Free EXIN DevOps Foundation Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the EXIN DevOps Foundation practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1What distinguishes the waterfall development model described in the EXIN reference literature?

   1. A.Predetermined stages are generally completed sequentially.Correct answer: A
   2. B.All stages are repeated within short product iterations.
   3. C.A potentially usable increment is delivered each iteration.
   4. D.Requirements are continuously reprioritized after each increment.

   Explanation: "sequential execution of predetermined stages" The model proceeds through predetermined stages in sequence; this differs from repeating all stages in each iteration.

   Reference: DevOps – A Business Perspective — Chapter 1.1.1, p. 3

2. 2What kinds of activities does a value stream include?

   1. A.Only activities that a customer sees directly
   2. B.Only activities that add value without exception
   3. C.Both value-creating and nonvalue-creating actions needed to deliver a productCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Only the development activities owned by one team

   Explanation: "both value-creating and nonvalue-creating" The definition includes both kinds of actions required to bring the product through its development or operational flow.

   Reference: Value Stream — Value Stream

3. 3Why can small software changes make frequent releases less risky?

   1. A.A smaller set of changes makes the cause of an error easier to isolate.Correct answer: A
   2. B.A smaller set of changes makes the source of an error harder to isolate.
   3. C.A larger batch identifies the offending change before it is tested.
   4. D.A larger batch permits the team to trace each defect to a single change automatically.

   Explanation: "identify the last deployment that caused the error" AWS explains that small, frequent changes can help teams find the deployment responsible for a bug.

   Reference: What is DevOps? — DevOps Practices Explained

4. 4An organization develops firmware and cannot deploy every change directly to users. Can continuous delivery still be useful?

   1. A.Yes; changes can be kept ready for release even without continuous deployment.Correct answer: A
   2. B.No; continuous delivery requires every change to reach users automatically.
   3. C.No; continuous delivery applies only to web services.
   4. D.Yes; but only if the organization stops testing firmware changes.

   Explanation: "even if you never intend to start using" DORA distinguishes continuous delivery from continuous deployment and says delivery can be used even when automatic deployment is not intended.

   Reference: DORA: Continuous delivery — Continuous delivery

5. 5Which infrastructure capability did virtualization add according to the EXIN reference literature?

   1. A.An abstraction between executable code and underlying system softwareCorrect answer: A
   2. B.A direct one-to-one binding between each application and physical hardware
   3. C.A requirement for every workload to share a single unmodified operating system
   4. D.A requirement to configure the physical hardware separately for every change

   Explanation: "an additional level of abstraction" The added abstraction separates the executable code from underlying system software; it does not require dedicated physical machines.

   Reference: DevOps – A Business Perspective — Chapter 1.1.2, p. 8

6. 6What is the principal representation created by value-stream mapping?

   1. A.A diagram of the steps and flows needed to deliver a productCorrect answer: A
   2. B.A diagram of reporting relationships among functional teams
   3. C.A diagram of code revisions and their parent commits
   4. D.A diagram of tasks assigned to one team during a sprint

   Explanation: "diagraming every step involved" A value-stream map depicts the steps in material and information flows needed for product delivery, rather than reporting, revision ancestry, or a single team's task assignments.

   Reference: Value-Stream Mapping — Value-Stream Mapping

7. 7In DORA's continuous integration guidance, what should a team prioritize when the build breaks?

   1. A.Starting additional feature work on a separate branch
   2. B.Waiting until the next scheduled major release
   3. C.Fixing the broken build before other workCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Turning off automated checks to restore throughput

   Explanation: "fixing it should take priority" DORA recommends prioritizing a broken build so the team has a stable basis for continued work.

   Reference: DORA: Continuous integration — Continuous integration, prerequisites

8. 8Can DevOps delivery practices be applied in a highly regulated environment?

   1. A.Only if the organization abandons compliance controls
   2. B.Yes, with appropriate technical practices and controlsCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Only if every approval is removed without replacement
   4. D.No, regulated systems cannot use continuous delivery

   Explanation: "in highly regulated environments" DORA states that continuous delivery applies in regulated environments; compliance still requires appropriate controls.

   Reference: DORA: Continuous delivery — Continuous delivery

9. 9What historical need helped lead to DevOps, according to AWS?

   1. A.More synergy between operations and developmentCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Less customer involvement in software development
   3. C.A return to exclusively sequential development
   4. D.A separation between deployment and development

   Explanation: "more synergy between operations and development teams" DevOps developed in response to a need for greater cooperation between the two functions.

   Reference: What’s the difference between Agile and DevOps? — What are the similarities between agile methodology and DevOps?

10. 10How does a future-state value-stream map differ from a current-state map?

    1. A.It records the history of previous product releases.
    2. B.It describes a target flow rather than the flow as it currently operates.Correct answer: B
    3. C.It contains only customer activities rather than internal activities.
    4. D.It omits information flow and describes only material flow.

    Explanation: "a target image of how material and information" The future-state map is a target for flow; the current-state map captures the actual condition.

    Reference: Value-Stream Mapping — Value-Stream Mapping