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

TheThird Wayin DevOps emphasizescontinual learning and experimentation. One of the most effective resilience-building practices in this category ischaos engineeringor deliberate fault injection. This involves introducing controlled failures into systems—such as shutting down services, simulating network latency, or exhausting resources—totest the organization’s recovery capabilityin realistic scenarios.

By practicing recovery under controlled conditions, teams identify weaknesses in monitoring, automation, documentation, and communication before a real incident occurs. This improvesMean Time to Recovery (MTTR)and overall system resilience.

OptionA(constraint analysis) relates to theFirst Way(flow optimization). OptionCfocuses on feedback loops (Second Way). OptionD(adding redundancy) is a possible improvement but does not inherently practice and improve operational recovery skills in the same way as deliberate fault injection.

Therefore,Bis the most appropriate Third Way principle for improving resilience in this scenario.

TheImprovement Katais a structured, scientific approach to continuous improvement. It uses small, iterative steps to move from the current state toward a target condition, testing hypotheses along the way.

In the DevOps context, the Improvement Kata helps teams experiment with process changes, measure outcomes, and adapt quickly—reducing risk while fostering a learning culture. It is especially useful for improving ITSM processes incrementally.

AandBare valuable techniques but serve different purposes—Agile Service Management adapts ITSM to Agile principles, and Value Stream Mapping visualizes and analyzes workflow. While they can complement Improvement Kata,Cis the direct experimental framework for small, incremental improvement.

Thus, the correct answer isC.

Coercive communication(using force or threat) isnota transformational leadership dimension.

Transformational leaders:

Inspire vision

Recognize contributions

Stimulate new ideas (intellectual stimulation)

Foster intrinsic motivation

Extract-style reference:

“Transformational leadership builds trust, motivates by vision, provides intellectual stimulation, and recognizes individuals—not by coercion, but by inspiration.”

—Transformational Leadership(James Burns), PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6

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.

ChatOpsis the practice of conducting operational work directly through chat platforms (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams) integrated with automation and tooling. In this case:

Teams from multiple locations are collaborating in real-time via Slack.

They are running commands and queries directly from the chat to the delivery and monitoring systems.

This allows shared visibility, immediate context, and rapid action during incident resolution.

WhileA(Swarming) describes a collaborative incident response, it does not specifically imply integration with chat-based tools.C(Incident Management) is the overall process, andD(IT Support) is a function, but neither capture the specific ChatOps approach.

Thus,B – ChatOpsis the most accurate answer here.

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.

Agile funding is flexible and adapts to the iterative, incremental nature of Agile and DevOps projects.

It can be fixed cost for some work, continuous cost for ongoing value streams, and is reviewed frequently to align with evolving priorities.

All three characteristics are true, so D (“All of the Above”) is correct.

Extract-style reference:

“Agile funding models support continuous review and adaptation, providing the flexibility required for digital transformation and DevOps ways of working.”

— Project to Product, Mik Kersten

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6: Advocates funding models that encourage agility, experimentation, and rapid value delivery.

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.

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.

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.

After a DevOps pilot, consolidating gains requirescapturing and sharing lessons learnedso that other teams can benefit from successes and avoid repeating mistakes.

This practice supports scaling DevOps practices across the organization by creating a shared knowledge base and promoting continuous improvement.

A(rewards) can motivate but doesn’t spread the learning.B(hiring) may expand resources but doesn’t ensure knowledge transfer.D(advanced tools) may enhance capability but should come after understanding what worked in the pilot.

Thus,Cis the most effective action for consolidating pilot gains.

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).

Microservices architecturebreaks down applications into small, independent, loosely coupled services that can be developed, tested, and deployed independently.

Why does this improve release frequency?Each microservice can be updated, tested, and deployed on its own, reducing the risk and coordination overhead associated with monolithic releases.

This allows for faster feedback and more frequent delivery of value to users.

Extract-style reference:

“Microservices enable teams to deploy independently, reduce deployment risk, and increase release frequency by decoupling services.”

—Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps, Chapter 4

PeopleCert DevOps Foundation v3.6:Stresses modular architectures for enabling rapid, independent deployments and continuous delivery.

The State of DevOps Reports show thatLOW 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.

Kanbanis a Lean visual management method that helps teams control and improve workflow. The board displays tasks in columns representing process stages, enabling:

Visualization of work items and bottlenecks

Limiting work in progress (WIP) to improve flow and reduce multitasking

Tracking throughput and cycle time for continuous improvement

B(Value Stream Mapping) is a Lean analysis tool, not a visual board for ongoing work.C(Improvement Kata) is a structured improvement method, andD(Continuous Delivery) is a software delivery practice, not a visual workflow tool.

Therefore,A—Kanban—is correct.

Successful DevOps transformation hinges onmanagement commitment to cultural change. This includes leadership support for breaking down silos, encouraging collaboration, fostering psychological safety, and aligning incentives.

While budget, reorganization, and deployment pipelines are important enablers, they cannot deliver sustainable transformation without cultural alignment. Leaders must model desired behaviors, remove systemic blockers, and reinforce the new ways of working.

Without cultural change, DevOps becomes a tooling initiative rather than a true organizational shift.

When Kanban teams feel overwhelmed and nothing is getting finished, it’s a sign thattoo much work is in progress(WIP).

Work in Progress (WIP) limitsare 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) oradding more resources(B) worsens the problem.

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

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.

Cycle Timein Agile and DevOps measures the time taken for work to move from thestart of active work (“in progress”) to completion (“done”). It reflects the efficiency of the development process and helps identify bottlenecks in active work.

BandCdescribeLead Time, which includes the time spent in the backlog before work starts.Dis a subset metric related to build/test time, not the full cycle time.

Shorter cycle times indicate more efficient processes and faster delivery of value. Monitoring cycle time enables continuous improvement by highlighting delays within active work.

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.

TheThird Wayin DevOps emphasizescontinuous learning and experimentation. It’s about fostering a culture where teams test hypotheses, take calculated risks, and learn from both successes and failures.

Ahypothesis or experiments logdirectly supports this principle by capturing:

The changes or experiments attempted

The hypothesis behind them

The results and insights gained

Metrics likeA,B, andCare more aligned with theFirst Way(flow) andSecond Way(feedback). They measure speed and stability but not the experimental learning process itself.

By tracking experiments, organizations can make data-driven decisions, reinforce a learning culture, and continuously refine practices—core aspects of the Third Way.

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.