DevOps-Foundation PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Exam Questions and Answers

Creating Single Points of Failure (SPOFs)is not a feature of Safety Culture—in fact, it’s the opposite.

Safety Culture in DevOps promotesblameless post-mortems,valuing incidents as learning opportunities, andthanking contributors for uncovering weaknesses.

SPOFs increase risk and discourage experimentation.

Extract-style reference:

“Safety Culture is built on blamelessness, psychological safety, and learning from failure, not punishment. SPOFs are an anti-pattern that increases fragility.”

—The DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Stresses the importance of a safe, collaborative environment for innovation.

Ablame cultureis toxic and inhibits innovation. DevOps encourages a culture where risk-taking and experimentation are rewarded, not punished.

Organizations should "build rituals that reward risk taking"—examples include celebrating “fast failures” and running blameless post-mortems.

Extract-style reference:

“Encourage a culture where failure is seen as a learning opportunity, not a cause for punishment. Rituals that reward risk-taking foster innovation and create psychological safety.”

—DevOps Handbook

DevOps Foundation v3.6 (Cultural Principles section) advocates psychological safety, learning from failure, and reward systems that incentivize experimentation.

Manufacturingisnota type of IT work in DevOps.

DevOps classifies IT work as:

Business projects:New value-creating work.

Planned work:Routine, repeatable tasks (maintenance, upgrades).

Unplanned work:Incidents, emergencies, support.

Extract-style reference:

“IT work includes business projects, planned work, and unplanned work. Manufacturing is an analogy for flow, but not a category of IT work itself.”

—The Phoenix Project

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Recognizes these three categories to manage and improve IT workloads.

According to PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6, the five primary values that guide successful DevOps adoption are summarized in theCALMSframework:Culture, Automation, Lean, Measurement, and Sharing.

Culturefocuses on breaking down silos, encouraging trust, and promoting collaboration between development, operations, security, QA, and business teams.

Automationis essential for speeding up delivery, reducing manual errors, and ensuring repeatability across the software delivery lifecycle.

Leanemphasizes the elimination of waste, limiting work in progress (WIP), and improving flow.

Measurementmeans using metrics and data to inform decisions, identify bottlenecks, and drive continuous improvement.

Sharingfosters transparency, knowledge transfer, and a unified approach to goals and problem-solving.

Option A replaces automation and lean principles with softer collaboration aspects, which are important but not recognized as the formal value set. Option C replaces “Measurement” with “Metrics,” which is only a part of measurement. Option D substitutes “Accountability” for “Automation,” which is not part of the CALMS model.

Therefore, the official correct set of values per the DevOps Foundation syllabus isB.

Deployment frequencyis not aculture metric.

It’s aprocessmetric, indicating how often code is released.

Culture metricsfocus on engagement, morale, retention, psychological safety, and NPS.

Why not the others?

Employee NPS:Measures employee satisfaction and willingness to recommend.

Engagement/morale:Direct indicators of cultural health.

Retention:How well an org keeps talented people, reflecting culture.

Extract-style reference:

“Measuring DevOps culture relies on employee engagement, morale, and retention, not on delivery metrics like deployment frequency.”

—State of DevOps Report

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Culture metrics focus on people, not just process.

TheSite Reliability Engineer (SRE)role originated at Google and is now widely recognized. SREs apply software engineering principles to IT operations to create systems that arescalable, reliable, and highly available. Their responsibilities include:

Designing reliability into systems (SLIs, SLOs, SLAs)

Automating operational tasks to reduce toil

Building monitoring and alerting systems

Performing capacity planning and disaster recovery exercises

A(Site resilience engineer) is not a standard industry term.C(Software engineer) focuses on developing applications but not specifically on operational reliability.D(Product Owner) is a role in Agile frameworks that manages product backlog and priorities, not system reliability.

Thus, the correct answer isB – Site Reliability Engineer.

Change fatigue occurs when employees experience too many changes without clear purpose or connection to business value. The most effective way to reduce resistance is to ensure that DevOps adoption isaligned with strategic business goalsand clearly demonstrates how it supports organizational priorities.

