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AZ-400

Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400) Exam Guide

A 5-week study plan aligned to official AZ-400 exam domains.

Exam Information

150 minutes

Duration

60 questions (approx.)

Questions

700 (scaled)

Passing Score

See official exam pricing

Exam Cost

Recommended Study Plan

Week 1

Processes & Communications

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: GitHub integration allows Azure Boards work items linked to GitHub PRs
Azure Boards work items and backlogs
Agile planning and sprint management
GitHub integration with Azure DevOps
Collaboration via wikis and dashboards
Feedback mechanisms and stakeholder communication
Traceability between code, work items, and deployments

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#configure-processes-communications

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 2

Source Control Strategy

18% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: Trunk-based development pairs with continuous deployment
Git branching strategies: trunk-based, feature branches, GitFlow
Pull request workflows and branch policies
Git hooks and repository health
Large file management (Git LFS)
Managing secrets and sensitive data in source control
Migrating from TFVC to Git

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#design-implement-source-control

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 3

Build & Release Pipelines

43% of exam

10-12 hours

Focus: Multi-stage YAML: stages → jobs → steps; use dependsOn for ordering
Azure Pipelines: YAML and classic pipelines
Build agents: Microsoft-hosted and self-hosted
Artifacts: Azure Artifacts, NuGet, npm, Maven
Deployment strategies: blue-green, canary, rolling, ring
Infrastructure as Code: Bicep, ARM templates, Terraform
Containerization: Docker, Azure Container Registry, AKS deployments
Release gates and approvals
GitHub Actions workflows and integration
Testing in pipelines: unit, integration, load, DAST
Secrets management: Azure Key Vault integration
Environments and deployment approvals
Multi-stage YAML pipelines

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#design-implement-build-release-pipelines

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 4

Security & Compliance in DevOps

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: SAST analyzes source code; DAST tests running application
Static application security testing (SAST)
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and dependency scanning
Container image scanning
Azure Policy and regulatory compliance
OWASP Top 10 mitigations in pipelines
Secrets scanning and credential management
Compliance-as-Code
GitHub Advanced Security

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#develop-security-compliance-plan

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 5

Instrumentation & Observability

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: KQL: traces | where timestamp > ago(1h) | summarize count() by cloud_RoleName
Azure Monitor and Application Insights
Distributed tracing and correlation IDs
Log Analytics workspaces and KQL queries
Pipeline monitoring and failure alerting
Feature flags and experimentation
SLIs, SLOs, and error budgets
Dashboards and reporting for DevOps metrics

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#implement-instrumentation-strategy

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 6

Final Review & Practice Exams

All domains

8-10 hours

Complete all three full-length practice exams
Review incorrect answers and weak domains
Revisit flashcards for key terms
Timed review of highest-weight domains

Recommended Resources:

Practice exams

Flashcards

Study notes PDF

Exam Tips & Strategies

Domain Insight 1

GitHub integration allows Azure Boards work items linked to GitHub PRs

Domain Insight 2

Dashboard widgets surface build status, test results, and velocity

Follow Domain Weights

Spend more study time on higher-weighted domains — they drive the majority of exam questions.

Practice Under Time Pressure

Use timed practice exams to build pacing before test day.

Key Topics to Master

Azure Boards work items and backlogs

Agile planning and sprint management

Git branching strategies: trunk-based, feature branches, GitFlow

Pull request workflows and branch policies

Azure Pipelines: YAML and classic pipelines

Build agents: Microsoft-hosted and self-hosted

Static application security testing (SAST)

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and dependency scanning

Azure Monitor and Application Insights

Distributed tracing and correlation IDs

For the most up-to-date exam information, visit the official exam guide.

View Official Exam Guide

AZ-400

Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400) Exam Guide

A 5-week study plan aligned to official AZ-400 exam domains.

Exam Information

150 minutes

Duration

60 questions (approx.)

Questions

700 (scaled)

Passing Score

See official exam pricing

Exam Cost

Recommended Study Plan

Week 1

Processes & Communications

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: GitHub integration allows Azure Boards work items linked to GitHub PRs
Azure Boards work items and backlogs
Agile planning and sprint management
GitHub integration with Azure DevOps
Collaboration via wikis and dashboards
Feedback mechanisms and stakeholder communication
Traceability between code, work items, and deployments

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#configure-processes-communications

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 2

Source Control Strategy

18% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: Trunk-based development pairs with continuous deployment
Git branching strategies: trunk-based, feature branches, GitFlow
Pull request workflows and branch policies
Git hooks and repository health
Large file management (Git LFS)
Managing secrets and sensitive data in source control
Migrating from TFVC to Git

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#design-implement-source-control

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 3

Build & Release Pipelines

43% of exam

10-12 hours

Focus: Multi-stage YAML: stages → jobs → steps; use dependsOn for ordering
Azure Pipelines: YAML and classic pipelines
Build agents: Microsoft-hosted and self-hosted
Artifacts: Azure Artifacts, NuGet, npm, Maven
Deployment strategies: blue-green, canary, rolling, ring
Infrastructure as Code: Bicep, ARM templates, Terraform
Containerization: Docker, Azure Container Registry, AKS deployments
Release gates and approvals
GitHub Actions workflows and integration
Testing in pipelines: unit, integration, load, DAST
Secrets management: Azure Key Vault integration
Environments and deployment approvals
Multi-stage YAML pipelines

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#design-implement-build-release-pipelines

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 4

Security & Compliance in DevOps

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: SAST analyzes source code; DAST tests running application
Static application security testing (SAST)
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and dependency scanning
Container image scanning
Azure Policy and regulatory compliance
OWASP Top 10 mitigations in pipelines
Secrets scanning and credential management
Compliance-as-Code
GitHub Advanced Security

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#develop-security-compliance-plan

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 5

Instrumentation & Observability

13% of exam

6-8 hours

Focus: KQL: traces | where timestamp > ago(1h) | summarize count() by cloud_RoleName
Azure Monitor and Application Insights
Distributed tracing and correlation IDs
Log Analytics workspaces and KQL queries
Pipeline monitoring and failure alerting
Feature flags and experimentation
SLIs, SLOs, and error budgets
Dashboards and reporting for DevOps metrics

Recommended Resources:

Microsoft official objectives

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/notes#implement-instrumentation-strategy

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/practice

/certifications/microsoft/az-400/study-guide

Week 6

Final Review & Practice Exams

All domains

8-10 hours

Complete all three full-length practice exams
Review incorrect answers and weak domains
Revisit flashcards for key terms
Timed review of highest-weight domains

Recommended Resources:

Practice exams

Flashcards

Study notes PDF

Exam Tips & Strategies

Domain Insight 1

GitHub integration allows Azure Boards work items linked to GitHub PRs

Domain Insight 2

Dashboard widgets surface build status, test results, and velocity

Follow Domain Weights

Spend more study time on higher-weighted domains — they drive the majority of exam questions.

Practice Under Time Pressure

Use timed practice exams to build pacing before test day.

Key Topics to Master

Azure Boards work items and backlogs

Agile planning and sprint management

Git branching strategies: trunk-based, feature branches, GitFlow

Pull request workflows and branch policies

Azure Pipelines: YAML and classic pipelines

Build agents: Microsoft-hosted and self-hosted

Static application security testing (SAST)

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and dependency scanning

Azure Monitor and Application Insights

Distributed tracing and correlation IDs

For the most up-to-date exam information, visit the official exam guide.

View Official Exam Guide