First, define clear ownership of the field. Ideally, only the plugin or the flow should update it.
A synchronous plugin runs during the save transaction, while a Power Automate flow runs asynchronously after the record is saved. If both update the same field, the flow could potentially overwrite a value changed by another process.
If both are genuinely required:
- Use filtering attributes for the plugin so it runs only when relevant fields change.
- Add trigger conditions to the flow to prevent unnecessary or repeated runs.
- Use conditions or flags when the two processes must coordinate.
- Prefer having the plugin and flow update different fields where possible.
- Monitor for automation loops and execution-depth issues.
Example: The plugin calculates CreditScore during save, while the flow reads that value and sends a notification. The flow doesn’t update CreditScore.
Interview tip: The best solution is single ownership of the field. Guard conditions and flags should be used only when both processes genuinely need to interact.
