AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your Azure DevOps pipeline uses a self-hosted agent pool. You notice that builds are queuing for a long time. What is the most effective way to reduce queue times without incurring additional costs?

Accepted Answer

Allocate more parallel jobs to the agent pool.. Allocating more parallel jobs to the self-hosted agent pool allows multiple pipelines or jobs to run concurrently, directly reducing queue times. This is achieved by adjusting the parallelism setting in the agent pool's properties, which does not incur additional costs as you are already paying for the self-hosted infrastructure.

Answer

Reduce the number of steps in the pipeline.

Answer

Increase the agent specification (e.g., from DS2 to DS4).

Answer

Switch to Microsoft-hosted agents to get more parallelism.

Question 2

Your team uses Azure Boards with a custom process. Which two features allow you to customize the work item types? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Create an inherited process from the default process.. In Azure Boards, customization of work item types is only possible through an inherited process. You must create an inherited process from a default process (e.g., Agile, Scrum, CMMI) to enable any modifications. This ensures the default process remains unaltered and supports upgrade compatibility.

Answer

Configure rules to create new work item types.

Answer

Use team settings to define new work item types.

Answer

Modify the default process directly.

Question 3

Your team uses GitHub Actions for CI/CD. You need to ensure that secrets used in workflows are automatically rotated every 90 days. What is the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Use a script that calls the GitHub API to update the secret and run it in a scheduled workflow.. It uses the GitHub API within a scheduled workflow to programmatically rotate secrets, ensuring automation without manual intervention. This approach directly addresses the requirement for automatic rotation every 90 days by generating new secret values and updating the repository or organization secrets via the API.

Answer

Use OpenID Connect (OIDC) to authenticate.

Answer

Manually update the secrets every 90 days.

Answer

Store secrets as environment secrets and configure expiration.

Question 4

Your team uses Azure DevOps with a Git repository. You want to enforce that all pull requests to main must have at least one reviewer from the 'security' group. Which two configurations are required? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Add the security group as a required reviewer for the main branch policy.. You can add the security group as a required reviewer in the branch policy. Option D is correct because setting the minimum number of reviewers to 1 ensures at least one reviewer is required. Option A is incorrect because automatic reviewers are not the same as required reviewers; they only suggest reviewers but do not enforce mandatory review. Option C is incorrect because a repository policy applies to all branches, not just main, and does not enforce required reviewers for pull requests; a branch policy is needed. Option E is incorrect because a branch protection rule is a GitHub feature, not available in Azure Repos.

Answer

Configure automatic reviewers for the security group.

Answer

Create a repository policy for the main branch.

Answer

Configure a branch protection rule in GitHub.

Question 5

Your team uses Azure Test Plans. You need to ensure that testers can easily see which test cases are blocked by a known bug. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Link test cases to the bug and create a query for linked items.. Azure Test Plans allows test cases to be linked directly to bugs via work item linking. By creating a query for linked items (e.g., a shared query that returns all test cases linked to a specific bug), testers can instantly see which test cases are blocked by that known bug. This provides a dynamic, filterable view without duplicating or reorganizing test artifacts.

Answer

Configure the test plan to show only failed tests.

Answer

Create a test suite for each bug.

Answer

Copy the test case and mark it as blocked.

Question 6

Your team uses GitHub Discussions for Q&A. You notice that many questions go unanswered. Which two actions can improve response rates? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Create a template for new discussions to guide users.. Option C is correct because creating a discussion template guides users to provide complete, structured information (such as version, environment, and steps to reproduce), which makes questions easier to understand and answer, thereby improving response rates. Option D is correct because assigning a team of maintainers to monitor unanswered discussions ensures there is clear ownership and accountability for responding, directly reducing the number of questions that go unanswered. Option A is not appropriate because limiting discussions to a single category reduces organization and makes it harder for the right experts to find relevant questions. Option B is not appropriate because auto-closing unanswered discussions after 7 days would suppress legitimate questions rather than encourage answers. Option E is not appropriate because converting unanswered discussions to issues does not by itself increase response rates and may simply move the problem elsewhere.

Answer

Limit the number of discussion categories to one.

Answer

Automatically close discussions that are unanswered for 7 days.

Answer

Convert unanswered discussions to issues.

Question 7

A company uses Microsoft Entra ID for identity. They want to enforce that all code changes in Azure Repos require a linked work item and a successful policy evaluation. Which branch policy should they configure?

Accepted Answer

Require work item linking in the branch policy.. Requiring work item linking in the branch policy ensures that every pull request (PR) in Azure Repos must be associated with a work item (e.g., user story, bug) before it can be completed. Combined with a successful policy evaluation (e.g., build validation, required reviewers), this enforces traceability and compliance for all code changes.

Answer

Set the merge strategy to squash merge.

Answer

Enable 'Automatically include reviewers'.

Answer

Enforce a minimum number of comments.

Question 8

Your team wants to automatically assign a code reviewer from a specific security group when a pull request modifies files in a 'security' folder. Which Azure DevOps feature should you use?

Accepted Answer

Add a required reviewer policy for the branch.. Azure DevOps branch policies include a 'Required reviewers' policy that can be configured with a path filter. By specifying the path 'security' and adding the security group as required reviewers, the system will automatically add those reviewers to any pull request that modifies files in that folder. This is the built-in feature designed for this scenario. A CODEOWNERS file can also suggest reviewers based on file paths, but it is not a branch policy and does not enforce that the review must occur.

