This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of configure processes and communications. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 uses GitHub and wants to ensure that all commits to the main branch are associated with a GitHub issue. Which three settings should you configure?
Require conversation resolution before merging
Ensures discussions are resolved, promoting issue linking.
Require status checks to pass before merging
Can include a custom check that verifies issue linking.
Allow force pushes
Why wrong: Bypasses protections.
Require pull request reviews before merging
Ensures changes are proposed via PRs where issues can be linked.
Allow deletions
Why wrong: Does not affect issue association.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Require conversation resolution before merging
Option A is correct because requiring conversation resolution before merging ensures that all comments on a pull request are resolved before the PR can be merged. This is a branch protection rule that enforces that discussions tied to the PR (which should reference a GitHub issue) are fully addressed, indirectly ensuring the commit is associated with an issue. Option B is correct because requiring status checks to pass before merging can include a check that verifies the commit message contains an issue reference or that a linked issue exists. Option D is correct because requiring pull request reviews before merging forces all changes to go through a PR, which must be linked to a GitHub issue, ensuring traceability.
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.
Require conversation resolution before merging
Why this is correct
Ensures discussions are resolved, promoting issue linking.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Require status checks to pass before merging
Why this is correct
Can include a custom check that verifies issue linking.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Allow force pushes
Why it's wrong here
Bypasses protections.
Require pull request reviews before merging
Why this is correct
Ensures changes are proposed via PRs where issues can be linked.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Allow deletions
Why it's wrong here
Does not affect issue association.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may think 'Require status checks' is unrelated to issue association, but it can be configured with a custom status check that validates issue references, making it a valid and necessary setting alongside PR reviews and conversation resolution.
Detailed technical explanation
GitHub branch protection rules are enforced server-side via the Git protocol and the GitHub API. When 'Require pull request reviews before merging' is enabled, the merge queue checks that the PR has at least one approved review and that the PR is linked to an issue (via the 'Linked issues' section in the PR sidebar). The 'Require status checks' setting can integrate with CI/CD tools (e.g., GitHub Actions) that run a custom check to parse commit messages for issue references (e.g., 'Closes #123') or verify the PR's issue association. 'Conversation resolution' ensures that any unresolved comments—often used to request issue linking—block the merge, enforcing the policy at the discussion level.
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
Configure processes and communications — This question tests Configure processes and communications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Require conversation resolution before merging — Option A is correct because requiring conversation resolution before merging ensures that all comments on a pull request are resolved before the PR can be merged. This is a branch protection rule that enforces that discussions tied to the PR (which should reference a GitHub issue) are fully addressed, indirectly ensuring the commit is associated with an issue. Option B is correct because requiring status checks to pass before merging can include a check that verifies the commit message contains an issue reference or that a linked issue exists. Option D is correct because requiring pull request reviews before merging forces all changes to go through a PR, which must be linked to a GitHub issue, ensuring traceability.
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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