Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company wants to automate the deployment of their infrastructure on Google Cloud using a declarative approach. They need to manage resources such as VPCs, subnets, and Compute Engine instances in a repeatable and version-controlled manner. They also want to preview changes before applying them. Which tool should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that Deployment Manager is the only Google-native option and that it provides preview capabilities; actually, Terraform is more widely used and supports preview via plan.
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
✓
Terraform with the Google Cloud provider
Terraform is the industry-standard declarative infrastructure as code tool that supports version control and provides a plan phase to preview changes. The Google Cloud provider enables management of all relevant resources, ensuring repeatability and safety.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ansible with the Google Cloud collection
Why it's wrong here
Ansible is primarily a configuration management tool and can manage cloud resources, but it is not purely declarative for infrastructure provisioning. It does not provide a built-in preview of changes like Terraform plan. While it can be used, it is less suited for declarative infrastructure as code.
- ✗
Google Cloud Deployment Manager
Why it's wrong here
Deployment Manager is Google Cloud's native infrastructure as code tool, but it uses YAML or Python templates and does not provide a preview of changes like Terraform plan. It is less popular and has fewer features compared to Terraform. The requirement for previewing changes is not natively supported.
- ✗
Google Cloud Console and gcloud CLI scripts
Why it's wrong here
Using the Console and CLI scripts is imperative and not declarative. Scripts are harder to version control and do not provide a preview of changes. This approach lacks the repeatability and safety of a declarative tool with plan capabilities.
- ✓
Terraform with the Google Cloud provider
Why this is correct
Terraform is a declarative infrastructure as code tool that supports version control and provides a 'terraform plan' command to preview changes before applying. The Google Cloud provider allows management of all GCP resources. This meets the requirements for repeatability, version control, and change preview.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This PCA practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 PCA exam.