Answer

Enable 'Automatically approve' for security group.

Answer

Code ownership policy with automatic reviewer assignment.

Answer

Branch policy with minimum number of reviewers.

Question 9

Your organization uses GitHub Copilot for pull request summaries. However, the summaries sometimes miss security-related changes. What should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Provide custom instructions to Copilot to emphasize security analysis.. GitHub Copilot's pull request summaries can be customized using custom instructions to prioritize security analysis. By providing specific directives in the repository's `.github/copilot-instructions.md` file or through the Copilot settings, you can instruct the AI to explicitly highlight security-related changes, such as those involving authentication, encryption, or input validation. This ensures the generated summaries are more aligned with your organization's security review requirements without disabling the tool.

Answer

Configure Copilot to ignore non-security files.

Answer

Disable Copilot and rely on manual review.

Answer

Switch to a different AI model specialized in security.

Question 10

Your team uses Azure Boards with a custom process. You need to ensure that when a bug is closed, it automatically triggers a new release pipeline. Which approach should you use?

Accepted Answer

Set up a Service Hook from Azure Boards to Azure Pipelines.. Service Hooks in Azure DevOps allow you to integrate Azure Boards with Azure Pipelines by subscribing to events like 'work item updated' or 'work item state changed'. When a bug is closed (state changed to 'Closed'), a Service Hook can automatically trigger a release pipeline, enabling event-driven automation without polling or custom code. This is the correct approach because it directly connects the work item state change to pipeline execution.

Answer

Configure a CI trigger in the release pipeline.

Answer

Add a release gate that checks for closed bugs.

Answer

Create an Azure Function that polls work items.

Question 11

Your team uses GitFlow and wants to enforce that all feature branches are deleted after merging to develop. Which automation should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Enable the 'Automatically delete source branches' policy in the branch policy.. The 'Automatically delete source branches' policy in Azure Repos branch policies automatically removes a feature branch once its pull request is completed into the target branch (e.g., develop). This directly enforces the GitFlow requirement without manual intervention or pipeline scripting, as it is a native repository-level setting.

Answer

Use a post-merge script in the pipeline.

Answer

Train developers to delete branches manually.

Answer

Configure branch retention policies in Azure Repos.

Question 12

Your team uses GitHub Actions for CI/CD. You need to enforce that all workflows use approved actions from a private marketplace. Which GitHub feature should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Set the Actions permissions to 'Allow only specified actions'.. The 'Allow only specified actions' setting in GitHub Actions permissions allows you to restrict workflow execution to a curated list of actions from a private marketplace or specific verified publishers. This enforces governance by preventing the use of unapproved actions, which is critical for compliance and security in enterprise CI/CD pipelines.

Answer

Use environment secrets to store allowed action names.

Answer

Require self-hosted runners.

Answer

Configure OpenID Connect (OIDC) for Actions.

Question 13

Which TWO options are valid ways to communicate build status from Azure Pipelines to external stakeholders?

Accepted Answer

Configure a Service Hook to post to a Slack channel.. Service Hooks in Azure Pipelines allow integration with external services like Slack by triggering HTTP POST requests containing build status payloads. Additionally, Azure Pipelines provides built-in email notifications for specific events, such as build completion or failure, which can be configured to send status updates to stakeholders. Both are standard, officially supported features. Options like using a release pipeline to call Twilio are possible but are not standard built-in methods, so they are not considered 'valid ways' in this context.

Answer

Create a work item in Azure Boards for each build.

Answer

Export pipeline logs to Power BI for reporting.

Answer

Use a release pipeline to send SMS via Twilio.

Question 14

Which THREE practices improve the efficiency of code review processes in GitHub?

Accepted Answer

Enable required status checks to pass before merging.. Option B is correct because enabling required status checks (branch protection rules that block merging until CI checks pass) ensures automated tests, linting, and builds succeed before human review, reducing review cycles spent on broken or untested code. Option C is correct because pull request templates with checklists standardize what authors provide (e.g., description, testing steps, linked issues), so reviewers spend less time requesting missing context and more time on substantive feedback. Option E is correct because small, focused pull requests are easier and faster to review, produce more precise comments, and reduce merge conflicts and review fatigue, directly improving review efficiency. Option A is not appropriate because allowing direct pushes to main bypasses review entirely and undermines branch protection, increasing risk rather than improving the review process. Option D is not appropriate because requiring at least 5 reviewers for every PR creates bottlenecks, slows merge times, and adds redundant approvals without proportional quality gains.

Answer

Allow direct pushes to main for urgent fixes.

Answer

Require at least 5 reviewers for every PR.

Question 15

Which TWO Azure DevOps features can be used to implement change management processes?

Accepted Answer

Release approval gates.. Release approval gates (Option B) in Azure Pipelines allow you to enforce manual or automated checks before a release proceeds to a stage, implementing change management by requiring sign-offs or validation against external systems. Audit logging (Option C) captures a chronological record of changes to Azure DevOps resources, providing an immutable trail for compliance and change review processes.

Answer

Test plans.

Answer

Project wiki.

Answer

Code search.