Modern software development requires more than simply writing code. Organizations need reliable ways to plan projects, manage source code, test applications, deploy updates, monitor systems, and respond to problems. DevOps brings these activities together through collaboration, automation, continuous integration, continuous delivery, security, and monitoring.

The AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions exam focuses on the skills required to design and implement DevOps processes and solutions using technologies such as Azure DevOps and GitHub. Microsoft currently lists AZ-400 as part of the requirements for the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert certification.

The English version of the AZ-400 exam was updated on July 27, 2026, so candidates should use the current Microsoft study guide when preparing.

What Is the AZ-400 Exam?

AZ-400 is a Microsoft certification exam focused on designing and implementing DevOps solutions.

The exam measures skills in areas such as:

• DevOps processes and communication

• Source control

• Build and release pipelines

• Security and compliance

• Monitoring and instrumentation

Microsoft currently gives the largest portion of the exam to build and release pipelines, which account for 50–55% of the assessed skills.

The goal is to understand how development and operations can work together to deliver software efficiently and reliably.

Who Should Take AZ-400?

AZ-400 is designed for professionals working toward a DevOps engineering role.

It can be relevant to:

• DevOps engineers

• Azure administrators

• Software developers

• Infrastructure administrators

• Site reliability engineers

• Security engineers

• Cloud professionals

• IT professionals working with Azure DevOps and GitHub

Microsoft states that candidates should have experience administering and developing in Azure and experience implementing GitHub and Azure DevOps solutions.

Because the exam is advanced, candidates should build practical Azure and DevOps knowledge before beginning intensive exam preparation.

What Does AZ-400 Cover?

Microsoft's current AZ-400 study guide divides the exam into five major skill areas.

1. Design and Implement Processes and Communications

This section focuses on organizing DevOps work and improving communication between teams.

Topics include:

• Flow of work

• GitHub Flow

• Feedback cycles

• GitHub Issues

• Azure Boards

• Project tracking

• Dashboards

• DevOps metrics

• Wikis

• Documentation

• Webhooks

• Microsoft Teams integration

DevOps involves many different teams, so communication and visibility are important parts of the development process.

Candidates should understand how teams can track work from the initial requirement through development, testing, deployment, and operations.

2. Design and Implement a Source Control Strategy

Source control allows developers to manage changes to application code.

Git is an important technology in this area.

Candidates should understand different branching strategies, including:

• Trunk-based development

• Feature branches

• Release branches

• Pull requests

• Branch policies

• Branch protection rules

The exam also covers repository management, permissions, tags, large files, Git commands, and strategies for managing and optimizing repositories.

A good source-control strategy makes it easier for multiple developers to work on the same project while maintaining control over changes.

3. Design and Implement Build and Release Pipelines

This is the largest section of the AZ-400 exam, accounting for 50–55% of the current assessed skills.

This area includes several important DevOps concepts.

Continuous Integration

Continuous integration, commonly called CI, involves automatically building and testing code changes.

Microsoft's current AZ-400 objectives include implementing CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions.

CI helps teams identify problems earlier instead of waiting until the end of a development project.

Pipeline Development

Candidates should understand how to create and manage pipelines.

Important areas include:

• YAML pipelines

• Pipeline triggers

• Jobs

• Stages

• Agents

• Runners

• Variables

• Variable groups

• Templates

• Multi-stage pipelines

• Approvals

• Checks

Understanding how these components work together is essential for AZ-400 preparation.

Testing

Testing is another important part of a DevOps pipeline.

The current study guide includes:

• Local testing

• Unit testing

• Integration testing

• Load testing

• Test agents

• Test results

• Code coverage

• Quality gates

• Release gates

Automated testing allows organizations to identify problems before software reaches production.

Package Management

DevOps teams often need to manage software packages and dependencies.

AZ-400 preparation includes technologies such as GitHub Packages and Azure Artifacts, along with package feeds and versioning strategies.

Candidates should also understand versioning approaches such as semantic versioning and date-based versioning.

Deployment Strategies

Deploying software safely is a major DevOps responsibility.

AZ-400 covers several deployment approaches, including:

• Blue-green deployment

• Canary deployment

• Ring deployment

• Progressive exposure

• Feature flags

• A/B testing

• Rolling deployments

• Deployment slots

Different deployment strategies can be used depending on application requirements and the level of risk involved.

The exam also covers minimizing downtime, managing hotfixes, deployment resiliency, containers, scripts, binaries, and database-related deployment tasks.

4. Develop a Security and Compliance Plan

Security should be integrated throughout the DevOps process rather than added only after development is complete.

AZ-400 includes security and compliance concepts that help organizations identify and manage security risks.

Candidates should understand areas such as:

• Secure development

• Secrets management

• Security scanning

• Compliance

• Governance

• Access control

• Pipeline security

The purpose is to make security part of the development and deployment workflow.

