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 GitHub and wants to automatically link pull requests to work items in Azure Boards. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Install the Azure Boards app for GitHub and configure the integration
The Azure Boards app for GitHub is the official integration that synchronizes work items with GitHub commits, branches, and pull requests. Once installed and configured, it automatically links pull requests to Azure Boards work items based on mention patterns (e.g., 'AB#123') in the PR description or commit messages, enabling traceability without custom scripting.
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.
✗
Add a repository secret with Azure Boards connection string
Why it's wrong here
Secrets are not used for linking.
✓
Install the Azure Boards app for GitHub and configure the integration
Why this is correct
This integration provides automatic linking.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure branch protection rules to require a linked work item
Why it's wrong here
Branch protection rules do not link work items.
✗
Create a GitHub Actions workflow that posts comments to Azure Boards
Why it's wrong here
This is manual and not automatic linking.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'requiring a linked work item' (a branch protection rule) with 'automatically linking work items' (the integration), leading them to pick Option C, which enforces a precondition rather than establishing the actual linking mechanism.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the Azure Boards app uses OAuth to authenticate with GitHub and listens for webhook events (e.g., pull_request.opened, pull_request.edited). When a PR description contains a work item mention like 'AB#123', the app calls the Azure Boards REST API to create a link in the work item's 'Development' section, and optionally updates the work item state (e.g., 'In Progress') when the PR is merged. A subtle behavior: the app only processes mentions in the PR description and commit messages, not in PR comments, so teams must enforce mention placement in PR templates.
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: Install the Azure Boards app for GitHub and configure the integration — The Azure Boards app for GitHub is the official integration that synchronizes work items with GitHub commits, branches, and pull requests. Once installed and configured, it automatically links pull requests to Azure Boards work items based on mention patterns (e.g., 'AB#123') in the PR description or commit messages, enabling traceability without custom scripting.
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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