9 Azure DevOps Interview Questions + How to Prepare

An upcoming interview for an Azure DevOps position can be an exciting opportunity to advance your career in technology. In the days or weeks leading up to your meeting, it’s important to prepare for your interview by researching the potential employer, reflecting on your qualifications, and anticipating the types of questions a hiring manager may ask you. You can read through technical, behavioral, and situational DevOps questions below. 

What to expect from an Azure DevOps interview

The format of these types of interviews can vary from one organization to another. You may be called upon to perform live coding or complete a skills assessment during the recruitment process. Hiring managers are likely to ask a variety of questions to gauge your technical proficiency with Azure functions, DevOps tools, continuous integration, and continuous deployment (CI/CD), your problem-solving abilities, and your cultural fit.

Did you know? Aside from DevOps and Azure, the top three keywords employers use when searching for candidates to fill this role are Powershell, Azure Kubernetes, and deployment, according to ZipRecruiter’s career keyword mapper [1].  

Continue reading to review interview questions you may encounter, ranging from Azure DevOps basic interview questions to more advanced concepts.

9 Azure DevOps interview questions

Interview questions can include general questions about your work experience, strengths and weaknesses, and what motivates you to pursue a career in technology. 

In the list below, we’ve outlined three types of questions you're likely to encounter in your upcoming interview: 

1. Technical questions to showcase your knowledge of Azure DevOps terminology, processes, and best practices. 

2. Behavioral and situational questions to preview how you might perform in an Azure DevOps role.

3. Professional development questions to provide clues into your future in this field. 

We’ve focused this list specifically on Azure DevOps tools. If you're looking for tips about another platform or more general DevOps interview questions, consider checking out 9 DevOps Interview Questions + How to Prepare or 8 General DevOps Interview Questions to Help You Practice and Prepare.

Technical questions

1. What advantages does Azure DevOps offer to development teams? What about operations teams?

Employers ask this question to gauge your understanding of how Azure DevOps can benefit an organization and how it compares to Azure DevOps alternatives, like AWS and IBM. 

Prepare your answer by reviewing the differences between Azure DevOps services and other popular tools. Practice explaining why an organization would choose Azure over the others. For example, you could highlight that Azure integrates easily with Git, an open-source version control system, and comes with a large marketplace of extensions for customizing your tools to suit your specific DevOps lifecycle. You might also mention manual and exploratory testing features. In your answer, ensure you provide examples of how Azure can help organizations achieve specific goals, like frequent releases, consistent deployments, high-quality software, or collaboration between development and operations teams.

Tip: Familiarize yourself with other DevOps tools via online classes like the IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate or the DevOps on AWS Specialization. 

2.  Explain some of the uses of Azure Pipelines.

Employers ask this question to explore your familiarity with the Azure DevOps pipelines solution and gauge your ability to explain its use cases and benefits. 

Prepare your answer by reviewing the Azure Pipelines service and making a list of its uses, including how it impacts deployment processes, the self-hosted agent pool, automated testing, and software building and delivery. Be sure to list examples from your own experience using this tool.

Tip: Be prepared to discuss other tools, platforms, or open-source projects in the Azure DevOps environment if questions arise. Examples include Azure Service Fabric, Azure Redis cache, Azure SQL Database, Azure Portal, and Azure Data Explorer.

3. What is version control in Azure DevOps?

Employers ask this question to gauge your understanding of version control systems and how they work in Azure DevOps. 

Prepare your answer by reviewing version control so teams can change source code and track different versions of files over time. Discuss the benefits of centralized version control in your answer, including how keeping a history of changes to code can increase code quality and ease reverting to previous versions when needed. 

Tip: Consider reviewing how Azure applies to common DevOps scenarios, such as: using CI/CD to deploy changes to Azure virtual machines or using Azure App Service alongside Pipelines to deliver value.

Behavioral and situational questions 

4. How would you deliver a presentation to project stakeholders who don’t have a background in Azure or DevOps?

Employers ask this question to gauge your ability to break down a wide range of technical concepts so that a non-technical audience can understand them. Stakeholders might include executives, coworkers, company leaders, or clients. Your answer to this question can also offer clues about your communication skills and ability to collaborate with diverse teams, both of which are important for a role in Azure DevOps. 

Prepare your answer by reflecting on different Azure DevOps concepts, tools, and applications. Practice using non-technical language to explain an Azure DevOps project to family, friends, or anyone who isn't a DevOps engineer and ask them to offer feedback on clarity. You can also draw upon prior presentations you’ve given to form an answer to this question. 

Read more: DevOps Terms: A to Z Glossary

5. Describe a time when you had to meet a tight deadline for an Azure DevOps project. How did you ensure quality while delivering on time?

Employers ask this question to get a sense of your time management skills and how you remain composed under pressure, given that speed is one of the tenets of DevOps.  

