Google PCA Design and plan a cloud solution architecture Practice Question
A retail company is planning a Google Cloud organization structure for a new e-commerce platform. They want to isolate production from non-production, allow central network and security teams to apply guardrails across all projects, and give application teams self-service within their own boundaries. Which two design choices support these goals? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is equating central control with granting broad organization-level roles instead of using folder-scoped policies and Shared VPC.
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 a Shared VPC host project owned by the central network team, with application projects attached as service projects.
A folder hierarchy with production and non-production branches lets central teams apply organization policies and IAM that inherit downward, while application teams create projects inside their assigned folder. Pairing that with a Shared VPC host project centralizes network control and lets service projects consume the network, so application teams get self-service deployment without owning network topology.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use a Shared VPC host project owned by the central network team, with application projects attached as service projects.
Why this is correct
Shared VPC centralizes subnet, firewall, and routing control in a host project managed by the network team, while service projects consume those networks. Application teams can deploy resources into their own service projects without managing network topology, giving them self-service within boundaries and allowing the central team to apply consistent network guardrails across all workloads.
- ✓
Create separate folders for production and non-production under the organization node, and apply organization policies at the folder level.
Why this is correct
Folders provide a hierarchy for policy inheritance, so organization policies and IAM bindings applied at a folder propagate to all projects beneath it. Separating production and non-production into distinct folders lets the central teams enforce different guardrails per environment while application teams create projects inside their assigned folder without needing organization-level rights.
- ✗
Place every project directly under the organization node and manage IAM individually per project.
Why it's wrong here
A flat structure with all projects at the organization node removes the folder hierarchy that enables inherited policies. Managing IAM per project becomes error-prone and does not scale, and central teams cannot easily apply uniform guardrails. This design also makes it harder to separate production from non-production, undermining the isolation and self-service goals.
- ✗
Assign each application team the Project Creator role at the organization node so they can create projects anywhere.
Why it's wrong here
Project Creator at the organization node lets teams create projects anywhere in the hierarchy, bypassing the intended isolation between production and non-production. It does not provide the folder-based guardrails the central teams need, and it grants broad creation rights that conflict with the goal of self-service only within defined boundaries. Folder-scoped Project Creator is the safer approach.
- ✗
Grant the central network team the Organization Administrator role so they can manage all projects directly.
Why it's wrong here
Organization Administrator is an extremely broad role that includes managing IAM policies and organization policies across the entire organization. Granting it to a network team violates least privilege and gives them control far beyond networking, which conflicts with the goal of central guardrails that still allow application teams self-service. A narrower role such as Shared VPC Admin is more appropriate.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Project
A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, managed through specific processes in IT environments.
Key term
Least privilege
Least privilege is a security principle that means giving users, systems, or programs only the minimum permissions they need to do their job and nothing more.
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JA
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.