- A
Configure the pipeline to impersonate a project-level service account in each project.
Why wrong: Impersonation adds complexity and is not needed; direct grants are simpler.
- B
Grant the service account the necessary roles on each target project individually.
This provides least privilege by scoping permissions to each project.
- C
Grant the service account the Project Editor role at the organization level.
Why wrong: Organization-level Project Editor grants excessive permissions across all projects.
- D
Use the Cloud Build service account and grant it permissions on each project.
Why wrong: Cloud Build service account is for Cloud Build itself, not for custom pipelines.
Question 468 of 1,000
Granting CI/CD Service Account Permissions Across Multiple Google Cloud Projects
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of bootstrapping a google cloud organization for devops. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
During the bootstrapping of a Google Cloud organization, you need to create a shared CI/CD pipeline that can deploy resources to multiple projects. The pipeline must use a service account with minimal permissions. What is the recommended way to grant the pipeline service account permissions to deploy resources across projects?
Quick Answer
The answer is to grant the service account the necessary roles on each target project individually. This approach follows the principle of least privilege by scoping permissions only to the specific projects where the CI/CD pipeline needs to deploy resources, avoiding the broad blast radius of organization-level roles. On the Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of cross-project deployment security—a common trap is assuming you must use organization-level roles or Cloud Build’s default service account, but direct, project-specific grants are simpler and more secure. Remember the memory tip: “per project, per role” to keep your permissions minimal and your deployments clean.
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
✓
Grant the service account the necessary roles on each target project individually.
Option B is correct because granting the service account the necessary roles (e.g., roles/container.developer, roles/storage.admin) on each target project directly provides the least-privilege access needed for cross-project deployments. Option A is incorrect because impersonation adds unnecessary complexity and does not inherently reduce permissions. Option C is incorrect because the Project Editor role at the organization level grants broad permissions across all projects, violating the principle of minimal permissions. Option D is incorrect because the Cloud Build service account is designed for Cloud Build itself, not for a custom CI/CD pipeline; using it would require additional configuration and may not align with the pipeline's service account requirements.
Key principle: Authentication proves identity; authorization controls what that identity can do after login. Both must work for full privileged access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure the pipeline to impersonate a project-level service account in each project.
Why it's wrong here
Impersonation adds complexity and is not needed; direct grants are simpler.
- ✓
Grant the service account the necessary roles on each target project individually.
Why this is correct
This provides least privilege by scoping permissions to each project.
Related concept
Authentication checks who the user is.
- ✗
Grant the service account the Project Editor role at the organization level.
Why it's wrong here
Organization-level Project Editor grants excessive permissions across all projects.
- ✗
Use the Cloud Build service account and grant it permissions on each project.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Build service account is for Cloud Build itself, not for custom pipelines.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: authentication is not authorization
Logging in proves the user can authenticate. It does not automatically mean the user is allowed to enter privileged or configuration mode. Watch for AAA authorization, privilege level and command authorization details.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This kind of question is testing the difference between identity and permission. A user may successfully log in to a router because authentication is working, but still fail to enter configuration mode because authorization is missing, misconfigured or mapped to a lower privilege level.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Authentication checks who the user is.
- Authorization controls what the user is allowed to do after login.
- Privilege levels affect access to EXEC and configuration commands.
- AAA, TACACS+ and RADIUS can separate login success from command access.
TExam Day Tips
- Do not assume successful login means full administrative access.
- Look for words such as cannot enter configuration mode, privilege level, authorization or command access.
- Separate login problems from permission problems before choosing the answer.
Key takeaway
Authentication proves identity; authorization controls what that identity can do after login. Both must work for full privileged access.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review Cisco AAA concepts — authentication, authorization, and accounting. Study privilege levels (0–15), command authorization under TACACS+, and how RADIUS differs. Then practise related PCDOE questions on access control and AAA configuration.
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Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps — This question tests Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps — Authentication checks who the user is..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant the service account the necessary roles on each target project individually. — Option B is correct because granting the service account the necessary roles (e.g., roles/container.developer, roles/storage.admin) on each target project directly provides the least-privilege access needed for cross-project deployments. Option A is incorrect because impersonation adds unnecessary complexity and does not inherently reduce permissions. Option C is incorrect because the Project Editor role at the organization level grants broad permissions across all projects, violating the principle of minimal permissions. Option D is incorrect because the Cloud Build service account is designed for Cloud Build itself, not for a custom CI/CD pipeline; using it would require additional configuration and may not align with the pipeline's service account requirements.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE question wrong?
Review Cisco AAA concepts — authentication, authorization, and accounting. Study privilege levels (0–15), command authorization under TACACS+, and how RADIUS differs. Then practise related PCDOE questions on access control and AAA configuration.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Authentication checks who the user is.
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Last reviewed: Jun 7, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
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