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 team uses a monorepo in Azure Repos. Developers frequently commit directly to the main branch, causing build failures. You need to enforce a policy that requires all changes to go through pull requests with at least one reviewer. What should you configure?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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 on the main branch to require a minimum number of reviewers.
Option C is correct because Azure Repos allows you to configure branch policies on specific branches (like main) to enforce that all changes must come through pull requests and require a minimum number of reviewers. This directly addresses the need to prevent direct commits to main and ensure code review before merging.
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.
✗
Configure a repository policy to require a pull request for all branches.
Why it's wrong here
Repository policies do not support a blanket requirement for all branches.
✗
Create a service hook to reject commits to main that are not from pull requests.
Why it's wrong here
Service hooks are event-driven and do not enforce policies proactively.
✓
Configure a branch policy on the main branch to require a minimum number of reviewers.
Why this is correct
Branch policies on main can enforce pull request requirements and reviewer count.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable the 'Require a minimum number of reviewers' setting in the project settings.
Why it's wrong here
This setting is part of branch policy, not a project-level setting.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse project-level settings with branch-level policies, or mistakenly think service hooks can enforce commit restrictions, when in fact Azure Repos requires explicit branch policy configuration on the target branch to enforce pull request requirements and reviewer counts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Branch policies in Azure Repos are enforced by the Git service at the server level, using a pre-receive hook mechanism that rejects pushes that violate the policy. When a minimum number of reviewers is required, the pull request must have the specified number of approved reviews before the merge button becomes available, and the policy can also block direct commits to the branch even if the user has write permissions. In a monorepo scenario, this ensures that all changes to the main branch are reviewed, reducing the risk of build failures from unreviewed code.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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: Configure a branch policy on the main branch to require a minimum number of reviewers. — Option C is correct because Azure Repos allows you to configure branch policies on specific branches (like main) to enforce that all changes must come through pull requests and require a minimum number of reviewers. This directly addresses the need to prevent direct commits to main and ensure code review before merging.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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