EXIN • DEVOPSF • Foundation Level C E R T I F I C A T I O N G U I D E EXIN DevOps Foundation Certification Guide: DEVOPSF Syllabus Sample questions and a study plan for the EXIN DevOps Foundation exam Inside: the full exam fact sheet, all four exam requirements and sixteen specifications with EXIN’s official weightings, what the Bloom levels mean for how you study, the one book the exam is built on, a five-step route to the exam, and ten real sample questions with a full answer key. 40 QUESTIONS 60 MINUTES 65% PASSING SCORE $295 EXAM FEE 4 EXAM TOPICS Prepared by CertFun • www.certfun.com www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 1 SECTION 01 Exam Overview The EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) certification is EXIN’s entry point to DevOps: 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, with 65% to pass. The exam facts below come from CertFun’s DEVOPSF exam syllabus and were checked against the official EXIN DevOps Foundation page and EXIN’s own Preparation Guide. Certification EXIN DevOps Foundation Exam code DEVOPSF Level Foundation Number of questions 40, multiple choice Exam duration 60 minutes Passing score 65% (26 of 40) Exam fee USD 295 (as listed on the CertFun syllabus page) Open book / notes No / No Electronic equipment Not allowed Languages English, Dutch, German, Chinese, Japanese Requirement Successful completion of the exam - no other prerequisite Required reading Oleg Skrynnik, DevOps - a Business Perspective (Van Haren, 2018) Training 14 recommended contact hours; about 56 hours study effort (2 ECTS) Two details are worth knowing before you book. First, the fee: CertFun lists USD 295, but EXIN’s own exam page does not publish a price, so confirm it with EXIN or your training provider when you book. Second, there is no mandatory course. EXIN’s only requirement for the certificate is passing the exam, although it recommends 14 contact hours of training and estimates about 56 hours of study in total, depending on what you already know. The current EXIN Preparation Guide is edition 202602 and the official sample exam is edition 202606. The syllabus in Section 03 matches the 202602 guide word for word and weight for weight. SECTION 02 A Business Exam, Not a Tools Exam Many people expect a DevOps exam to ask about Docker, Jenkins or Kubernetes. This one does not. EXIN says the certificate "confirms that the professional understands DevOps basic concepts, principles and practices, and can relate these to the work environment." One of the specifications even asks you to "clarify that DevOps is more than tools and automation." www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 2 The exam is built on a single book: Oleg Skrynnik’s DevOps – a Business Perspective (Van Haren Publishing, 2018). EXIN’s Preparation Guide maps every exam specification to chapters of that book, so it is the one text worth owning. EXIN also tests at Bloom levels 1 and 2 - remembering and understanding. Expect to recognise the right definition or explanation, not to design a pipeline. What the exam asks of you Trace DevOps from Waterfall, Scrum and Agile, virtualisation and cloud. Think in value streams: VSMs, flow, bottlenecks, WIP and batch sizes. Know the building blocks: pipeline, version control, configuration management, DoD. Explain how DevOps differs from traditional release and incident practices. Judge where DevOps fits, where it struggles, and how to start small. EXIN positions the certificate as a stepping-stone: it leads on to EXIN DevOps Professional and EXIN DevOps Master. SECTION 03 The DevOps Foundation Syllabus, by Weight EXIN splits the exam into four exam requirements, and each is broken into weighted specifications - sixteen in all. The two middle topics carry the most, 27.5% each , and the single largest specification is DevOps practices at 15%. On a 40-question paper, 2.5% is one question, so the weights convert neatly: DevOps basics is about ten questions, principles and key practices about eleven each, and practical applications about eight. DevOps basics 25% DevOps principles 27.5% DevOps key practices 27.5% Practical applications of DevOps 20% Official exam-requirement weightings for DEVOPSF, from EXIN’s Preparation Guide and the CertFun syllabus page. Here is every specification and objective, word for word from the exam syllabus. Each line starts "The candidate can...". Treat each one as a checklist item: if you cannot explain it in your own words, it is still a study item. 1. DevOps basics — 25% 1.1 DevOps origins — 7.5% • describe the historical developments from Waterfall to Scrum to Agile. • describe the developments in virtualization and cloud computing that enable DevOps. • explain how DevOps developed from a historical perspective. www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 3 1.2 Definition of DevOps — 7.5% • outline how DevOps is an expansion of Lean and Agile thinking. • explain that DevOps requires value stream thinking. • clarify how DevOps can yield a greater return on IT than other practices. 1.3 Reasons for using DevOps — 7.5% • identify decreasing time to market as a reason for using DevOps. • identify reducing technical debt as a reason for using DevOps. • identify eliminating fragility as a reason for using DevOps. 1.4 Misconceptions about DevOps — 2.5% • clarify that DevOps is not a part of Agile. • clarify that DevOps is more than tools and automation. • clarify that DevOps is not a new profession. 