This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement a source control strategy. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You need to enforce that every commit in your repository is associated with a work item in Azure Boards. Which mechanism should you use?
Use commit messages with work item IDs
Why wrong: Not enforced.
Deploy a custom Git hook on the server
Why wrong: Custom and complex.
Configure a branch policy to require linked work items
Enforced in pull requests.
Use the 'Require status checks' policy
Why wrong: Not specific to work items.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Configure a branch policy to require linked work items
Option C is correct because Azure Repos branch policies include a setting to 'Require linked work items', which enforces that every pull request (and by extension, every commit merged through that PR) is associated with a work item in Azure Boards. This policy is enforced server-side at merge time, ensuring no commit can be merged without a linked work item, regardless of how the commit message is formatted.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use commit messages with work item IDs
Why it's wrong here
Not enforced.
Deploy a custom Git hook on the server
Why it's wrong here
Custom and complex.
Configure a branch policy to require linked work items
Why this is correct
Enforced in pull requests.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Use the 'Require status checks' policy
Why it's wrong here
Not specific to work items.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse a voluntary convention (commit message IDs) with an enforced policy, or they incorrectly assume that custom Git hooks are available in Azure Repos as they are in self-hosted Git servers.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the 'Require linked work items' branch policy works by inspecting the pull request's 'Related Work Items' tab, which must contain at least one work item ID. This policy is evaluated during the PR completion process, and if no work item is linked, the 'Complete' button is disabled. A real-world scenario where this matters is in regulated industries (e.g., finance, healthcare) where audit trails require every code change to trace back to a requirement or bug; this policy automates that compliance without relying on developer discipline.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design and implement a source control strategy — This question tests Design and implement a source control strategy — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Configure a branch policy to require linked work items — Option C is correct because Azure Repos branch policies include a setting to 'Require linked work items', which enforces that every pull request (and by extension, every commit merged through that PR) is associated with a work item in Azure Boards. This policy is enforced server-side at merge time, ensuring no commit can be merged without a linked work item, regardless of how the commit message is formatted.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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