20+ practice questions focused on Design and implement source control — one of the most tested topics on the Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer Expert AZ-400 exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation so you learn why the right answer is correct.
Start Design and implement source control PracticeA team uses a monorepo with multiple projects in one Git repository. They want to enforce that each commit message must reference a work item from Azure Boards. Which branch policy should they configure?
Explanation: The 'Require a work item linking policy' in Azure Repos ensures each pull request is linked to a work item, but it does not validate that each commit message contains a reference. To enforce that commit messages themselves reference an Azure Boards work item, a build validation policy can run a script to verify the commit message format. Therefore, option D is the correct choice.
An organization has multiple Git repositories. Developers often forget to update the repository README file after making changes. What is the most effective way to ensure the README is always up-to-date?
Explanation: Adding a task in the CI pipeline that checks whether the README was modified directly enforces that developers include README updates in the same pull request that contains code changes. This ensures the README stays current with the codebase. In Azure Repos, CI pipelines can easily validate file changes using scripts or tasks. Option C (repository template) only ensures a README exists for new repositories but does not enforce updates after initial creation, so it does not address the core issue of keeping the README up-to-date over time.
A team uses Git-LFS to store large binary files. They observe that cloning the repository takes a long time because Git-LFS files are downloaded. How can they improve clone performance?
Explanation: The `--filter=blob:none` option performs a partial clone, which omits all blob objects (including Git-LFS pointer files and other large blobs) from the initial download. This significantly reduces clone time by only fetching commit and tree metadata, and then lazily downloading blobs on demand when they are actually accessed. For Git-LFS specifically, this avoids downloading the large binary files stored in LFS until they are needed, improving clone performance.
You are a DevOps engineer for a company developing a mobile application. The source code is stored in Azure Repos (Git). The team uses trunk-based development with short-lived feature branches. Recently, developers have reported that their feature branch builds are taking over 30 minutes, whereas the main branch builds complete in under 10 minutes. The pipeline is defined in a YAML file and includes steps to restore NuGet packages, compile, run unit tests, and perform code analysis. The pipeline also publishes build artifacts. The main branch has a branch policy that requires a successful build before merging. The feature branches do not have branch policies. All builds run on Microsoft-hosted agents. Upon investigation, you notice that the feature branch builds are restoring all NuGet packages from scratch each time, while main branch builds use cached packages. Additionally, the code analysis tool is scanning the entire codebase, not just the changed files. You need to reduce the feature branch build time to under 15 minutes without compromising code quality. Which course of action should you take?
Explanation: It directly addresses the two root causes of the slow feature branch builds: uncached NuGet package restores and full-codebase code analysis. Enabling pipeline caching (using the Cache@2 task) stores the NuGet packages folder (typically ~/.nuget/packages) and restores it on subsequent runs, eliminating redundant downloads. Configuring the code analysis step with path filters (e.g., using the 'changedFiles' condition or a custom script) ensures only modified files are scanned, drastically reducing analysis time without sacrificing quality.
Your team manages a large monorepo in Azure Repos containing multiple microservices. The repository has grown to over 10,000 files and 500 MB. Developers report that cloning and fetching operations are slow, often taking more than 10 minutes. Additionally, the CI pipeline triggers on every push to any branch, causing long queue times. You need to improve the developer experience and CI efficiency without splitting the repository. What should you do?
Explanation: Git sparse checkout allows developers to limit the working tree to specific directories, reducing local disk usage and checkout time. However, a standard sparse checkout alone does not reduce the amount of data downloaded during a full clone—this requires combining it with shallow or partial clone options. In Azure Pipelines, path-based CI triggers ensure pipelines run only when files in relevant directories change, reducing unnecessary builds and queue times. This approach improves both developer experience and CI efficiency without splitting the monorepo.
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Practice all Design and implement source control questions1. Baseline your knowledge
Start with 10 questions to gauge your current understanding of Design and implement source control. This tells you whether you need a concept refresher or just practice.
2. Review every explanation
For each question — right or wrong — read the full explanation. Understanding why an answer is correct is more valuable than knowing the answer itself.
3. Focus on exam traps
Design and implement source control questions on the AZ-400 frequently use trap wording. Look for subtle differences in answers that test your precision, not just general knowledge.
4. Reach 80% consistently
Do repeated sessions until you score 80%+ three times in a row. Then move to mixed-mode practice to test cross-topic recall under realistic conditions.
The exact number varies per candidate. Design and implement source control is tested as part of the Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer Expert AZ-400 blueprint. Practicing with targeted Design and implement source control questions ensures you can handle any format or difficulty that appears.
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Difficulty is subjective, but Design and implement source control is a high-priority exam concept tested in multiple ways — direct recall, scenario analysis, and command-output interpretation. Consistent practice is the best way to build confidence.
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