Scheduled and Continuous Deployment: Two Release Pipeline Triggers
Which TWO triggers can be used to start a release pipeline in Azure DevOps?
Quick Answer
Scheduled and continuous deployment triggers are both native, first-class ways to start a classic release pipeline — a scheduled trigger fires on a recurring cron-like cadence for periodic releases, and a continuous deployment trigger fires automatically whenever a new build artifact lands from a linked build pipeline, configured right on the release's Triggers tab.
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'continuous integration trigger' (which starts a build) with 'continuous deployment trigger' (which starts a release), and also mistakenly think 'pull request trigger' or 'branch policy trigger' can initiate a release pipeline when they are actually build/repository-level triggers.
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
✓
Scheduled release trigger
B is correct because a scheduled release trigger allows you to define a recurring time (e.g., daily at 2:00 AM) to automatically start a release pipeline, which is essential for scenarios like nightly builds or periodic deployments. C is correct because a continuous deployment trigger automatically starts a release pipeline whenever a new build artifact is available from a linked build pipeline, enabling immediate deployment after a successful build. Both triggers are native to Azure Pipelines and are configured directly on the release pipeline's 'Triggers' tab.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Continuous integration trigger
Why it's wrong here
CI trigger is for build pipelines, not release pipelines.
- ✓
Scheduled release trigger
Why this is correct
Scheduled trigger starts a release at a specified time.
- ✓
Continuous deployment trigger
Why this is correct
This trigger starts a release after a successful build.
- ✗
Pull request trigger
Why it's wrong here
PR trigger is for build pipelines.
- ✗
Branch policy trigger
Why it's wrong here
Branch policies are for pull requests, not release triggers.
Visual reference
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Related to this question
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Introduction to DevOps and Azure DevOps
Key term
Azure DevOps
Azure DevOps is a Microsoft service that provides development tools for planning, building, testing, and deploying software applications using automated pipelines and collaboration features.
Key term
Pipeline
A pipeline is an automated series of steps that takes code from development to production, ensuring quality and speed.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on AZ-400
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Variation 1. Which TWO triggers can start a release in Azure Pipelines?
easy- A.Continuous integration
- ✓ B.Schedule
- ✓ C.Build completion
- D.Work item state change
- E.Pull request
Why B: In Azure Pipelines, a release can be triggered by a schedule, which allows you to define a cron-based trigger to deploy at specific times (e.g., nightly builds). The 'Build completion' trigger starts a release when a specific build pipeline completes, enabling chained deployments. Both are native release triggers in classic release pipelines.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-400 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 AZ-400 exam.