DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is using AWS Step Functions to orchestrate a data pipeline that includes an AWS Glue job, an Amazon EMR step, and an Amazon Redshift stored procedure. The engineer needs to ensure that if the Glue job fails, the pipeline stops and does not proceed to the EMR step. Which Step Functions state type should be used to handle the error and stop the execution?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse error handling with conditional branching; a Choice state can route based on conditions but does not inherently fail the execution, while a Fail state explicitly stops and marks failure.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Fail state that transitions to a terminal state and stops the execution.
In AWS Step Functions, the Fail state is used to stop an execution and mark it as failed. When a Glue job fails, a Catch block can transition to a Fail state, ensuring the pipeline terminates without executing the EMR step. This is the standard way to handle errors and prevent downstream processing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A Wait state that delays the next step until the Glue job is manually restarted.
Why it's wrong here
A Wait state introduces a delay but does not handle errors or stop the pipeline. It would simply pause before potentially continuing, which does not prevent the EMR step from running if the Glue job failed. It is not an error-handling mechanism.
- ✓
A Fail state that transitions to a terminal state and stops the execution.
Why this is correct
The Fail state in AWS Step Functions stops the execution and marks it as failed. It is specifically designed for error handling, allowing the pipeline to halt when a preceding task like the Glue job fails. This ensures no subsequent steps, such as the EMR step, are executed.
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A Parallel state that runs the EMR step concurrently with the Glue job to reduce overall time.
Why it's wrong here
A Parallel state runs branches in parallel, which would start the EMR step regardless of the Glue job's outcome. This contradicts the requirement to stop on failure. It is used for concurrency, not error handling, and would not prevent subsequent steps after a failure.
- ✗
A Choice state that evaluates the output of the Glue job and branches to an end state if it fails.
Why it's wrong here
A Choice state adds conditional branching based on input, but it does not inherently stop the execution. It could route to an end state, but that would mark the execution as succeeded, which is incorrect for a failure. The Fail state is explicitly for terminating with a failure status.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.