2. DevOps principles — 27.5% 2.1 Value stream — 10% • define the concept value stream. • explain the concept value stream map (VSM). • clarify how a VSM may help optimizing processes in the business. • explain why value stream thinking is the core of DevOps. 2.2 Deployment pipeline — 5% • define the concept deployment pipeline. • identify the challenges when implementing a deployment pipeline. 2.3 Version control — 5% • define the concept version control. • explain why version control is important. 2.4 Configuration management — 5% • define the concept configuration management. • explain why configuration management is important for DevOps. 2.5 Definition of done (DoD) — 2.5% • explain why a clear DoD is important for working with a DevOps mindset. www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 4 3. DevOps key practices — 27.5% 3.1 Difference with traditional practices — 12.5% • clarify how DevOps facilitates more frequent releases. • clarify how DevOps focuses more on adding value to the business. • explain that DevOps requires automation. • clarify how DevOps deals with solving incidents and defects differently. • clarify how DevOps needs continuous improvement. 3.2 DevOps practices — 15% • outline the importance of a diverse team. • outline the importance of visualizing work. • outline why work in progress (WIP) and batch sizes should be limited. • list how DevOps incorporates operational requirements into Development. • explain the importance of supporting innovation. • identify ways to deal with bottlenecks. 4. Practical applications of DevOps — 20% 4.1 Applicability — 5% • characterize situations in which DevOps is feasible. • identify conditions that make adoption of DevOps interesting for the business. 4.2 Limitations — 5% • identify a lack of readiness to adopt DevOps. • characterize monolithic IT infrastructure and architecture as a limitation for adopting DevOps. 4.3 Using commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) — 2.5% • clarify the risk of COTS in strategic business lines. • identify solutions for working with COTS when there is no other option. 4.4 Evolving architecture and organizational models — 2.5% • identify the difficulties a rigid IT department poses on implementing DevOps. • characterize the need for a flexible mindset to change and innovation. 4.5 Iterative progression — 5% • recall that DevOps may start small and can be built up from there. • recall that DevOps is a way of thinking, which may start anywhere in the organization. www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 5 SECTION 04 What the Credential Is Worth EXIN says DevOps Foundation is "ideal for IT and business professionals who want to understand DevOps and how their organization can benefit from its principles" , including anyone in a DevOps team and anyone in information and technology management. It is a foundation certificate: it shows you speak the language, and it opens the door to the Professional and Master levels. No salary survey tracks this certificate by name, so here is the nearest honest benchmark. Payscale puts the average base salary of a DevOps engineer in the United States at $114,777 , with the middle 80% between about $77k and $163k. That is based on 1,745 salary profiles, last updated 24 June 2026. A foundation certificate on its own will not make you a DevOps engineer - treat that figure as where the path can lead, not as what the certificate pays. Why this one, specifically No prerequisites and no mandatory course - only the exam. It teaches the business case for DevOps, which is what managers ask about. One book covers the whole syllabus, so the study path is short and clear. It is the first step to EXIN DevOps Professional and DevOps Master. SECTION 05 Getting Certified, Step by Step 1 Get the book the exam is built on Skrynnik, DevOps - a Business Perspective. Every specification maps to it. 2 Download EXIN’s Preparation Guide It lists the specifications, weights, basic concepts and chapter references. 3 Learn the basic-concepts list Value stream, VSM, WIP limits, JIT, one-piece-flow, blamelessness and more. 4 Spend most time on principles and practices Together they are 55% of the exam - about 22 of the 40 questions. 5 Take a timed practice test, then book Forty questions, 60 minutes, 26 correct answers to pass, closed book. For the last step, CertFun’s DEVOPSF practice exam follows the real format: a full 40-question, 60-minute test, plus a 20-question, 30-minute mini version, both drawn from a bank of more than 125 questions. Use it to find your gaps before the exam does. www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 6 SECTION 06 DEVOPSF Sample Questions These ten come from CertFun’s DEVOPSF sample questions page, shown here in shuffled order. Each has one correct answer. Notice how many turn on the value stream and on why DevOps does things differently - that is where the weight of the exam sits. The answers follow the set. Q1. When can the use of DevOps for organizational and technological changes lead to chaos and loss of control? a) When the core business of the organization highly depends on IT b) When the organization is complex and wants to solve chronic problems c) When the organization requires rapid changes to test new business ideas d) When the rate of change in the