Pass the PeopleCert DevOps DevOps-Foundation Questions and answers with ValidTests

Automationbrings multiple key benefits in DevOps:

Higher quality:Automated tests and deployments catch errors earlier, reduce human error, and ensure consistency.

Faster recovery:Automated monitoring and remediation help restore services quickly after incidents.

Other options either decrease quality, increase errors, or make releases less predictable—contradicting DevOps goals.

Extract-style reference:

“Automation reduces errors, increases quality, accelerates lead time, and shortens recovery by ensuring repeatable, reliable processes.”

—DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Automation is a pillar of DevOps, referenced throughout the syllabus as a key driver for speed and reliability.

TheThomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)is a psychometric tool that measures an individual’s behavior in conflict situations—specifically, how they handle disagreement with colleagues.

It classifies responses into five modes: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Accommodating.

Why not the others?

Kubler Ross Change Curve:Describes emotional responses to change, not conflict styles.

Westrum’s Typology:Categorizes organizational culture (pathological, bureaucratic, generative) but doesn’t measure individual behavior.

Value Stream Mapping:A process improvement tool, not a behavioral assessment.

Reference/Extract:

“The Thomas-Kilmann instrument helps teams understand how individuals approach conflict and collaboration, enabling better resolution strategies—a key aspect of high-performing DevOps teams.”

—DevOps Handbook; PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6 Section 3.7

The most effective approach to tool selection in DevOps is to establish a toolchain—a set of integrated tools that support the end-to-end lifecycle (planning, coding, building, testing, releasing, deploying, operating, and monitoring).

This encourages consistency, automation, and traceability, while still allowing flexibility for teams.

Why not standardize on one vendor?

This reduces flexibility, can cause vendor lock-in, and doesn’t support the varied needs of Dev and Ops teams.

Encouraging independent selection (C) increases fragmentation.

Focusing solely on testing (D) ignores the broader lifecycle.

Extract-style reference:

“Establishing an integrated toolchain provides end-to-end visibility and automation across the software delivery pipeline, aligning tools with process and cultural change.”

— State of DevOps Report; DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Recommends a toolchain approach for supporting collaborative DevOps practices.

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,withoutmanual intervention.

Why is D (“Continuous Deployment requires a manual push button”) NOT TRUE?

BecauseContinuous Deploymentis aboutno 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 v3.6distinguishes between Continuous Delivery (manual trigger) and Continuous Deployment (fully automated).

Command(authoritarianism) is not a crucial ingredient for leading digital transformation.

The key ingredients:

Collaboration

Curiosity

Courage

DevOps leadership is about empowering teams, experimenting, and driving change,notcommand-and-control.

Extract-style reference:

“Digital transformation leaders embrace collaboration, curiosity, and courage, fostering an environment where experimentation and learning drive change.”

—Accelerate,DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Advocates servant and transformational leadership, not command/control.

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

Using anAPI (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.

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.

Both B and C (Application of agile and lean methods + Management commitment to culture change)are critical success factors when launching DevOps in a traditional IT organization.

Agile/Lean methods: Accelerate delivery, reduce waste, create feedback.

Management commitment to culture change: Essential for breaking silos, changing behaviors, and making DevOps sustainable.

Forming a pilot team (A)helps, but isn’t sufficient without these foundations.

Extract-style reference:

“DevOps success starts with leadership commitment to cultural change and adopting Agile and Lean principles throughout the organization.”

—DevOps Handbook,State of DevOps Report

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Lists cultural commitment and Lean/Agile as prerequisites for DevOps transformation.

A DevOps professional needs:

Business skills: Understanding the business context and value.

Technical skills: Automation, coding, cloud, infrastructure.

Core (soft) skills: Collaboration, communication, empathy, learning.

Self-management: Time, priorities, feedback.

Other options miss the full blend or focus too much on tech or process.

Extract-style reference:

“DevOps success requires a blend of business, technical, and core (soft) skills, as well as the ability to self-manage and continuously learn.”

— DevOps Handbook; Accelerate

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Holistic skillsets are emphasized for cross-functional teams.

Lean tools and practicesare foundational to DevOps because they help organizations systematically identify and eliminate waste, optimize value delivery, and continuously improve processes.

Lean thinkingfocuses on value stream mapping, reducing delays, bottlenecks, over-processing, handoffs, rework, and unnecessary tasks—core to making DevOps successful.

Option D, “They help identify waste and assist in the creation of improvement practices,” perfectly captures this focus.

Extract-style reference:

“Lean enables teams to identify value and non-value-added activities and to use continuous improvement techniques such as Kaizen, value stream mapping, and removing waste.”

—DevOps Handbook

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Lean tools like Value Stream Mapping, 5S, and Kaizen are cited as critical enablers for optimizing the flow and improving IT and business alignment.