When teams see thedirect business impactof their work—such as improved customer experience, faster delivery of products, or increased competitiveness—they are more likely to embrace change.

OptionsA,B, andCmay have short-term benefits but do not address the underlying need for strategic alignment and purpose.

Thus,Dis the most effective way to minimize change fatigue during DevOps introduction.

Deployment success ratemeasures the proportion of deployments that meet their objectives without causing incidents, rollbacks, or degraded service. PeopleCert notes this metric is not limited to production—it can be applied to any environment where deployments occur (staging, testing, pre-prod).

Ais incorrect because focusing only on production misses valuable insights from earlier environments.Cis partially correct—success rate can inform reliability—but reliability is more broadly measured with other metrics like availability and MTTR.Dis incorrect becausechange success ratetypically includes all changes, not just deployments.

Therefore,Bis the accurate statement.

According to PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6, theSecond Wayof DevOps focuses on creating and amplifyingfeedback loops. The primary purpose of shortening these loops is toaccelerate the flow of work and informationbetween all stages of the delivery pipeline, especially between Development and Operations.

When feedback loops are short, defects, performance issues, and risks can be identified and resolved earlier in the process, preventing costly delays and large-scale rework. This supportsfaster, safer releasesand improves the organization’s responsiveness to customer needs.

WhileA(learning) andD(knowledge sharing) are important benefits of feedback loops, they aresecondaryoutcomes. The main, direct effect is improvingflow efficiency—ensuring that handoffs between Dev and Ops happen smoothly, quickly, and with higher quality.

OptionC(value stream mapping) is a useful Lean practice to identify delays and bottlenecks, but it is adiagnostic tool, not the primary improvement gained from shortening feedback loops.

Thus, the correct answer isB—shortened feedback loops primarily improve IT performance by ensuringfaster flowbetween Development and Operations.

Shift Left Testingmeans moving testing earlier in the development process, so defects are found sooner and fixes are cheaper.

Unit testing as part of CIis 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.

DevOps is not a standalone framework—it draws from several methodologies and frameworks to achieve its goals. PeopleCert emphasizes the integration of:

Agilefor iterative delivery, customer collaboration, and responsiveness

ITSMfor effective service delivery and operational stability

Leanfor waste elimination, flow optimization, and continuous improvement

WhileAlists relevant processes, they are subsets rather than foundational frameworks.Cdescribes cultural alignment but is not a set of frameworks.Dincludes valuable concepts but does not match the official trio highlighted in PeopleCert’s materials.

Thus,Bis correct.

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 emphasizes thatthere is no single “ideal” team structurefor DevOps. The optimal structure depends on organizational size, maturity, product complexity, and culture.

While cross-functional teams (as described inAandC) are common in mature DevOps environments, and temporary tiger teams (B) may be used for rapid initiatives, the key is flexibility. Some organizations integrate DevOps practices into existing teams, while others create dedicated platform teams, guilds, or enablement teams.

The focus should be onremoving silos, fostering collaboration, and aligning around value streams—not adhering to a rigid structure.

Wait Timeis the time work spends waiting between process steps—wasted, non-value-added time.

Mathematically,Wait Time = Lead Time – Cycle Time

Lead Time:Time from work request to delivery.

Cycle Time:Time spent actively working on the item.

Why is this important in DevOps?

Identifying and reducing wait time (waste) is central to Lean/DevOps, directly improving flow and reducing delays.

Extract-style reference:

“Wait time is calculated as the difference between lead time and cycle time—highlighting bottlenecks in the value stream.”

—DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Wait time is a core Lean concept for optimizing flow.

One of the core DevOps values is aligning IT efforts with business objectives—understanding the business “why.” The Foundation syllabus highlights the need for IT to understand the organization's purpose, cause, and belief. Without this, IT can’t effectively support value delivery or drive digital transformation. Understanding the organizational “why” connects daily activities to strategic objectives, a key DevOps mindset.

When independent Dev and Ops teams adopt DevOps practices without coordination, results are limited.

The most important action IT management can take is tocreate a shared vision, goals, and incentives.

Shared goals align everyone to business outcomes, reduce conflicting priorities, and foster real collaboration.

