The answer is the missing autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity permissions. This is correct because CodeDeploy requires these specific Auto Scaling actions to register instances with an Auto Scaling group during a deployment; UpdateAutoScalingGroup allows CodeDeploy to attach or detach instances from the group, while SetDesiredCapacity enables it to adjust the group’s instance count to match the deployment’s desired state. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the precise IAM permissions needed for CodeDeploy to manage Auto Scaling lifecycle hooks and instance registration—a common trap is assuming generic autoscaling:* or ec2:* permissions suffice, but the exam specifically checks for these two actions. Remember the mnemonic “Update and Set” for scaling: without both, CodeDeploy can’t attach or resize, and your deployment will fail with AccessDenied.
DOP-C02 SDLC Automation Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of sdlc automation. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer created this IAM policy for a CodeDeploy service role. The deployment fails with an 'AccessDenied' error when attempting to register instances with an Auto Scaling group. What is the likely cause?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The policy is missing autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity.
The correct answer is D because the CodeDeploy service role must include permissions for autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity to allow CodeDeploy to register instances with an Auto Scaling group during a deployment. Without these actions, the deployment fails with an 'AccessDenied' error when CodeDeploy attempts to attach instances to the Auto Scaling group or adjust its capacity.
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 policy does not allow autoscaling:CompleteLifecycleAction.
Why it's wrong here
That action is allowed, but it's not the missing permission.
✗
The role is not trusted by the EC2 service.
Why it's wrong here
The role is for CodeDeploy, not EC2.
✗
The iam:PassRole action is not scoped to the correct resource.
Why it's wrong here
The PassRole is correctly scoped.
✓
The policy is missing autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity.
Why this is correct
CodeDeploy needs these permissions to manage instance registration.
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 the error is due to missing lifecycle hook permissions (Option A) or a trust relationship issue (Option B), but the actual cause is the lack of specific Auto Scaling write permissions required for instance registration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CodeDeploy uses the Auto Scaling service to attach instances to a group by calling UpdateAutoScalingGroup to modify the instance list and SetDesiredCapacity to ensure the group has the correct number of instances. Without these permissions, the API calls fail with AccessDenied, even if other Auto Scaling permissions like DescribeAutoScalingGroups are present. In real-world scenarios, this often occurs when a DevOps engineer copies a basic policy template that omits these specific write actions.
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.
SDLC Automation — This question tests SDLC Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy is missing autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity. — The correct answer is D because the CodeDeploy service role must include permissions for autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup and autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity to allow CodeDeploy to register instances with an Auto Scaling group during a deployment. Without these actions, the deployment fails with an 'AccessDenied' error when CodeDeploy attempts to attach instances to the Auto Scaling group or adjust its capacity.
What should I do if I get this DOP-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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Question Discussion
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