SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company is using AWS CloudFormation to manage infrastructure. They want to ensure that any changes to a production stack are reviewed and approved before being applied. What is the BEST way to achieve this?
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
✓
Use Change Sets and require manual approval to execute them.
AWS CloudFormation Change Sets allow you to preview how proposed changes will affect your running resources before executing them. By using Change Sets in conjunction with a manual approval process (e.g., via AWS CodePipeline or a separate review step), you can ensure changes are reviewed and approved before being applied. Option A (termination protection) only prevents stack deletion, not updates. Option B (auto-deployment with CodePipeline) can include approval gates, but the question asks for the "BEST way" in the context of CloudFormation itself; Change Sets are the native mechanism for review. Option D (stack policies) control which resources can be updated, but do not enforce a review process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable termination protection on the stack.
Why it's wrong here
Termination protection only blocks deletion of the stack itself; it does not intercept update operations or require approval before changes are applied. It is tempting because it guards production stacks against accidental removal, which is the correct control when the risk is deletion rather than unreviewed updates.
- ✗
Use AWS CodePipeline to automatically deploy changes.
Why it's wrong here
CodePipeline automates deployment on commit, so changes reach production without any human review gate, directly contradicting the approval requirement. It is tempting because it enforces consistent, repeatable delivery, and would be correct if the goal were continuous deployment rather than manual sign-off before applying changes.
- ✓
Use Change Sets and require manual approval to execute them.
Why this is correct
Change Sets compute the proposed modifications and surface them for inspection before any resource is altered, so a reviewer can approve or reject the diff. Requiring manual execution satisfies the stem's constraint that production changes be reviewed and approved prior to being applied.
- ✗
Use stack policies to prevent updates.
Why it's wrong here
Stack policies block updates to specified protected resources entirely, rather than allowing a reviewed change to proceed after approval. They are tempting because they safeguard stateful resources such as databases from accidental replacement, which is the right control when updates to those resources must never occur.
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