Setting Work Item 456 to Done While Linking a GitHub Pull Request to Items 456 457 and 458

AZ-400 By islever Editorial Last updated

Design and implement traceability and flow of work

Short answer

C The AB-prefixed references let GitHub link the pull request to work items 456, 457, and 458, and the Fixes keyword sets item 456 to done in the same message.

Question

You manage a project by using Azure Boards. You manage the project code by using GitHub. You have three work items that have IDs of 456, 457, and 458. You need to create a pull request that will be linked to all the work items. The solution must set the state of work item 456 to done. What should you add to the commit message?
  1. Done #456, #457, #458
  2. Fixes #456, #457, #458
  3. Fixes #AB456, #A8457, #A8458 Correct Answer
  4. #AB456, #AB457, #AB458

Key Takeaways

In a GitHub commit message the Boards work item must be referenced with its AB-prefixed ID so GitHub and Boards can associate the pull request with all three items, and a supported resolution keyword such as Fixes applied to 456 is what transitions that item to done.

Projects are managed in Azure Boards while code is managed in GitHub, and a pull request must be linked to work items 456, 457, and 458 while also moving work item 456 to done. The commit message has to carry both the link references and a state-changing keyword, using the reference format that GitHub can resolve back to Boards.

Common mistake: Using bare numeric references like #456 without the AB prefix. In the GitHub flow the plain number does not resolve to an Azure Boards work item, so the pull request fails to link to the items even though the state change on 456 may still occur.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Two things must happen in one commit message: all three work items must be linked to the pull request, and item 456 must be moved to done. Because the code is in GitHub, the references have to use the Boards identifier form with the AB prefix, which is what lets GitHub and Azure Boards associate the pull request with items 456, 457, and 458. The resolution keyword Fixes applied to 456 is what performs the state transition to done, since it is one of the supported keywords that Azure Boards acts on. The vote was 50 for C and 25 for B, with 25 left uncast in the exported data. tratratra cited the Microsoft Learn page for linking from GitHub to Boards work items, which documents exactly the prefixed reference form used in option C.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Fixes #456, #457, #458 (B) uses bare numeric references, and Serezhka raised the correct objection that the proper notation in this flow should carry the AB prefix. Because the pull request lives in GitHub, the unprefixed numbers do not resolve to Boards work items, so the requirement to link the pull request to all three items is not satisfied, even though the keyword would still act on 456. Done #456, #457, #458 (A) fails twice: Done is not among the supported resolution keywords, and the references are again unprefixed. danisancho cited the auto-complete-work-items documentation for option A, but that page describes referencing work items in a pull request description, which is a different mechanism from state transition by commit message, so the citation does not rescue the keyword. The bare list #AB456, #AB457, #AB458 (D) contains no resolution keyword at all, so nothing sets 456 to done.

Community Comment Notes

The vote was unusually fragmented at 50 for C, 25 for B, and 25 with no recorded answer. The strongest critic of the community's choice was Christian_garcia_martin, who argued that C is wrong because items written as #A8457 and #A8458 will not be linked, suggesting they would not resolve, and concluded the intended answer was B. The counter is that ahmedMN explicitly addressed the apparent 7 versus 8 discrepancy and concluded the 8 is not a typo in the source material, favoring C, while megleg and Christian_garcia_martin both emphasized the #AB prefix requirement that only C provides. The community is split on whether the malformed digits are intentional, which is the only point of disagreement.

Official Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

C
67%
B
33%

67% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 7 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 7

  1. tratratra 👍 2 Answered C
    There is a GitHub C https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops
  2. megleg 👍 2
    D mention all, completed is 456. #AB because its in GitHub
  3. Christian_garcia_martin 👍 1 Answered D
    C is WRONG the question says "You need to create a pull request that will be linked to all the work items" and item #A8457 and others #A8 wont be linked, it should be #AB, i do not think this is a typs B and 8 key are not together in any keyboard, it is a tricky question
  4. ahmedMN 👍 1 Answered B
    i disgree c: Fixes #AB456, #A8457, #A8458 (the 8 is not a typo ) not Fixes #AB456, #AB457, #AB458 so the anwser is wrong i choose B because Done and completed are not recognized by Azure Boards or GitHub for state updates
  5. danisancho 👍 1 Answered A
    A is the correct answer. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/auto-complete-work-items-pull-requests?view=azure-devops&source=recommendations
Show 2 more comments
  1. Serezhka 👍 1 Answered B
    The proper notation should be "AB#456", not "#AB456". Shouldn't it?
  2. DevopsRock 👍 2 Answered C
    C is the answer

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