Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer Expert Quick Facts (2025)

Exam Domain Breakdown

Domain 1: Design and implement processes and communications (13% of the exam)

Design and implement traceability and flow of work

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

summary: This section focuses on connecting every element of the development lifecycle to a unified flow of work. You will design and implement robust systems that promote clear visibility from idea to delivery, ensuring that changes, bugs, and features are all linked to traceable sources. By aligning team activities with tracking integrations such as GitHub Flow and Azure Boards, you enable seamless feedback loops and continuous improvement.

You will also explore how structured project documentation fosters collaborative transparency. By ensuring that communications, issues, and traceability are clearly defined and automated, teams can work more efficiently and make data-informed decisions with confidence across multiple repositories and projects.

Design and implement appropriate metrics and queries for DevOps

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

summary: This section emphasizes the power of analytics and dashboards in enabling visibility across the DevOps pipeline. You will design dashboards and metrics that illuminate vital indicators of team performance, such as lead time, recovery duration, and success rates. These insights support data-driven adjustments to workflows and performance optimization at every stage of delivery.

You will also explore methods to tailor metrics to each discipline, ensuring testing, security, and operational performance are continually evaluated. By connecting these metrics back to planning and development processes, you foster a culture of continual optimization and measurable improvement across the full DevOps lifecycle.

Configure collaboration and communication

• Document a project by configuring wikis and process diagrams, including Markdown and Mermaid syntax.
• Configure release documentation, including release notes and API documentation.
• Automate creation of documentation from Git history.
• Configure integration by using webhooks.
• Configure integration between Azure Boards and GitHub repositories.
• Configure integration between GitHub or Azure DevOps and Microsoft Teams.

summary: This section highlights how structured communication practices enhance collaboration across teams. You will configure wikis, visual documentation, and integrations that streamline coordination between repositories, communication hubs, and project tracking tools. Automated documentation derived from source control history ensures up-to-date release and API information for all stakeholders.

Integration between development and communication platforms helps create a cohesive environment where updates and progress are transparent. Through automation and connected workflows, teams stay aligned and informed, fostering real-time collaboration and stronger delivery outcomes.

Domain 2: Design and implement a source control strategy (13% of the exam)

Design and implement branching strategies for the source code

• Design a branch strategy, including trunk-based, feature branch, and release branch.
• Design and implement a pull request workflow by using branch policies and branch protections.
• Implement branch merging restrictions by using branch policies and branch protections.

summary: This section explores the strategies and policies that maintain source code quality and visibility. You will learn how to design effective branching models to match your development approach, ensuring consistency and controlled integration. From feature to release branching, you will apply patterns that balance flexibility with governance.

Branch protections and pull request workflows foster continuous review and traceability. Implementing structured branching environments enables teams to collaborate confidently, ensuring stable codebases and predictable release processes aligned with continuous integration goals.

Configure and manage repositories

• Design and implement a strategy for managing large files, including Git Large File Storage (LFS) and git-fat.
• Design a strategy for scaling and optimizing a Git repository, including Scalar and cross-repository sharing.
• Configure permissions in the source control repository.
• Configure tags to organize the source control repository.
• Recover specific data by using Git commands.
• Remove specific data from source control.

summary: This section focuses on scaling source control management for enterprise-grade reliability and performance. You will configure repository permissions, manage large files efficiently, and design scaling strategies that promote faster operations within distributed teams. Techniques such as using Git LFS and optimizing repository performance play a key role.

You will also learn recovery and cleanup processes that sustain repository health and integrity. By tailoring repository management to project complexity, you ensure secure collaboration and smooth version control at scale.

Domain 3: Design and implement build and release pipelines (53% of the exam)

Design and implement a package management strategy

• Recommend package management tools including GitHub Packages registry and Azure Artifacts.
• Design and implement package feeds and views for local and upstream packages.
• Design and implement a dependency versioning strategy for code assets and packages, including semantic versioning (SemVer) and date-based (CalVer).
• Design and implement a versioning strategy for pipeline artifacts.

summary: This section establishes a solid foundation for dependency and artifact management. You will design efficient strategies for releasing, maintaining, and versioning packages that support consistent builds across environments. Understanding versioning frameworks like SemVer and CalVer will help standardize release cycles and dependency updates.

