The answer is that the launch fails because the SCP denies the action. This occurs because the service control policy attached to the production OU explicitly denies the ec2:RunInstances action unless the instance type matches t3.micro, and the m5.large does not satisfy that condition. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how SCPs apply as an upper-permissions boundary across all accounts in an OU, overriding any IAM-based allow. A common trap is assuming that an IAM user’s own permissions can bypass an SCP, but SCPs always take precedence for deny effects. Remember the key distinction: SCPs deny by default unless an explicit allow condition is met, so any non-compliant instance type is blocked regardless of the user’s IAM policy. Memory tip: “SCP denies first, IAM allows second—if the condition fails, the launch is dead.”
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The launch fails because the SCP denies the action.
Option C is correct because the SCP denies RunInstances if the instance type is not t3.micro. Since m5.large is not t3.micro, the action is denied. Option A is wrong because the SCP denies the action. Option B is wrong because the condition denies non-t3.micro instances. Option D is wrong because the SCP does not allow; it denies.
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 launch succeeds because the condition evaluates to true.
Why it's wrong here
Condition evaluates to true (not equals t3.micro), so deny applies.
✗
The launch succeeds because the SCP only denies StartInstances.
Why it's wrong here
The SCP denies both RunInstances and StartInstances.
✓
The launch fails because the SCP denies the action.
Why this is correct
The condition matches, so the deny is applied.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The launch succeeds because the SCP allows all instance types except t3.micro.
Why it's wrong here
The SCP denies, not allows.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The launch fails because the SCP denies the action. — Option C is correct because the SCP denies RunInstances if the instance type is not t3.micro. Since m5.large is not t3.micro, the action is denied. Option A is wrong because the SCP denies the action. Option B is wrong because the condition denies non-t3.micro instances. Option D is wrong because the SCP does not allow; it denies.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. Refer to the exhibit. An SCP is attached to an OU. A developer in an account under this OU tries to launch a t3.large EC2 instance. What will happen?
hard
A.The instance launch is allowed because the condition uses StringNotEquals, which is not evaluated correctly.
✓ B.The instance launch is denied because the SCP denies any instance type not in the allowed list.
C.The instance launch is denied, but only if the account's IAM policy also denies it.
D.The instance launch is allowed because the SCP has an explicit deny, but it only applies to certain instance types.
Why B: The SCP explicitly denies any EC2 instance launch where the instance type does not match the allowed list using `StringNotEquals`. Since `t3.large` is not in the allowed list (`t2.micro`, `t2.small`, `t2.medium`), the condition evaluates to true, triggering the explicit deny. SCPs act as a guardrail that overrides any IAM permissions, so the launch is denied regardless of the account's IAM policies.
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This SAP-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 SAP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.