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. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 enforce a policy that all commits to the main branch must be signed with a GPG key that is associated with the author's GitHub account. Which method should you use to enforce this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add a branch protection rule that requires signed commits
Option C is correct because branch protection rules in GitHub include a 'Require signed commits' setting that enforces GPG or S/MIME signature verification on all commits pushed to the protected branch. This policy is enforced server-side before the commit is accepted, ensuring that only commits signed with a key associated with the author's GitHub account are allowed into the main branch.
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.
✗
Create a GitHub Actions workflow that runs a signature check after push
Why it's wrong here
A workflow can check but not prevent push.
✗
Use a commit status check to verify signatures
Why it's wrong here
Commit status checks cannot enforce before push.
✓
Add a branch protection rule that requires signed commits
Why this is correct
Branch protection rules can enforce signed commits.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure a repository ruleset that requires signed commits
Why it's wrong here
Repository rulesets are not branch-specific.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse post-push checks (like Actions workflows or status checks) with pre-push enforcement, or they overcomplicate the solution by choosing repository rulesets when a simple branch protection rule is the intended answer for a standard GitHub team scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
GitHub's 'Require signed commits' branch protection rule works by verifying the commit signature against the GPG or S/MIME public key uploaded to the author's GitHub account. The verification uses the commit's signature data (RFC 4880 for GPG) and checks that the committer email matches the key's associated email. If the signature is missing or invalid, the push is rejected with an error message, preventing any unsigned or incorrectly signed commits from entering the protected branch.
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 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.
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: Add a branch protection rule that requires signed commits — Option C is correct because branch protection rules in GitHub include a 'Require signed commits' setting that enforces GPG or S/MIME signature verification on all commits pushed to the protected branch. This policy is enforced server-side before the commit is accepted, ensuring that only commits signed with a key associated with the author's GitHub account are allowed into the main branch.
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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