This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting and optimization. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer is deploying a serverless application using AWS SAM. The deployment fails with the error 'Resource creation cancelled'. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
The SAM template is malformed.
Why wrong: Would cause a validation error.
A resource in the stack failed to create.
AWS CloudFormation cancels the creation of subsequent resources after a failure.
The Lambda function code has a timeout.
Why wrong: Timeout would not cancel resource creation.
The IAM role does not have sufficient permissions.
Why wrong: Would show access denied.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
A resource in the stack failed to create.
Option D is correct because 'Resource creation cancelled' typically indicates a stack failure due to a previous resource creation failure. Option A is wrong because missing permissions cause access denied errors. Option B is wrong because timeout would cause a different error. Option C is wrong because invalid YAML causes a parse error.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
The SAM template is malformed.
Why it's wrong here
Would cause a validation error.
A resource in the stack failed to create.
Why this is correct
AWS CloudFormation cancels the creation of subsequent resources after a failure.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
The Lambda function code has a timeout.
Why it's wrong here
Timeout would not cancel resource creation.
The IAM role does not have sufficient permissions.
Why it's wrong here
Would show access denied.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Would show access denied.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Identify which DVA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Troubleshooting and Optimization — This question tests Troubleshooting and Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: A resource in the stack failed to create. — Option D is correct because 'Resource creation cancelled' typically indicates a stack failure due to a previous resource creation failure. Option A is wrong because missing permissions cause access denied errors. Option B is wrong because timeout would cause a different error. Option C is wrong because invalid YAML causes a parse error.
Identify which DVA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This DVA-C02 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 DVA-C02 exam.
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