Azure DevOps Interview Questions
Core Concepts
Q: What is Azure DevOps? What are its components?
Azure DevOps is Microsoft's end-to-end DevOps platform providing tools for planning, development, testing, and deployment.
Five components:
1.Azure Boards: Agile planning — backlogs, sprints, Kanban boards, work items (Epics → Features → User Stories → Tasks)
2.Azure Repos: Git repositories (or TFVC legacy). Pull requests, branch policies, code review.
3.Azure Pipelines: CI/CD — build and release pipelines for any language/platform/cloud.
4.Azure Test Plans: Manual and exploratory testing, test case management.
5.Azure Artifacts: Package management — NuGet, npm, Maven, PyPI feeds.
Q: Azure Pipelines YAML — explain the structure.
yaml
trigger:
branches:
include: [main, develop]
paths:
exclude: [docs/*, README.md]
pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest' # Microsoft-hosted agent
# OR:
# name: 'MyPool' # Self-hosted agent pool
variables:
buildConfiguration: 'Release'
imageTag: $(Build.BuildId)
stages:
- stage: Build
displayName: 'Build and Test'
jobs:
- job: BuildJob
steps:
- task: Docker@2
displayName: 'Build Docker image'
inputs:
command: build
dockerfile: Dockerfile
tags: $(imageTag)
- task: PublishTestResults@2
inputs:
testResultsFormat: JUnit
testResultsFiles: '**/test-results.xml'
- stage: Deploy
displayName: 'Deploy to Production'
dependsOn: Build
condition: and(succeeded(), eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main'))
jobs:
- deployment: DeployToAKS
environment: 'production' # Requires approval if configured
strategy:
runOnce:
deploy:
steps:
- task: KubernetesManifest@0
inputs:
action: deploy
manifests: k8s/*.yaml
Q: Service connections and environments.
Service connections: Connect Azure DevOps to external services.
•Azure Resource Manager (ARM): Deploy to Azure subscriptions
•Docker Registry: Push/pull images from ACR or Docker Hub
•Kubernetes: Deploy to AKS/on-prem clusters
•GitHub/GitLab: Source code integration
Environments: Named deployment targets (dev, staging, prod) with approval gates and history.
yaml
environment: 'production' # Track deployments, require approval
Configure approval: Environment → Approvals and Checks → Add approver.
Q: Azure Pipelines vs GitHub Actions.
| Feature | Azure Pipelines | GitHub Actions |
|---|
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Git events, schedules, API | Git events, schedules, webhooks |
|---|
| Agents | Microsoft-hosted + self-hosted | GitHub-hosted + self-hosted |
| Marketplace | Azure DevOps Extensions | GitHub Actions Marketplace |
| Pricing | Free tier + parallel job pricing | Free minutes + pay per minute |
| Integration | Deep Azure integration | Deep GitHub integration |
| Best for | Enterprise, multi-cloud, Azure-heavy | GitHub-native, open source |
Q: Branch policies and code quality gates.
Azure Repos → Branch Policies → main branch:
✓ Require minimum 2 reviewers
✓ Check for linked work items
✓ Require comment resolution
✓ Build validation (PR triggers CI pipeline must pass)
✓ Require up-to-date branch (rebase/merge before merge)
✗ Allow direct push (force review process)
Revision Notes
AZURE DEVOPS: Boards + Repos + Pipelines + Test Plans + Artifacts
PIPELINE YAML STRUCTURE:
trigger → pool → variables → stages → jobs → steps
stages: Build → Test → Deploy (with dependsOn and conditions)
environment: named target with approval gates
condition: only deploy from main, on success
SERVICE CONNECTIONS: ARM, Docker Registry, Kubernetes, GitHub
ENVIRONMENTS: deployment history + approval gates per target
BRANCH POLICIES:
Minimum reviewers | Build validation (CI must pass)
Work item linking | Comment resolution | Up-to-date branch required
vs GITHUB ACTIONS: Azure DevOps = enterprise/Azure-heavy | GH Actions = GitHub-native
