AZ-400 Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield AZ-400 facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. In AZ-400 practice, what is the primary purpose of strategic planning? → To align resources with goals and anticipate challenges
2. Which branching strategy minimizes merge conflicts and supports continuous integration most effectively? → Trunk-based development with short-lived branches
3. Your AKS cluster needs to pull images from Azure Container Registry (ACR) without storing credentials in Kubernetes Secrets. What is the recommended approach? → Attach the ACR to the AKS cluster using managed identity integration
4. Which metric is most useful for evaluating program effectiveness in AZ-400? → Outcome-based performance indicators
5. What is the function of `@allowed` decorator in Azure Bicep? → Defines the set of permissible values for a parameter
6. What does 'deployment frequency' measure in DORA metrics, and what does a 'Elite' rating require? → How often code is deployed to production; on-demand or multiple times per day
7. Which Azure DevOps Board view shows work flowing through stages? → Kanban board
8. What does 'shift-left testing' mean in the context of a CI/CD pipeline? → Performing tests earlier in the development lifecycle, closer to code authoring
9. In Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer practice, what is the PRIMARY goal of a quality improvement program? → To systematically enhance processes, outcomes, and stakeholder satisfaction
10. What is the benefit of using 'pipeline artifacts' (PublishPipelineArtifact) over 'build artifacts' (PublishBuildArtifacts) in Azure Pipelines? → Pipeline artifacts use Azure Blob Storage and are faster to upload and download
11. In Azure Bicep, how do you reference an output from a deployed module within the same Bicep file? → Using `moduleName.outputs.outputName`
12. What is the function of the 'dependsOn' keyword in an Azure Pipelines YAML multi-stage pipeline? → It defines which stages or jobs must complete before the current one starts
13. What is the MOST effective approach to quality assurance in Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer? → Integrating quality checks throughout the entire process from planning to completion
14. In Gradle, which configuration is used for dependencies required only at compile time and NOT needed at runtime? → compileOnly
15. Which code coverage tool integration is natively supported by the Azure Pipelines 'PublishCodeCoverageResults' task? → Cobertura and JaCoCo formats across multiple languages
16. What is 'shift-left testing' in the context of a CI/CD pipeline? → Running security and quality checks earlier in the development lifecycle
17. What is defense in depth in the context of AZ-400 security? → Implementing multiple layers of security controls
18. What is the primary consideration when implementing changes to infrastructure as code? → Impact assessment and change management
19. Which approach is MOST important for AZ-400 professionals when applying technical procedures? → Adhering to established protocols while adapting to specific conditions
20. You need to publish a pre-release NuGet package from a feature branch pipeline. Which versioning suffix convention indicates a pre-release package per SemVer? → 2.0.0-beta.1
21. You want to publish test results from a pytest run so they appear in the Azure Pipelines test reporting UI. Which task should you use? → PublishTestResults
22. What is the primary benefit of 'backlog refinement' (formerly grooming) sessions in an Agile team using Azure DevOps? → Ensuring backlog items are well-defined, estimated, and prioritized before sprint planning
23. In a ring deployment, what is the primary purpose of 'Ring 0'? → Deploy to internal Microsoft/team users first for early validation
24. Which retention policy setting in Azure Pipelines controls how long pipeline run artifacts and logs are kept? → Artifact retention leases
25. A Terraform configuration uses a module stored in a private Azure Repos Git repository. Which authentication method should be used in the module source URL? → SSH key with git SSH protocol
26. What is the purpose of the `extends` keyword in an Azure DevOps YAML pipeline? → To inherit from a base template and enforce organizational standards
27. What is the PRIMARY purpose of obtaining AZ-400 certification in Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer? → To demonstrate verified competency and adherence to professional standards
28. What is the recommended approach when a high-priority bug is discovered mid-sprint in a Scrum team using Azure Boards? → Add the bug to the current sprint only after negotiating scope with the Product Owner
29. What happens when you run `terraform apply` and the actual Azure resource state differs from the Terraform state file (state drift)? → Terraform detects the drift, shows the differences in the plan, and corrects it on apply
30. A pipeline runs DAST scans against a staging environment. The scan tool reports findings as a SARIF file. How should you surface these results in Azure DevOps? → Upload the SARIF file using the PublishTestResults task with format SARIF