You will also integrate package feeds and upstream sources using tools such as GitHub Packages and Azure Artifacts. These practices ensure smooth distribution of reusable components, promoting consistency and traceability across projects and teams.

Design and implement a testing strategy for pipelines

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

summary: This section teaches how to blend automated testing seamlessly into the build and release lifecycle. You will design pipelines that include multiple testing layers—functional, performance, and security—to ensure code quality and consistency throughout delivery.

By integrating governance and automated quality controls, pipelines become smart checkpoints for release readiness. Comprehensive test coverage provides transparency and supports proactive improvements, reinforcing a strong foundation for secure, reliable releases.

Design and implement pipelines

• Select a deployment automation solution, including GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines.
• Design and implement a GitHub runner or Azure DevOps agent infrastructure, including cost, tool selection, licenses, connectivity, and maintainability.
• Design and implement integration between GitHub repositories and Azure Pipelines.
• Develop and implement pipeline trigger rules.
• Develop pipelines by using YAML.
• Design and implement a strategy for job execution order, including parallelism and multi-stage pipelines.
• Develop and implement complex pipeline scenarios, such as hybrid pipelines, VM templates, and self-hosted runners or agents.
• Create reusable pipeline elements, including YAML templates, task groups, variables, and variable groups.
• Design and implement checks and approvals by using YAML-based environments.

summary: This section dives deep into designing automation pipelines for efficient build and deployment processes. You will design YAML-based pipelines that automate repetitive tasks, ensure repeatable builds, and deliver consistent outcomes across multiple environments.

Advanced topics include implementing multi-stage, parallel pipelines and reusable templates. By integrating automation with governance and approval processes, teams gain agility and visibility while maintaining operational excellence.

Design and implement deployments

• Design a deployment strategy, including blue-green, canary, ring, progressive exposure, feature flags, and A/B testing.
• Design a pipeline to ensure that dependency deployments are reliably ordered.
• Plan for minimizing downtime during deployments by using virtual IP address (VIP) swap, load balancing, rolling deployments, and deployment slot usage and swap.
• Design a hotfix path plan for responding to high-priority code fixes.
• Design and implement a resiliency strategy for deployment.
• Implement feature flags by using Azure App Configuration Feature Manager.
• Implement application deployment by using containers, binaries, and scripts.
• Implement a deployment that includes database tasks.

summary: This section focuses on deploying applications smoothly and reliably. You will explore strategies for controlled releases, enabling you to choose between blue-green, canary, or rolling deploy methods to maintain uptime. Integration of feature flags and progressive exposure allows for incremental innovation while maintaining stability.

You will also plan for disaster recovery and hotfix scenarios through structured pipelines. These practices ensure that deployments are resilient, scalable, and adaptable to any production environment.

Design and implement infrastructure as code (IaC)

• Recommend a configuration management technology for application infrastructure.
• Implement a configuration management strategy for application infrastructure.
• Define an IaC strategy, including source control and automation of testing and deployment.
• Design and implement desired state configuration for environments, including Azure Automation State Configuration, Azure Resource Manager, Bicep, and Azure Automanage Machine Configuration.
• Design and implement Azure Deployment Environments for on-demand self-deployment.

summary: This section explores how Infrastructure as Code transforms environment management into version-controlled, automated processes. You will define IaC strategies using Azure tools like ARM templates, Bicep, and Automation State Configuration to achieve desired state alignment.

Through planning, automation, and configuration management, you will build consistent, repeatable environments with minimal manual intervention. This approach enhances reliability and empowers teams to self-deploy with confidence and speed.

