AZ-400 Practice Question: Design and implement a source control strategy
This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement a source control strategy. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
Your organization needs to enforce that every commit to the main branch in Azure Repos is associated with a work item from Azure Boards. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add a branch policy on main that requires a linked work item for all pushes.
Option A is correct because Azure Repos branch policies include a specific policy to 'Require a linked work item' for all pushes to a branch. This policy enforces that every commit pushed directly to the main branch must be associated with a work item from Azure Boards, ensuring traceability and compliance with your organization's requirements.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Add a branch policy on main that requires a linked work item for all pushes.
Why this is correct
Azure Repos branch policies can require linked work items for any push to the branch.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a pre-receive hook in the repository to reject commits without a work item.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Repos does not support custom pre-receive hooks; GitHub does.
✗
Enable the 'Gated check-in' option in the branch policy for main.
Why it's wrong here
Gated check-in is for TFVC, not Git.
✗
Configure a pull request policy that requires a linked work item, and enforce that all merges to main are via pull request.
Why it's wrong here
This works for pull requests but not for direct commits; however, branch protection can prevent direct commits.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'Require a linked work item' branch policy with pull request policies, but the question explicitly asks for enforcement on 'every commit to the main branch,' which includes direct pushes, so the correct answer is the branch policy that applies to all pushes, not just pull request merges.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'Require a linked work item' branch policy works by inspecting each commit's message for a work item reference (e.g., '#12345') or by validating that the commit is linked via the Azure DevOps REST API. Under the hood, Azure Repos uses a service hook to check the association before accepting the push, and if the policy is violated, the push is rejected with a detailed error message. In a real-world scenario, this policy is often combined with 'Require a minimum number of reviewers' and 'Build validation' to enforce a complete quality gate for the main branch.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-400 question in full detail.
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..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a branch policy on main that requires a linked work item for all pushes. — Option A is correct because Azure Repos branch policies include a specific policy to 'Require a linked work item' for all pushes to a branch. This policy enforces that every commit pushed directly to the main branch must be associated with a work item from Azure Boards, ensuring traceability and compliance with your organization's requirements.
What should I do if I get this AZ-400 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.