LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Concept and mechanism
Textual job order within a YAML stage does not create a sequence: jobs can run in parallel by default. Use dependsOn for required relationships and transfer artifacts explicitly. A custom condition replaces the default condition, so checking only the branch can allow execution after failure or cancellation. Include the state function appropriate to the objective and test success, failure, cancellation, and skipped parents. There is no rule that canceling a run universally stops every descendant at every moment. Runtime parameters are evaluated during parsing, have types and allowed values, and do not support secrets. Choose variables and dedicated mechanisms for sensitive values.
Guided application
To separate pipeline authorship from production authorization, manage checks on the protected resource with appropriate permissions. Those checks do not live in author-editable YAML. An approval assigned to a group does not require every member: one member can satisfy it. If two independent decisions are required, explicitly design and confirm that requirement. For changes that must all run sequentially, consider an exclusive lock and sequential lockBehavior; runLatest can prevent earlier waiting runs from progressing. Extends templates can enforce structure, and required-template checks can require the approved structure. Keep templates available at run start and treat shared updates as changes affecting multiple consumers.
A five-person approver group does not represent five approvals. Test check behavior against the actual requirement.
Common pitfalls
Condition as implicit addition; textual order as dependency; group as quorum; include as enforcement.
Related topics: Release, slots, and data effects · IaC, reliability, and total elapsed time
Test the flow that must stop as well as the flow that must progress.
Reference: Pipeline conditions · AZ-400 objectives 2026-07-27