The AZ-400 certification is designed for individuals serving in the role of a DevOps Engineer, whether they come from a software development or infrastructure administration background. This role requires subject matter expertise in coordinating people, processes, and technologies to enable the continuous delivery of business value.

As a certified DevOps Engineer, you are responsible for delivering end-to-end Microsoft DevOps solutions that ensure:

• Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD)
• Automated testing and deployment
• Secure development practices
• Real-time monitoring and feedback

You are expected to design and implement workflows that enhance collaboration, communication, source control, and automation within development and operational teams.

– Collaboration Across Teams

This role involves working in cross-functional teams, collaborating closely with:

• Software Developers
• Site Reliability Engineers (SREs)
• Azure Administrators
• Security Engineers

The goal is to ensure a unified and streamlined DevOps process that integrates all key stakeholders.

– Required Experience and Skills

To succeed in this role and certification, you should have:

• Hands-on experience in both administering and developing solutions in Microsoft Azure
• Proficiency in at least one domain—either development or infrastructure
• Practical knowledge in implementing DevOps practices using GitHub and Azure DevOps

Familiarity with these tools and platforms is crucial for driving effective DevOps strategies across organizations.

Exam Details

The AZ-400 certification exam is available in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, and Italian. This wide range of language options ensures accessibility for candidates across different regions.

To successfully pass the exam, candidates must achieve a minimum score of 700 on a scale of 1000. Microsoft provides accommodations for individuals who require special assistance during the exam. If you use assistive technologies, need additional time, or require modifications to any aspect of the exam experience, you may submit a request for reasonable accommodations in advance.

Course Outline

The exam covers the following topics:

1. Designing and implementing processes and communications (10–15%)

Designing and implementing traceability and flow of work

• Designing and implementing a structure for the flow of work, including GitHub Flow
• Designing and implementing a strategy for feedback cycles, including notifications and issues
• Designing and implementing integration for tracking work, including GitHub projects, Azure Boards, and repositories
• Designing and implementing source, bug, and quality traceability

Designing and implementing appropriate metrics and queries for DevOps

• Designing and implementing a dashboard, including flow of work, such as cycle times, time to recovery, and lead time
• Designing and implementing appropriate metrics and queries for project planning
• Design and implement appropriate metrics and queries for development
• Designing and implementing appropriate metrics and queries for testing
• Design and implement appropriate metrics and queries for security
• Designing and implementing appropriate metrics and queries for delivery
• Design and implement appropriate metrics and queries for operations

Configuring collaboration and communication

• Document a project by configuring wikis and process diagrams, including Markdown and Mermaid syntax (Microsoft Documentation: Create a wiki for your project)
• Configuring release documentation, including release notes and API documentation (Microsoft Documentation: Releases, Releases – List)
• Automating creation of documentation from Git history (Microsoft Documentation: Understand Git history simplification)
• Configuring notifications by using webhooks (Microsoft Documentation: Set up notifications for changes in resource data)
• Configuring integration between Azure Boards and GitHub repositories
• Configuring integration between GitHub or Azure DevOps and Microsoft Teams

2. Designing and implementing a source control strategy (10–15%)

Planning and implementing branching strategies for the source code

• Designing a branch strategy, including trunk-based, feature branch, and release branch (Microsoft Documentation: Adopt a Git branching strategy)
• Designing and implementing a pull request workflow by using branch policies and branch protections (Microsoft Documentation: Branch policies and settings)
• Implementing branch merging restrictions by using branch policies and branch protections (Microsoft Documentation: About branches and branch policies)

Configuring and managing repositories

• Designing and implementing a strategy for managing large files, including Git Large File Storage (LFS) and git-fat
• Designing a strategy for scaling and optimizing a Git repository, including Scalar and cross-repository sharing
• Configuring permissions in the source control repository (Microsoft Documentation: Set Git repository permissions)
• Configuring tags to organize the source control repository (Microsoft Documentation: Set Git repository settings and policies)
• Recovering data by using Git commands (Microsoft Documentation: Git command reference)
• Removing specific data from source control

3. Designing and implementing build and release pipelines (50–55%)

Designing and implementing a package management strategy

• Recommending package management tools including GitHub Packages registry and Azure Artifacts
• Designing and implementing package feeds and views for local and upstream packages (Microsoft Documentation: Upstream sources)
• Designing and implementing a dependency versioning strategy for code assets and packages, including semantic versioning (SemVer) and date-based (CalVer) (Microsoft Documentation: Implement a versioning strategy, Package versioning)
• Designing and implementing a versioning strategy for pipeline artifacts (Microsoft Documentation: Implement a versioning strategy)

