SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 company has a trust policy on an IAM role in account 222222222222. The trust policy allows the root user of account 111111111111 to assume the role. However, a user in account 111111111111 is unable to assume the role. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The trust policy only allows the root user, not individual users
The trust policy explicitly allows only the root user of account 111111111111 (arn:aws:iam::111111111111:root) to assume the role. Individual IAM users within that account are not granted permission unless the trust policy includes the specific user ARN or a condition that allows federated access. Since the user is not the root user, the sts:AssumeRole call fails due to the principal restriction in the trust policy.
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.
✗
A service control policy in account 222222222222 is denying the sts:AssumeRole action
Why it's wrong here
SCPs could deny but the trust policy is the more direct issue.
✗
The role is not in the same region as the user
Why it's wrong here
IAM roles are global.
✓
The trust policy only allows the root user, not individual users
Why this is correct
The principal is the root user ARN; individual users need a separate ARN or permissions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The trust policy is malformed
Why it's wrong here
The policy is syntactically correct.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the root user ARN (which represents the account but only grants access to the root user) with allowing all IAM users in the account, leading them to overlook the need to specify individual user ARNs or use a condition for broader access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The trust policy's Principal element uses the root user ARN (arn:aws:iam::111111111111:root), which represents the entire AWS account but only allows the root user entity to assume the role. To allow individual IAM users, the trust policy must specify their user ARNs or use a condition like 'aws:username'. The sts:AssumeRole API call checks both the trust policy and the user's identity-based permissions; if the trust policy does not include the user's ARN, the call is denied regardless of the user's permissions.
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.
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 trust policy only allows the root user, not individual users — The trust policy explicitly allows only the root user of account 111111111111 (arn:aws:iam::111111111111:root) to assume the role. Individual IAM users within that account are not granted permission unless the trust policy includes the specific user ARN or a condition that allows federated access. Since the user is not the root user, the sts:AssumeRole call fails due to the principal restriction in the trust policy.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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