DVA-C02 Troubleshooting and Optimization Practice Question
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 reports that an AWS Lambda function is timing out after 3 seconds. The function reads from an Amazon SQS queue. 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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The Lambda function timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low.
The Lambda function is timing out after exactly 3 seconds because its configured timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low for the workload. Lambda has a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes (900 seconds), but the default timeout is 3 seconds. Since the function reads from an SQS queue, it likely needs more time to process messages, and increasing the timeout value will resolve the issue.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The Lambda function memory is set too low, causing slow execution.
Why it's wrong here
Low memory may cause slower performance but not a consistent 3-second timeout.
✓
The Lambda function timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low.
Why this is correct
The default timeout is 3 seconds, increasing it resolves the timeout.
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 execution role lacks permissions to poll SQS.
Why it's wrong here
Permission issues cause access denied errors, not timeouts.
✗
The SQS queue is empty, causing the function to wait indefinitely.
Why it's wrong here
Lambda does not wait indefinitely; the timeout is reached.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse timeout with memory or permissions issues, but the exact 3-second timeout is a direct indicator of the default Lambda timeout being too low, not a resource or authorization problem.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Lambda's timeout is a hard limit enforced by the Lambda service; when the timeout is reached, the invocation is terminated with a 'Task timed out after X seconds' error. For SQS-triggered Lambda functions, the default batch size is 10 messages, and the function must process all messages in the batch within the timeout. In real-world scenarios, if the function performs I/O operations (e.g., database calls, external API requests) that exceed the timeout, it will fail even if memory is sufficient.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Troubleshooting and Optimization — This question tests Troubleshooting and Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The Lambda function timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low. — The Lambda function is timing out after exactly 3 seconds because its configured timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low for the workload. Lambda has a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes (900 seconds), but the default timeout is 3 seconds. Since the function reads from an SQS queue, it likely needs more time to process messages, and increasing the timeout value will resolve the issue.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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