Designing and implementing a testing strategy for pipelines

• Designing and implementing quality and release gates, including security and governance
• Designing a comprehensive testing strategy, including local tests, unit tests, integration tests, and load tests
• Implementing tests in a pipeline, including configuring test tasks, configuring test agents, and integration of test results
• Implementing code coverage analysis

Designing and implementing pipelines

• Selecting a deployment automation solution, including GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines (Microsoft Documentation: Deploy to App Service using GitHub Actions)
• Designing and implementing a GitHub runner or Azure DevOps agent infrastructure, including cost, tool selection, licenses, connectivity, and maintainability
• Designing and implementing integration between GitHub repositories and Azure Pipelines
• Develop and implement pipeline trigger rules (Microsoft Documentation: Trigger one pipeline after another)
• Developing pipelines by using YAML (Microsoft Documentation: Create your first pipeline)
• Designing and implementing a strategy for job execution order, including parallelism and multi-stage pipelines (Microsoft Documentation: Task Parallel Library (TPL), jobs.job.strategy definition)
• Developing and implementing complex pipeline scenarios, such as hybrid pipelines, VM templates, and self-hosted runners or agents
• Creating reusable pipeline elements, including YAML templates, task groups, variables, and variable groups (Microsoft Documentation: Define variables)
• Designing and implementing checks and approvals by using YAML-based environments (Microsoft Documentation: Release deployment control using approvals)

Designing and implementing deployments

• Designing a deployment strategy, including blue/green, canary, ring, progressive exposure, feature flags, and A/B testing (Microsoft Documentation: Progressive experimentation with feature flags)
• Designing a pipeline to ensure that dependency deployments are reliably ordered (Microsoft Documentation: Add stages, dependencies, & conditions)
• Planning for minimizing downtime during deployments by using virtual IP address (VIP) swap, load balancing, rolling deployments, and deployment slot usage and swap (Microsoft Documentation: Swap or switch deployments in Azure Cloud Services)
• Designing a hotfix path plan for responding to high-priority code fixes (Microsoft Documentation: Using a hotfix production environment)
• Designing and implementing a resiliency strategy for deployment
• Implementing feature flags by using Azure App Configuration Feature Manager (Microsoft Documentation: Manage feature flags in Azure App Configuration)
• Implementing application deployment by using containers, binaries, and scripts (Microsoft Documentation: App Service overview)
• Implementing a deployment that includes database tasks

Designing and implementing infrastructure as code (IaC)

• Recommending a configuration management technology for application infrastructure (Microsoft Documentation: Configuration Manager)
• Implementing a configuration management strategy for application infrastructure
• Defining an IaC strategy, including source control and automation of testing and deployment (Microsoft Documentation: infrastructure as code (IaC))
• Designing and implementing desired state configuration for environments, including Azure Automation State Configuration, Azure Resource Manager, Bicep, and Azure Automanage Machine Configuration
• Designing and implementing Azure Deployment Environments for on-demand self-deployment

Maintaining pipelines

• Monitoring pipeline health, including failure rate, duration, and flaky tests (Microsoft Documentation: Manage flaky tests)
• Optimizing pipelines for cost, time, performance, and reliability (Microsoft Documentation: Tradeoffs for performance efficiency)
• Optimizing pipeline concurrency for performance and cost
• Designing and implementing a retention strategy for pipeline artifacts and dependencies (Microsoft Documentation: Set retention policies for builds, releases, and tests)
• Migrating a pipeline from classic to YAML in Azure Pipelines

4. Developing a security and compliance plan (10—15%)

Designing and implementing authentication and authorization methods

• Choosing between Service Principals and Managed Identity (including system-assigned and user-assigned)
• Implementing and managing GitHub authentication, including GitHub Apps, GITHUB_TOKEN, and personal access tokens
• Implementing and managing Azure DevOps service connections and personal access tokens
• Designing and implementing permissions and roles in GitHub
• Designing and implementing permissions and security groups in Azure DevOps
• Recommending appropriate access levels, including stakeholder access in Azure DevOps and outside collaborator access in GitHub
• Configuring projects and teams in Azure DevOps

Designing and implementing a strategy for managing sensitive information in automation

• Implementing and managing secrets, keys, and certificates by using Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Documentation: Use Azure Key Vault secrets in Azure Pipelines)
• Implementing and managing secrets in GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines
• Designing and implementing a strategy for managing sensitive files during deployment, including Azure Pipelines secure files (Microsoft Documentation: Azure data security and encryption best practices)
• Designing pipelines to prevent leakage of sensitive information (Microsoft Documentation: Design a data loss prevention policy)

Automating security and compliance scanning

• Designing a strategy for security and compliance scanning, including dependency, code, secret, and licensing scanning
• Configuring Microsoft Defender for Cloud DevOps Security
• Configuring GitHub Advanced Security for both GitHub and Azure DevOps
• Integrating GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Automating container scanning, including scanning container images and configuring an action to run CodeQL analysis in a container
• Automating analysis of licensing, vulnerabilities, and versioning of open-source components by using Dependabot alerts

