CodePipeline Manual Approval Step
A developer has set up an AWS CodePipeline pipeline that automatically deploys a web application through a series of stages: Source, Build, Staging, and Production. The developer wants to require a manual approval before the pipeline proceeds to the Production stage. How should the developer implement this?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to add a manual approval action between the Staging and Production stages. This is the proper implementation because AWS CodePipeline allows you to insert a manual approval step as an action within a stage or as a standalone stage, which pauses the pipeline execution until an authorized user manually approves or rejects the transition. By placing this approval action between Staging and Production, the pipeline will halt after the Staging stage completes, preventing any automatic deployment to production without human oversight. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of pipeline safety controls and the difference between automated and manual transitions—a common trap is thinking you can add the approval inside the Production stage itself, but the approval must gate the entry to that stage. Remember the memory tip: "Approve before you arrive"—the manual approval must occur before the pipeline reaches the production stage, not within it.
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think a manual approval action must be placed inside a stage (like Staging) rather than as a separate stage between stages, but CodePipeline allows stages to be ordered sequentially, and the approval action must be in its own stage or at the end of a stage to block the transition to the next stage.
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
✓
Add a manual approval action between the Staging and Production stages
AWS CodePipeline supports manual approval actions that can be added as a stage or between stages to pause the pipeline and require explicit approval before proceeding. By placing the manual approval action between the Staging and Production stages, the pipeline will halt after the Staging stage completes and wait for an approver to manually approve the transition to the Production stage, ensuring no automatic deployment to production occurs without human oversight.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add a manual approval action in the Staging stage
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Adding approval in the Staging stage would halt the pipeline before Staging completes, which is not desired.
- ✓
Add a manual approval action between the Staging and Production stages
Why this is correct
Correct. A manual approval action placed as a separate stage or as an action in the transition between stages pauses the pipeline until approval is granted.
- ✗
Configure the Production stage to use a CloudFormation change set with execution role
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Change sets do not enforce manual approval in the pipeline; they are a deployment mechanism.
- ✗
Use an SNS topic to notify developers of the deployment
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. SNS notifications do not block the pipeline; they just send alerts.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DVA-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A developer is using AWS CodePipeline to automate the deployment of a microservices application. The pipeline consists of a source stage (GitHub), a build stage (AWS CodeBuild), and a deploy stage (Amazon ECS). The developer wants to ensure that only approved changes are deployed to production. Which THREE actions should the developer take? (Choose THREE.)
medium- A.Configure the pipeline to automatically deploy every commit to production.
- B.Deploy all feature branches directly to production.
- ✓ C.Add a manual approval step before the deploy stage.
- ✓ D.Use separate pipelines for different environments (e.g., dev, staging, prod).
- ✓ E.Implement integration tests in the build stage to catch errors early.
Why C: To ensure only approved changes are deployed to production, the developer should implement a manual approval step (option C) to gate deployments, use separate pipelines for different environments (option D) to isolate changes, and include integration tests in the build stage (option E) to catch errors early. Automatic deployment to production (option A) bypasses approval, and deploying all feature branches directly (option B) introduces unverified code, making both risky.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.