5. Implement an Instrumentation Strategy

Instrumentation and monitoring help teams understand what is happening inside their applications and infrastructure.

AZ-400 includes monitoring and feedback concepts.

A DevOps team may monitor:

• Application performance

• Infrastructure

• Deployment results

• Errors

• Availability

• Security events

• User activity

The information collected through monitoring can then be used to improve future development and operations.

Why Azure DevOps and GitHub Matter

AZ-400 includes both Azure DevOps and GitHub technologies.

Microsoft's current exam objectives specifically include implementing CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions and designing release strategies using Azure DevOps and GitHub.

Understanding the relationship between source code, pipelines, testing, deployment, and monitoring is therefore more important than learning individual tools in isolation.

How to Prepare for AZ-400

A practical preparation plan should combine theory with hands-on experience.

Step 1: Learn Azure Fundamentals

Before studying advanced DevOps concepts, make sure you understand basic Azure services and cloud concepts.

Step 2: Learn Git

Practice creating repositories, branches, commits, pull requests, and merges.

Try working with GitHub so that source-control concepts become practical rather than theoretical.

Step 3: Learn Azure DevOps

Become familiar with:

• Azure Repos

• Azure Boards

• Azure Pipelines

• Azure Test Plans

• Azure Artifacts

Step 4: Build CI Pipelines

Create a simple pipeline that:

1. Gets source code

2. Builds the application

3. Runs tests

4. Produces an artifact

This gives you practical experience with the CI process.

Step 5: Learn CD and Deployment

After understanding CI, learn how pipelines can deploy applications.

Practice different deployment strategies and understand when each approach may be used.

Step 6: Study Security

Learn how secrets, permissions, security scanning, and compliance can be integrated into DevOps workflows.

Step 7: Learn Monitoring

Practice monitoring applications and understanding the information produced by monitoring tools.

Step 8: Practice Exam Questions

After studying each topic, use practice questions to identify areas where your knowledge needs improvement.

You can use the AZ-400 preparation page here:

https://cert4prep.com/exam/az-400/

Practice questions should be used to test your understanding rather than simply memorizing answers.

A Simple AZ-400 Study Schedule

You can divide your preparation into several stages.

Days 1–2: Azure and DevOps fundamentals

Days 3–4: Git and source-control strategies

Days 5–7: Azure DevOps and GitHub

Days 8–11: CI/CD pipelines

Days 12–13: Testing and package management

Days 14–15: Deployment strategies

Days 16–17: Security and compliance

Days 18–19: Monitoring and instrumentation

Days 20–21: Practice tests and revision

This schedule can be adjusted depending on your previous Azure and DevOps experience.

Common AZ-400 Preparation Mistakes

Focusing Only on Theory

DevOps is highly practical. Reading documentation is useful, but creating actual repositories and pipelines provides valuable experience.

Ignoring YAML

YAML is widely used for defining pipelines. Candidates should practice reading and creating YAML pipeline configurations.

Memorizing Pipeline Questions

A question may change its scenario or configuration. Understanding how pipelines work is more useful than memorizing specific answers.

Ignoring Git

Source control is an important part of the AZ-400 objectives. Make sure you understand branching, merging, pull requests, and branch policies.

Skipping Security

Security and compliance are explicitly included in the exam objectives. Do not leave them until the final stage of preparation.

Not Practicing Deployment Strategies

Learn the differences between blue-green, canary, rolling, ring, and other deployment approaches.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AZ-400?

AZ-400 is Microsoft's Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions exam. It focuses on designing and implementing DevOps processes and solutions.

What category does AZ-400 belong to?

AZ-400 belongs to the Microsoft Azure, DevOps, and Cloud category.

Is AZ-400 still active?

Microsoft currently lists the AZ-400 retirement date as none.

What is the largest section of AZ-400?

Build and release pipelines currently represent 50–55% of the assessed skills.

Does AZ-400 cover GitHub?

Yes. GitHub and Azure DevOps are both part of the current AZ-400 objectives.

Is hands-on practice useful?

Yes. Microsoft recommends training and hands-on experience before taking the exam.

Start Your AZ-400 Preparation

AZ-400 covers a broad range of DevOps skills, from source control and collaboration to CI/CD pipelines, security, deployment, and monitoring. The best way to prepare is to study each topic and then practice it in a real development environment.

Begin with Git and Azure fundamentals, move into Azure DevOps and GitHub, and then spend significant time working with pipelines and deployment strategies. Review security and monitoring concepts before completing practice tests.

For additional AZ-400 practice questions and preparation resources, visit:

https://cert4prep.com/exam/az-400/

A structured combination of study, hands-on practice, and question review can help you build a clearer understanding of the skills covered by the AZ-400 exam.