5. Implementing an instrumentation strategy (5–10%)

Configuring monitoring for a DevOps environment

• Configuring Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to integrate with DevOps tools
• Configuring collection of telemetry by using Application Insights, VM Insights, Container Insights, Storage Insights, and Network Insights
• Configuring monitoring in GitHub, including enabling insights and creating and configuring charts
• Configuring alerts for events in GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines (Microsoft Documentation: Azure Monitor Alerts task)

Analyzing metrics from instrumentation

• Inspecting infrastructure performance indicators, including CPU, memory, disk, and network (Microsoft Documentation: Supported metrics with Azure Monitor)
• Analyzing metrics by using collected telemetry, including usage and application performance
• Inspecting distributed tracing by using Application Insights
• Interrogating logs using basic Kusto Query Language (KQL) queries (Microsoft Documentation: Log queries in Azure Monitor)

Microsoft AZ-400 Exam FAQs

Click Here for FAQs!

Microsoft Certification Exam Policies

Microsoft enforces a uniform set of certification exam policies to ensure fairness, consistency, and the integrity of the testing process, regardless of whether the exam is taken online or at an authorized testing center.

– Exam Retake Policy

If a candidate does not pass the exam on the first attempt, they must wait 24 hours before retaking it. For any additional attempts, a 14-day waiting period is required between each. Candidates are allowed a maximum of five exam attempts within a 12-month period. Once the exam is passed, no further attempts are permitted unless the associated certification has expired and requires renewal. Please note that each exam attempt is subject to the standard exam fee.

– Rescheduling and Cancellation Policy

Candidates can reschedule or cancel their exam appointment without incurring a fee if the request is made at least six business days prior to the scheduled exam date. Requests made within five business days of the appointment may result in a rescheduling fee. If the cancellation is made less than 24 hours before the exam, or if the candidate fails to attend, the entire exam fee will be forfeited.

Microsoft AZ-400 Exam Study Guide

Step 1: Understand the Exam Objectives

Begin your preparation by thoroughly reviewing the official AZ-400 exam skills outline provided by Microsoft. This document outlines the key domains and competencies measured in the exam, such as designing a DevOps strategy, implementing CI/CD pipelines, managing source control, and integrating testing and security practices. Gaining clarity on what is expected helps you focus your learning efforts on the areas that matter most and identify any existing knowledge gaps.

Step 2: Use Official Microsoft Learning Paths

Microsoft offers comprehensive self-paced learning paths on Microsoft Learn, specifically designed for the AZ-400 exam. These modular, interactive courses cover all core topics and allow you to study at your own pace while exploring real-world scenarios. In addition to self-paced modules, consider enrolling in instructor-led training (ILT) programs delivered by Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs). These structured sessions offer deeper insights, hands-on labs, and direct interaction with experts, which can be especially valuable for complex topics. However, the modules are:

• Learn about Development for enterprise DevOps
• Implementing CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions
• Designing and implementing a release strategy
• Implementing a secure continuous deployment using Azure Pipelines
• Managing infrastructure as code using Azure and DSC
• Designing and implementing a dependency management strategy
• Implementing continuous feedback
• Implementing security and validate code bases for compliance

Step 3: Join Study Groups and Online Communities

Engaging with others, preparing for the AZ-400 exam can enhance your understanding and keep you motivated. Join study groups, online forums, or community-driven platforms such as Tech Community, Reddit, or dedicated LinkedIn groups. These communities often share helpful resources, practical tips, and real-world experiences that can clarify challenging concepts and keep you updated on any changes in exam content.

Step 4: Take Practice Tests and Simulated Exams

Practice tests are essential to reinforce your knowledge and evaluate your exam readiness. Use official or high-quality third-party AZ-400 practice exams that mimic the structure and difficulty level of the real test. These practice sessions help you become familiar with the exam format, improve your time management, and identify areas that require further study. Review the explanations for each answer to deepen your conceptual understanding.

Step 5: Apply Knowledge Through Hands-On Labs

The AZ-400 exam heavily emphasizes real-world implementation. To solidify your learning, practice using Azure DevOps Services, GitHub, and Azure Portal in a live environment. Hands-on labs allow you to configure pipelines, automate deployments, manage source code, and implement monitoring solutions—skills that are directly tested in the exam and critical for your role as a DevOps Engineer.

As your exam date approaches, revisit critical topics and reinforce weak areas. Focus on areas like CI/CD, infrastructure as code (IaC), secure development practices, and monitoring strategies. Create summary notes or mind maps to organize your thoughts and make last-minute revisions more effective.