Maintain pipelines

• Monitor pipeline health, including failure rate, duration, and flaky tests.
• Optimize a pipeline for cost, time, performance, and reliability.
• Optimize pipeline concurrency for performance and cost.
• Design and implement a retention strategy for pipeline artifacts and dependencies.
• Migrate a pipeline from classic to YAML in Azure Pipelines.

summary: This section ensures your pipelines remain efficient, sustainable, and up to date. You will monitor pipeline health metrics to identify performance improvements while optimizing concurrency and cost.

Maintenance tasks include retention planning and modernizing classic pipelines into reusable YAML formats. These efforts support scalability, maintainability, and high performance across the DevOps toolchain.

Domain 4: Develop a security and compliance plan (13% of the exam)

Design and implement authentication and authorization methods

• Choose between Service Principals and Managed Identity (including system-assigned and user-assigned).
• Implement and manage GitHub authentication, including GitHub Apps, GITHUB_TOKEN, and personal access tokens.
• Implement and manage Azure DevOps service connections and personal access tokens.
• Design and implement permissions and roles in GitHub.
• Design and implement permissions and security groups in Azure DevOps.
• Recommend appropriate access levels, including stakeholder access in Azure DevOps and outside collaborator access in GitHub.
• Configure projects and teams in Azure DevOps.

summary: This section focuses on secure access controls within DevOps ecosystems. You will define and implement authentication approaches using service principals, managed identities, and tokens aligned with least privilege principles.

By configuring roles and permissions across Azure DevOps and GitHub, teams create secure environments that protect resources without hindering collaboration. Proper authorization design ensures controlled access that supports compliance and operational efficiency.

Design and implement a strategy for managing sensitive information in automation

• Implement and manage secrets, keys, and certificates by using Azure Key Vault.
• Implement and manage secrets in GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines.
• Design and implement a strategy for managing sensitive files during deployment, including Azure Pipelines secure files.
• Design pipelines to prevent leakage of sensitive information.

summary: This section strengthens the confidentiality and protection of sensitive data across automated workflows. You will learn to securely store and access secrets, keys, and certificates through Azure Key Vault and pipeline integrations.

By designing and validating safe handling practices for sensitive materials, you prevent unauthorized disclosure of credentials and protect build artifacts. Secure automation principles ensure consistent compliance and trust across your CI/CD processes.

Automate security and compliance scanning

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

summary: This section integrates security directly into your development process. You will automate scanning processes for vulnerabilities, dependencies, and licenses across pipeline stages. Tools such as GitHub Advanced Security and Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhance visibility and response within security workflows.

Automating compliance ensures continuous monitoring of your environments and code base. By embedding container, code, and dependency scans, teams protect assets proactively and maintain reliable governance throughout the DevOps pipeline.

Domain 5: Implement an instrumentation strategy (8% of the exam)

Configure monitoring for a DevOps environment

• Configure Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to integrate with DevOps tools.
• Configure collection of telemetry by using Application Insights, VM Insights, Container Insights, Storage Insights, and Network Insights.
• Configure monitoring in GitHub, including enabling insights and creating and configuring charts.
• Configure alerts for events in GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines.

summary: This section highlights the importance of centralized observability. You will integrate telemetry and insights across environments using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights, ensuring that valuable data flows into actionable intelligence.

Proactive monitoring and alerts across GitHub and Azure DevOps promote responsive incident management and continual improvement. These integrations enhance visibility into application health and deployment effectiveness.

Analyze metrics from instrumentation

• Inspect infrastructure performance indicators, including CPU, memory, disk, and network.
• Analyze metrics by using collected telemetry, including usage and application performance.
• Inspect distributed tracing by using Application Insights.
• Interrogate logs using basic Kusto Query Language (KQL) queries.

summary: This section enables you to interpret performance data effectively and take informed action. You will collect and analyze telemetry metrics, monitor distributed traces, and craft KQL queries to interpret health indicators and trends.

By transforming monitoring data into insights, teams can identify performance optimization opportunities and align infrastructure health with business outcomes. This proactive approach ensures consistent performance and reliability across systems.