IT used by the organization is high Q2. A clear definition of done is (DoD) critical in DevOps and considers the value for the customer. What is a good description of 'done' for DevOps? a) A requirement is Done when it has been built. b) A requirement is Done when it has been tested. c) A requirement is Done when the product is accepted. d) A requirement is Done when the product is in Production. Q3. A value stream map shows clearly where the inefficiencies in a value stream are. Why should a value stream map be made? a) To help optimize business processes b) To see which people are not working hard enough c) To speed up the Work-in-Progress (WiP) d) To visualize which product line should be ended Q4. DevOps relies heavily on the principles and practices of Lean Production. One of the types of waste in IT is 'task switching'. From which original type of waste is this the translation for IT? a) Motion b) Overproduction c) Waiting d) Transportation Q5. Which requirements should a DevOps team consider when working on a backlog item? a) Only non-functional requirements b) Only functional requirements c) Both non-functional and functional requirements d) Neither non-functional nor functional requirements www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 7 Q6. According to the US National Institute of Standards and technology (NIST), what is not an essential cloud computing characteristic? a) Broad network access b) Pay-per-use system c) Rapid elasticity d) Resource pooling Q7. Why is the concept 'value stream' so important in DevOps? a) The value stream helps coworkers to see and understand their daily tasks. b) The value stream helps to analyze the as-is map and any attempts to improve metrics. c) The value stream helps to identify when someone did their part of the work. d) The value stream helps to realize a smooth and uniform flow through all process steps. e) The value stream helps to realize local optimization in the current work practice. Q8. It is recommended that organizations customize and select DevOps practices that work in that organization. Organization-specific questions must be raised and organization-specific answers must be found. Why is this a good idea? a) Because DevOps publications do not always reflect reality and underreport difficulties and failures. b) Because that is the way to become a DevOps engineer that can be hired for implementing DevOps. c) Because the management teams know best how to implement DevOps in their own organization d) Because there are too few publications and events about DevOps to form independent opinions. Q9. Tasks need to be prioritized. This prioritization takes place in the queue at the entry of the value stream. Why does this prioritization often cause problems? a) Because at this point, the decision is made how to build the deployment pipeline for the tasks that can be automated. This takes time, which causes delays. b) Because enabling measurements of the key indicators in the value stream is done incorrectly or inefficiently, which leads to problems. c) Because implementation of the use of visualization tools along with WiP-limits, with which one can identify the bottlenecks of the tasks, is done incorrectly. d) Because the development of the as-is version and the to-be version of the stream must be created, as well as a list of the changes required. This takes a lot of time. e) Because when many decisions are made before work even starts, like in the traditional approach, this causes massive delays. www.certfun.com EXIN DEVOPSF EXIN DevOps Foundation (DEVOPSF) 8 Q10. In DevOps, what should be done when process deficiencies are found? a) All changes should be submitted to a backlog, so they can be released in a project or a Kaizen event. b) Fixes should be found, approved by the change manager, and released based on priority. c) Fixes should be found, approved by the continuous improvement manager, and released immediately. d) Fixes should be postponed until the change can be included in an appropriate iteration. e) Fixes should be found and implemented as soon as possible after detection of the deficiency. Answer key Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 b d a d c b d a e e SECTION 07 Where to Go Next The exam is conceptual, but the ideas behind it are practised every day. DevOps Stack Exchange is a free Q&A site where practitioners work through real pipeline, configuration and deployment problems. Reading a few threads is a good way to see why version control, configuration management and small batches matter. For the rest of EXIN’s catalogue - including the DevOps Professional and Master exams that follow this one - see the CertFun EXIN vendor page. Quick reference Official exam page and Preparation Guide - exin.com Exam syllabus + practice test - certfun.com/exin Practitioner Q&A - devops.stackexchange.com Exam book - Skrynnik, DevOps - a Business Perspective (2018) Before you book — the guide in one card Questions 40 multiple choice Duration 60 minutes Passing score 65% (26/40) Open book No Fee USD 295 Level Foundation Topics 4 weighted topics Bloom levels 1 and 2 Prerequisites None Study effort About 56 hours Book Skrynnik (2018) Next level DevOps Professional Good luck. This exam rewards understanding why DevOps works, not which tool to install. Explain a value stream and a clear definition of done to a colleague, and you are ready.