Prepare your answer by reflecting on a project with a tight deadline and the steps you took to prioritize tasks, coordinate with team members, source Agile tools, etc. Summarize the project's outcome, especially achievements that you can quantify due to your efforts. For example, you might share how workflows improved after implementing Azure automation.

6. Tell me about a time when you adapted to a change in technology with an Azure DevOps project. How did you handle the change and what was the result?  

Employers ask this question to understand your ability to use your technical proficiency to shift tactics quickly and keep an entire project on track. 

Prepare your answer by reflecting on Azure DevOps updates that you’ve encountered and that have affected your workflow. For example, the GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps tool is available in public preview mode as of July 2023. This tool natively integrates the capabilities of GitHub Advanced Security into the Azure DevOps environment, which might change your procedures. 

Tip: Answer behavioral and situational questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) to tell compelling stories about your experience and capabilities. 

Professional development questions 

7. Tell me about the qualities that someone in Azure DevOps needs. 

Employers ask this question to gauge your understanding of the role in a DevOps team that you’re applying for, such as Azure DevOps Engineer, the degree to which you possess the qualities needed for success, and your commitment to improving continuously.

Prepare your answer by reviewing the job description and reflecting on how your qualities line up against the skills and qualifications listed. Make a list of the qualities that you think are most important and be able to explain why these matter for Azure DevOps. For example, you might believe that in addition to Azure DevOps proficiency, someone in this field should be curious and analytical, a good communicator, and detail-oriented. 

Read more: Professional Skills: What They Are and How to Use Them

8. Why do you want to work for our organization in Azure DevOps?

Employers ask this question to determine your enthusiasm for the organization, ideas for using Azure DevOps to achieve business goals, cultural fit, and long-term commitment to the role. 

Prepare your answer by listing things you like about the organization, such as its mission statement, reputation in the industry, and the difference its products make for customers. In addition, relate your enthusiasm for the organization to Azure DevOps and discuss how you can use these tools to bring value to the organization. 

9. What do you do to stay up-to-date on the latest Azure DevOps trends? 

Employers ask this question to assess your commitment to professional growth, passion for technology, and ability to adapt to the rapid evolution of this suite of tools. 

Prepare your answer by listing relevant courses you’ve completed or are currently taking, tech networking events you attend, and industry resources you subscribe to. For example, you might subscribe to Azure updates or complete Azure trainings through Microsoft’s site. Once you have your list, identify the trends you’ve learned about and specific ways you've applied learnings from these resources to actual DevOps projects. 

Core Azure DevOps concepts to know

Reviewing concepts, tools, and processes that are central to Azure DevOps can help you effectively answer basic technical questions like “What is Azure DevOps?” or “Why should Azure Boards be used?”

The following list is adapted from Microsoft’s overview of Azure DevOps [2].

Read more: What Is DevOps? A Guide to the Basics

Tips to prepare for your Azure DevOps interview 

In addition to anticipating different types of Azure DevOps interview questions, you’ll also need to prepare for the interview experience as a whole. Follow these tips to feel confident before and during your interview. 

Ask for details about the entire recruitment process. 

Be sure to find out what to expect during the hiring process, from the first interview all the way to accepting an offer. That way, you can prepare for each step accordingly.

Here are some things to ask about: 

• Going through multiple rounds of interviews

• Completing work assessments

• Doing live software code demonstrations

• Receiving an offer

• Getting onboarded after accepting an offer  

Read more: How to Negotiate Your Salary: 10 Tips to Earn More

Refresh your resume and other job search materials. 

Taking a few minutes to improve your resume, even with an interview already lined up, can make it easier to discuss your qualifications with your interviewer. To refresh your resume, you can add more action words, quantify your achievements, add an objectives section, and list more technical skills. Relevant skills include code management, code reviews, automated testing, programming languages, and experience with third-party tools.

Reflect on your long-term career goals. 

Getting clear on what you want to achieve and why can offer several advantages. During the interview, you can have a more detailed discussion of your suitability for the role, what you hope to offer the organization, and your plans for professional growth. In addition, you can convey passion and enthusiasm for Azure DevOps with goal-oriented language. 

Here are some resources to get you started: 

• How to Prepare for a Career Change: Step-By-Step Guide

• What Are Your Career Goals? Tips for Setting Your Goals

• Job Search Guide: Resources for Your Next Career Move

Strengthen your Azure DevOps skills with Coursera.

Taking online courses can be a great way to sharpen the skills you need for a successful Azure DevOps interview. Here are a few examples of courses you can use to prepare for the next step in your DevOps career:

To review Microsoft Azure cloud services, consider the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 Exam Prep Specialization.

To review DevOps pipelines and processes for Azure, consider enrolling in Deploying Microservices to Kubernetes using Azure DevOps by WhizLabs