- A
Use Amazon SNS to fan out messages to Lambda.
Why wrong: SNS does not provide ordering.
- B
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Streams as the event source for Lambda.
Why wrong: Kinesis does not guarantee per-message ordering across shards.
- C
Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS standard queue with a batch size of 10.
Why wrong: Standard queues do not guarantee order.
- D
Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS FIFO queue with a batch size of 1.
Using an SQS FIFO queue with batch size 1 ensures messages are processed in order and exactly once.
Question 1,283 of 1,616
How to Process Messages in Order with SQS FIFO and Lambda
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 company is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda. The application processes messages from an Amazon SQS queue. The Lambda function is idempotent and handles duplicate messages correctly. The company needs to ensure that messages are processed in the order they were sent. Which solution should the company use?
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
✓
Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS FIFO queue with a batch size of 1.
Option D is correct because Amazon SQS FIFO queues guarantee first-in, first-out delivery and exactly-once processing, which ensures messages are processed in the order they were sent. By configuring the Lambda function to poll the FIFO queue with a batch size of 1, each message is processed individually, preserving strict ordering without concurrency issues. The Lambda function's idempotency further ensures that any duplicate messages are handled safely, but the FIFO queue's inherent ordering is the key mechanism for maintaining sequence.
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.
- ✗
Use Amazon SNS to fan out messages to Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
SNS does not provide ordering.
- ✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Streams as the event source for Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis does not guarantee per-message ordering across shards.
- ✗
Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS standard queue with a batch size of 10.
Why it's wrong here
Standard queues do not guarantee order.
- ✓
Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS FIFO queue with a batch size of 1.
Why this is correct
Using an SQS FIFO queue with batch size 1 ensures messages are processed in order and exactly once.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a standard SQS queue with a small batch size can maintain order, but standard queues only provide best-effort ordering and can still reorder messages due to retries or distributed processing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, SQS FIFO queues use a distributed system that assigns a sequence number to each message within a message group, ensuring that messages in the same group are delivered in order. When Lambda polls a FIFO queue with a batch size of 1, it processes one message at a time, preventing concurrent processing that could reorder messages. A real-world scenario is a financial transaction system where payment events must be processed in the exact order they occurred to maintain ledger consistency; using a FIFO queue with Lambda ensures this without requiring complex coordination logic.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DVA-C02 question test?
Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the Lambda function to poll an SQS FIFO queue with a batch size of 1. — Option D is correct because Amazon SQS FIFO queues guarantee first-in, first-out delivery and exactly-once processing, which ensures messages are processed in the order they were sent. By configuring the Lambda function to poll the FIFO queue with a batch size of 1, each message is processed individually, preserving strict ordering without concurrency issues. The Lambda function's idempotency further ensures that any duplicate messages are handled safely, but the FIFO queue's inherent ordering is the key mechanism for maintaining sequence.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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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