Why not the others?

Intelligent risk taking(A) andhigh-trust culture(C) are important, but without a shared vision, teams won’t move in the same direction.

Customer focus(D) is essential, but won’t create cross-team alignment by itself.

Reference/Extract:

“Creating a shared vision and goals across Dev and Ops is critical to breaking down silos and delivering end-to-end value to the business.”

—The Phoenix Project,Accelerate, and PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Section 3.3

ADevOps toolchainis designed toautomate repetitive tasksacross the software delivery process. This includes compiling code, running tests, building artifacts, deploying to environments, and monitoring systems.

While a toolchaincanautomate continuous testing (D), that is only one of many tasks automated. Standardization (B) is beneficial but not always required—some applications may need specialized tools. Open source tools (C) are not mandatory; many organizations use a mix of open source and proprietary tools.

Therefore,A—automation of tasks in a deployment pipeline—is the most universally correct statement.

ADevOps cultureis built on principles like being data-driven, reflective (willing to learn from experience), and accountable (taking ownership, not blaming others).

Command and controlcultures are the opposite: hierarchical, rigid, discouraging initiative and learning. DevOps strives for empowerment, experimentation, and psychological safety.

Why not the others?

Data-driven:Decisions are based on measurement and feedback, core to DevOps.

Reflective:Regular retrospectives and post-incident reviews are essential DevOps rituals.

Accountability:Teams are responsible for the software they build and operate.

Reference/Extract:

“DevOps culture values collaboration, continuous learning, and a data-driven, accountable approach to improvement. Command and control structures stifle innovation and slow down feedback.”

—State of DevOps Report(2019), PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Section 3.2

Poor communication and collaboration slow incident resolution. DevOps emphasizes fast, transparent communication channels between Dev, Ops, and other stakeholders. Implementingchat platforms(e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams) that integrate with monitoring, alerting, and deployment tools enables:

Real-time collaboration across geographically distributed teams

Immediate sharing of incident context and system data

Faster decision-making and coordinated action

A(alerting more people) risks causing noise without improving targeted response.B(social media) is not secure or appropriate for enterprise incident management.C(self-help tools) benefits end-users but does not address Dev–Ops collaboration.

Thus,Dprovides the most direct and effective improvement in communication for faster incident resolution.

Continuous fundingreplaces rigid, annual budgeting with a more adaptive model. This approach aligns funding to value streams or long-lived products rather than fixed projects. Funds can be adjusted incrementally based on changing priorities, business feedback, and delivery performance.

This method supports DevOps by allowing teams to pivot quickly, experiment, and scale initiatives without waiting for lengthy budget approvals. It aligns financial governance with the iterative and adaptive nature of DevOps delivery.

A(project-based funding) locks budgets to specific outcomes and timelines, limiting flexibility.C(quarterly rolling waves) is more flexible than annual cycles but less responsive than continuous funding.Dis not a recognized funding approach in DevOps.

Therefore,Bis the correct choice.

Loosely coupled architecturesare not typical IT constraints; in fact, they are often a solution to constraints.

Typical IT constraints include:

Security assessments (slow approvals)

Bureaucratic processes (excessive paperwork or approvals)

Development delays (resource or tool bottlenecks)

Extract-style reference:

“Loosely coupled architectures enable teams to work independently, reducing constraints imposed by tightly integrated systems.”

—Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps

DevOps Foundation v3.6 lists constraints as blockers to fast flow and highlights architectural decoupling as a DevOps enabler.

Agile Service Management (Agile SM)applies Agile principles to the design and improvement of IT Service Management (ITSM) processes. Its goal is to create processes that arelightweight, adaptable, and customer-focused, ensuring they provide just enough control to meet objectives without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

This framework helps align ITSM practices with the speed and flexibility required in a DevOps environment, ensuring that services can be delivered in a timely, efficient, and outcome-focused manner.

A(ITIL) provides a comprehensive ITSM framework but is not inherently Agile.B(COBIT) focuses on governance rather than process agility.D(DevOps) is a cultural and technical movement, not specifically a framework for ITSM process design.

Thus,Cis correct.