AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Question
Your organization uses Azure DevOps and has a project with multiple teams. The 'AlphaTeam' wants a branch policy on their feature branch 'feature/alpha' that requires a successful build from the CI pipeline and approval from at least one member of 'AlphaTeam'. However, the 'BetaTeam' should be able to push directly to 'feature/alpha' without a pull request. You need to configure the branch policy accordingly. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'Allow direct pushes' with a global bypass permission, not realizing it can be scoped to specific users while still enforcing policies for others.
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
✓
Configure the branch policy on 'feature/alpha' to require build and approval from AlphaTeam, and set 'Allow direct pushes' to 'Selected users' and add BetaTeam.
Azure DevOps branch policies allow you to configure 'Allow direct pushes' to specific users or groups while still enforcing PR requirements for others. By setting the policy on 'feature/alpha' to require a successful build and approval from at least one AlphaTeam member, and then selecting 'Selected users' for direct pushes with BetaTeam added, BetaTeam can push directly without a PR, while AlphaTeam must follow the PR policy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a new repository for AlphaTeam and apply the policy there.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a separate repository for AlphaTeam does not address the collaboration requirement because BetaTeam needs to work on the same feature/alpha branch in the existing project, and a new repository would fragment the codebase and require cross-repo PRs, with no policy applied to the original branch.
- ✗
Set a branch policy at the repository level that applies to all branches, then grant BetaTeam bypass permission.
Why it's wrong here
A repository-level branch policy applies to all branches, not just feature/alpha, and granting BetaTeam bypass permission would let them push directly without satisfying the required build or approval checks, completely undermining the protection intended for the feature branch.
- ✗
Configure the branch policy on 'feature/alpha' to require build and approval, and set 'Allow direct pushes' to 'Everyone'.
Why it's wrong here
Setting 'Allow direct pushes' to 'Everyone' on the feature/alpha branch policy means all users, including BetaTeam and AlphaTeam, can push commits directly to that branch without creating a pull request. Because the required build and approval checks are only triggered on pull requests, a direct push completely bypasses both checks, rendering the protected branch effectively unprotected. This configuration fails the requirement to require build and approval for changes to feature/alpha.
- ✓
Configure the branch policy on 'feature/alpha' to require build and approval from AlphaTeam, and set 'Allow direct pushes' to 'Selected users' and add BetaTeam.
Why this is correct
Configuring the 'feature/alpha' branch policy to require build and approval from AlphaTeam while setting 'Allow direct pushes' to 'Selected users' and adding BetaTeam grants BetaTeam a scoped bypass only for direct pushes to that specific branch. AlphaTeam and other non-selected users still must submit a pull request and satisfy the build and approval requirements. This balances the need for BetaTeam to push directly with the need to keep the feature branch protected, and it does not affect any other branches.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to DevOps and Azure DevOps
Key term
Branch
A branch is a pointer to a specific commit in a version control system that allows you to work on features or fixes in isolation from the main codebase.
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.
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