AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Question
Your team uses Azure Boards to track work items. They want to automatically update the state of a work item when a pull request is merged in Azure Repos. What should you configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse service hooks (which only send notifications) with the branch policy's built-in work item state transition feature, leading them to select option C instead of B.
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
✓
Define a branch policy to link work items and set automatic state transition.
Azure Repos branch policies allow you to require linked work items for pull requests and automatically transition the state of a linked work item (e.g., from 'Active' to 'Resolved') upon merge. This is configured in the branch policy settings under 'Automatically update work items' with a state transition rule, directly integrating Azure Boards with pull request completion.
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 work item template.
Why it's wrong here
Work item templates in Azure Boards define default values for fields like Assigned To, Area Path, or Tags when a user creates a new work item. They do not control state transitions or react to pull request merges. Since the goal is to automatically change a work item's state when a PR is merged, a template is insufficient; the required behavior is a branch policy feature.
- ✓
Define a branch policy to link work items and set automatic state transition.
Why this is correct
A branch policy in Azure Repos can require pull requests to be linked to work items and include an option to automatically transition the linked work item's state when the PR is merged. This is the built-in mechanism that updates Azure Boards work items without custom code, as the policy triggers the state change (e.g., from Active to Done) on successful completion of the merge. It directly satisfies the requirement, making it the correct choice.
- ✗
Create a service hook subscription.
Why it's wrong here
Service hooks in Azure DevOps emit HTTP notifications to external services when events like pull request merges occur. They do not modify Azure Boards work items directly; they only carry event information to a subscriber. To actually change the work item's state, you would need to build a separate custom service that listens to the hook and calls the REST API, which is unnecessary since branch policies provide this functionality natively.
- ✗
Set pipeline variables in the YAML file.
Why it's wrong here
Pipeline variables in a YAML file are used to pass values into build or release tasks, such as build numbers or connection strings. They are scoped solely to pipeline execution and have no linkage to Azure Boards work item state transitions. Defining variables cannot cause a work item to change its state when a PR is merged; this is outside the scope of pipeline configuration and requires a branch policy.
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to DevOps and Azure DevOps
Key term
Work item
A work item is a digital record in Azure DevOps that tracks a single unit of work, such as a task, bug, or user story, helping teams manage and monitor their progress.
Key term
Azure Boards
Azure Boards is a work tracking and project management service from Microsoft that helps teams plan, track, and discuss work across the software development lifecycle using Kanban boards, backlogs, and dashboards.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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