- A
Eventarc
Why wrong: Eventarc routes events to targets but does not provide orchestration steps.
- B
Cloud Workflows
Workflows is a serverless orchestration service that can call Cloud Run, BigQuery, and other APIs, and can be triggered by Eventarc.
- C
Cloud Composer
Why wrong: Cloud Composer is a managed Airflow environment but is not serverless (requires cluster).
- D
Cloud Dataflow
Why wrong: Dataflow is for data processing, not workflow orchestration.
Question 515 of 1,000
PDE Ingesting and Processing the Data Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of ingesting and processing the data. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 wants to orchestrate a multi-step data processing workflow that includes calling a Cloud Run service, waiting for its completion, and then running a BigQuery query. The workflow should be serverless and integrate with Cloud Events. Which Google Cloud service should they use?
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
✓
Cloud Workflows
Cloud Workflows is the correct choice because it is a serverless workflow orchestrator that can coordinate multi-step processes involving Cloud Run and BigQuery. It natively supports waiting for asynchronous operations (like Cloud Run job completion) via its 'call' and 'wait' steps, and it can trigger subsequent steps such as BigQuery queries. Additionally, Cloud Workflows can be triggered by Cloud Events, making it fully integrated with the event-driven architecture described.
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.
- ✗
Eventarc
Why it's wrong here
Eventarc routes events to targets but does not provide orchestration steps.
- ✓
Cloud Workflows
Why this is correct
Workflows is a serverless orchestration service that can call Cloud Run, BigQuery, and other APIs, and can be triggered by Eventarc.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud Composer
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Composer is a managed Airflow environment but is not serverless (requires cluster).
- ✗
Cloud Dataflow
Why it's wrong here
Dataflow is for data processing, not workflow orchestration.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Google Cloud's Eventarc (event routing) with workflow orchestration, assuming that routing events alone can handle sequencing and waiting, when in fact Eventarc lacks the state management and step coordination required for multi-step workflows.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Workflows uses a YAML-based workflow definition that supports HTTP calls, subworkflows, and conditional logic. Under the hood, it leverages the Workflows API to manage state and retries, and it can wait for a Cloud Run job to complete by polling its status via the Cloud Run Admin API. A real-world scenario is a data ingestion pipeline where a Cloud Run service processes a file, and only after its successful completion does a BigQuery query run to load the results into a table, all triggered by a Cloud Storage event via Eventarc.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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Ingesting and Processing the Data — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PDE question test?
Ingesting and Processing the Data — This question tests Ingesting and Processing the Data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud Workflows — Cloud Workflows is the correct choice because it is a serverless workflow orchestrator that can coordinate multi-step processes involving Cloud Run and BigQuery. It natively supports waiting for asynchronous operations (like Cloud Run job completion) via its 'call' and 'wait' steps, and it can trigger subsequent steps such as BigQuery queries. Additionally, Cloud Workflows can be triggered by Cloud Events, making it fully integrated with the event-driven architecture described.
What should I do if I get this PDE 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
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