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 Git with Azure Repos. You notice that the commit history on the main branch contains many merge commits and commit messages like 'fix merge conflict'. You want a linear history for better traceability. What should you change?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use squash merge when completing pull requests
Option D is correct because squash merge collapses all feature branch commits into a single commit on the main branch, eliminating merge commits and preserving a linear history. This directly addresses the problem of cluttered commit messages like 'fix merge conflict' by discarding intermediate commits and their messages. Squash merge is configured in the Azure Repos branch policy for pull request completion.
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 the repository to use rebase when pulling
Why it's wrong here
This is a local setting; it doesn't affect the pull request completion strategy.
✗
Set the branch policy to require a clean fast-forward merge
Rebase merge creates a linear history but keeps all individual commits, which may still have poor messages.
✓
Use squash merge when completing pull requests
Why this is correct
Squash merge condenses all commits into one, allowing a clean commit message and linear history.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'rebase merge' (which preserves individual commits) with 'squash merge' (which collapses them), or mistakenly think that requiring fast-forward merges alone eliminates merge commits, when in fact it only prevents non-linear merges but still allows merge commits from out-of-date branches.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Squash merge works by taking the diff between the feature branch and the target branch, then creating a single new commit on the target branch with a user-defined message. Under the hood, Git does not actually merge or rebase; it performs a 'git merge --squash' which stages all changes without committing, then the system creates a single commit. In Azure Repos, this is a branch policy setting that overrides the default merge strategy, ensuring that even if a developer uses a different local strategy, the remote history remains linear.
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: Use squash merge when completing pull requests — Option D is correct because squash merge collapses all feature branch commits into a single commit on the main branch, eliminating merge commits and preserving a linear history. This directly addresses the problem of cluttered commit messages like 'fix merge conflict' by discarding intermediate commits and their messages. Squash merge is configured in the Azure Repos branch policy for pull request completion.
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.
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Question Discussion
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