SharePoint) rather than pulling the entire dataset into Power Apps for client-side processing. This dramatically reduces the volume of data transferred and the memory footprint on the client, which is the primary cause of slow loads and timeouts. Non-delegable functions force Power Apps to retrieve the first 500 (or up to 2,000) records and process them locally, which breaks correctness and performance on large lists.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the timeout setting in the app settings
Why it's wrong here
Raising the timeout only postpones the failure; the underlying cause is non-delegable SharePoint queries returning row limits. The setting is tempting as a quick fix, yet it belongs to scenarios where a genuinely slow-but-correct operation needs longer to finish, not where delegation is broken.
- ✗
Migrate the data source to SQL Server to improve performance
Why it's wrong here
Migrating to SQL Server changes the data source rather than fixing the app's non-delegable queries, and adds gateway and licensing overhead. It is tempting because SQL Server supports far broader delegation, making it the right choice when SharePoint's delegation limits genuinely cannot be worked around.
- ✗
Split the app into multiple screens to reduce load per screen
Why it's wrong here
Splitting screens redistributes controls but leaves the same non-delegable SharePoint queries executing, so timeouts persist. It is tempting because screen count does affect load, and reducing controls per screen is correct when a single screen holds excessive galleries or images, not when delegation is the bottleneck.
- ✓
Use delegable queries to filter data at the source
Why this is correct
Delegable queries translate filter operations into the data source's own query language, so SharePoint performs the filtering and returns only relevant rows. This avoids downloading the whole list, which is what causes the slow loads and timeouts.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
This PL-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-900 exam.