- A
Grant the service account the roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset
This grants write access to the dataset.
- B
Grant the service account the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on itself
Why wrong: This role allows impersonation but does not grant data access permissions.
- C
Enable the Cloud Storage and BigQuery APIs in the project
Why wrong: APIs are enabled by default; if disabled, the error would be different, but this is less likely the cause.
- D
Grant the service account the roles/storage.objectViewer role on the Cloud Storage bucket
This grants read access to objects in the bucket.
- E
Ensure the service account has the cloud-platform scope when creating the instance
The compute engine default service account has the cloud-platform scope by default, but if a custom service account is used, it needs the scopes to access Cloud Storage and BigQuery APIs.
PCSE Practice Question: Configuring Access Within a Cloud Solution Environment
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access within a cloud solution environment. 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.
A company runs a batch job on Compute Engine that reads data from Cloud Storage and writes results to BigQuery. The Compute Engine instance uses a service account. The job fails with a permission error. Which THREE steps should the engineer take to resolve this? (Choose three.)
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 roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset
Option A is correct because the service account needs the roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset to write data (insert rows) into BigQuery tables. Without this IAM permission, the job fails with a permission error when attempting to execute INSERT or load jobs against the dataset.
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.
- ✓
Grant the service account the roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset
Why this is correct
This grants write access to the dataset.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Grant the service account the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on itself
Why it's wrong here
This role allows impersonation but does not grant data access permissions.
- ✗
Enable the Cloud Storage and BigQuery APIs in the project
Why it's wrong here
APIs are enabled by default; if disabled, the error would be different, but this is less likely the cause.
- ✓
Grant the service account the roles/storage.objectViewer role on the Cloud Storage bucket
Why this is correct
This grants read access to objects in the bucket.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Ensure the service account has the cloud-platform scope when creating the instance
Why this is correct
The compute engine default service account has the cloud-platform scope by default, but if a custom service account is used, it needs the scopes to access Cloud Storage and BigQuery APIs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between IAM roles and access scopes; the trap here is that candidates think granting IAM roles alone is sufficient, but they forget that Compute Engine instances also require the correct access scopes (e.g., cloud-platform) to actually use those roles.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Compute Engine instances use service accounts with OAuth 2.0 access scopes as a coarse authorization layer, while IAM roles provide fine-grained permissions. Even if the service account has the correct IAM roles (e.g., roles/storage.objectViewer and roles/bigquery.dataEditor), the instance must also have the cloud-platform scope (or at least the specific scopes for Cloud Storage and BigQuery) to allow the service account's credentials to be used for those APIs. Without the correct scope, the access token issued by the metadata server will not include the necessary API access, resulting in a permission error despite correct IAM bindings.
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 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.
Visual reference
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCSE question test?
Configuring Access Within a Cloud Solution Environment — This question tests Configuring Access Within a Cloud Solution Environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant the service account the roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset — Option A is correct because the service account needs the roles/bigquery.dataEditor role on the BigQuery dataset to write data (insert rows) into BigQuery tables. Without this IAM permission, the job fails with a permission error when attempting to execute INSERT or load jobs against the dataset.
What should I do if I get this PCSE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.
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