Google ACE Configuring access and security Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access and security. 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.
Exhibit
ERROR: (gcloud.deployment-manager.deployments.create) The user does not have permission to use service account 'my-sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com'. Required 'iam.serviceAccounts.actAs' permission.
Refer to the exhibit. A user attempts to create a Deployment Manager deployment that references a service account. What is the most likely issue?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
ERROR: (gcloud.deployment-manager.deployments.create) The user does not have permission to use service account 'my-sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com'. Required 'iam.serviceAccounts.actAs' permission.
A
The user does not have deploymentmanager.deployments.create permission
Why wrong: The error is about actAs, not create.
B
The user does not have the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on the service account
The actAs permission is needed to use a service account in deployments.
C
The service account is disabled
Why wrong: The error would be different if disabled.
D
The service account does not exist
Why wrong: The error indicates the service account is found but permission is missing.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The user does not have the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on the service account
When a Deployment Manager deployment references a service account, the user must have the `roles/iam.serviceAccountUser` role on that service account to impersonate it. Without this role, the deployment fails even if the user has `deploymentmanager.deployments.create` permission, because the service account is used to execute the deployment's resources. Option B correctly identifies this missing IAM binding as the most likely issue.
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.
✗
The user does not have deploymentmanager.deployments.create permission
Why it's wrong here
The error is about actAs, not create.
✓
The user does not have the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on the service account
Why this is correct
The actAs permission is needed to use a service account in deployments.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The service account is disabled
Why it's wrong here
The error would be different if disabled.
✗
The service account does not exist
Why it's wrong here
The error indicates the service account is found but permission is missing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between having permission to create a deployment versus having permission to use a specific service account within that deployment, leading candidates to mistakenly choose the deployment-level permission error (Option A) instead of the IAM role on the service account (Option B).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Deployment Manager uses the referenced service account to authenticate API calls for creating and managing resources (e.g., Compute Engine instances). The `roles/iam.serviceAccountUser` role grants the `iam.serviceAccounts.actAs` permission, which allows a user to impersonate the service account via the `signBlob` or `getAccessToken` methods. Without this role, the deployment fails with a `403` error even if the user has `deploymentmanager.deployments.create` on the project, because the service account cannot be used as the identity for resource creation.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Configuring access and security — This question tests Configuring access and security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The user does not have the roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role on the service account — When a Deployment Manager deployment references a service account, the user must have the `roles/iam.serviceAccountUser` role on that service account to impersonate it. Without this role, the deployment fails even if the user has `deploymentmanager.deployments.create` permission, because the service account is used to execute the deployment's resources. Option B correctly identifies this missing IAM binding as the most likely issue.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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