PeopleCert DevOps Foundation Exam Questions Instant Access

Question 1

According to the State of DevOps Reports, LOW performing organizations have:

AMore frequent code deployments

BFaster lead times from commit to deploy

CFaster mean times to recovery

DHigher change failure rates

Answer : D

The State of DevOps Reports show that LOW performing organizations have higher change failure rates, meaning a larger percentage of changes lead to incidents, outages, or degraded service. In contrast, high performers have more frequent deployments, faster lead times, and quicker recovery from incidents. Reference: DevOps Foundation v3.6 syllabus section 2.2; Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of DevOps?

AEnsuring overall organizational success

BWorking towards a common goal

CFast flow of unplanned work into production

DWorld-class stability, reliability, availability and security

Answer : C

A fast flow of unplanned work into production is not a characteristic of DevOps. In fact, DevOps practices strive to minimize unplanned work (like emergency changes or outages) through automation, testing, collaboration, and rigorous change control. The other options---ensuring organizational success, working toward a common goal, and world-class stability/reliability---are all key DevOps characteristics. Reference: DevOps Foundation v3.6 syllabus section 1.4; State of DevOps Report.

Question 3

A team has recently introduced their first Kanban board and are saying that they are finding it hard to focus and are feeling exhausted from context switching. Additionally, the business is complaining that nothing is being finished and they are yet to receive any of what they asked for.

What do the team need to do?

APush more work onto the board to provide more opportunities to deliver something

BAdd more development resources to the team to cope with the workload

CTry using Work in Progress limits

DUnblock any blocked work items

Answer : C

When Kanban teams feel overwhelmed and nothing is getting finished, it's a sign that too much work is in progress (WIP). Work in Progress (WIP) limits are a key Kanban and Lean practice: they restrict how many tasks can be active at one time, forcing teams to focus, finish, and deliver before starting new work.

Pushing more work (A) or adding more resources (B) worsens the problem.

Unblocking work (D) is helpful, but the core issue is overload.

Extract-style reference: ''WIP limits encourage teams to finish work before starting new tasks, reducing context switching and enabling better flow and faster delivery.'' --- Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business, David J. Anderson PeopleCert DevOps Foundation: Limiting WIP is essential for effective flow and sustainable pace.

Question 4

An organization is using ChatOps to improve communication and collaboration.

How can this organization transfer incident-related data from its chat client to its IT service management tool?

AManually cut and paste the data

BIt doesn't need to as ChatOps is only used for minor incidents

CUse an Application Programming Interface (API)

DNone of the above

Answer : C

ChatOps is the integration of chat platforms with tools and workflows, allowing teams to manage operations and incidents directly through chat.

Using an API (Application Programming Interface) is the correct, scalable way to transfer incident-related data automatically from chat clients to ITSM (IT Service Management) tools, preserving traceability and reducing manual errors.

Why not manual cut/paste? Manual processes are error-prone and slow; DevOps aims for automation and integration.

Extract-style reference: ''APIs enable seamless transfer of information between ChatOps platforms and ITSM tools, supporting automation, accuracy, and auditability in incident management.'' --- DevOps Handbook; ChatOps: Managing Operations and Collaboration in the Cloud, Jason Hand PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Promotes APIs for integration, automation, and collaboration.

Question 5

Which statement is NOT TRUE?

AWaterfall approaches can take advantage of continuous integration and test-driven development practices

BContinuous Integration requires developers commit code to trunk at least daily

CContinuous Delivery ensures software is always in a releasable state

DContinuous Deployment requires a manual push button

Answer : D

Let's clarify what these terms mean in DevOps:

Continuous Integration (CI): Developers integrate code into a shared repository frequently (ideally daily), with each integration automatically verified by tests.

Continuous Delivery (CD): Ensures software is always in a releasable state. Every change can be deployed to production, but the deployment itself may be a manual decision.

Continuous Deployment: Every change that passes automated tests is automatically deployed to production, without manual intervention.

Why is D (''Continuous Deployment requires a manual push button'') NOT TRUE? Because Continuous Deployment is about no manual intervention---once code passes all tests, it's automatically pushed live. Manual deployment is a feature of Continuous Delivery, not Continuous Deployment.

Extract-style reference: ''Continuous Deployment means that every change goes through the pipeline and is automatically put into production, resulting in many production deployments every day.'' --- Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps, Jez Humble & Nicole Forsgren DevOps Foundation v3.6 distinguishes between Continuous Delivery (manual trigger) and Continuous Deployment (fully automated).

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of a "shift left" testing strategy?

ATesting in production

BManual testing

CUnit testing as part of continuous integration

DBiannual vulnerability assessments of live systems

Answer : C

Shift Left Testing means moving testing earlier in the development process, so defects are found sooner and fixes are cheaper. Unit testing as part of CI is the classic ''shift left'' strategy: automated unit tests run with every code change, catching errors before code moves further down the pipeline.

Testing in production (A) is ''shift right.''

Manual testing (B) is typically late-stage and not automated.

Biannual vulnerability assessments (D) are after-the-fact and far from ''shift left.''

Extract-style reference: ''Shift left means performing testing activities earlier, for example by including unit tests in the CI process, reducing costly late-stage defects.'' --- DevOps Handbook PeopleCert Foundation: ''Shift left'' is a key DevOps testing principle---find issues fast, fix fast, deploy safely.

Question 7

Firmly entrenched silos and a combative relationship between Dev and Ops is an example of:

ALow trust

BPoor leadership

CChange fatigue

DCultural debt

Answer : D

Cultural debt---not just low trust or poor leadership---best describes the scenario of entrenched silos and combative Dev/Ops relations.

Cultural debt leads to resistance to new ways of working, lack of cooperation, and a focus on individual rather than collective success.

Why not the others?

Low trust and poor leadership are symptoms of cultural debt.

Change fatigue occurs after repeated failed initiatives; here, the core issue is cultural stasis.

Reference/Extract: ''DevOps transformation often fails without addressing cultural debt. Breaking down silos, building shared understanding, and changing incentives are essential for sustainable change.'' --- DevOps Handbook, State of DevOps Report, PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Section 3.4

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Exam DevOps Foundation Exam Questions