Cloud Digital Leader Trust and security with Google Cloud Practice Question
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of trust and security with google cloud. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 small IT team needs to grant developers the ability to deploy instances in a project but not delete them. Which IAM best practice should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a service account for each developer and grant it the compute.instanceAdmin role.
Option D is correct because creating a service account for each developer and granting the `compute.instanceAdmin` role provides the precise permissions needed to deploy instances (via `compute.instances.insert`) without granting the ability to delete them (the `compute.instanceAdmin` role does not include `compute.instances.delete`). This follows the IAM best practice of least privilege, ensuring developers can perform only the required actions.
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.
✗
Create a custom role with compute.instances.insert and compute.instances.delete permissions.
Why it's wrong here
This includes delete permission, which is not desired.
✗
Assign all developers the primitive role of Editor.
Why it's wrong here
Editor role includes delete permission.
✗
Use organization policy to restrict deletion of compute instances.
Why it's wrong here
Organization policies apply to all users, not selectively grant permissions.
✓
Create a service account for each developer and grant it the compute.instanceAdmin role.
Why this is correct
Service accounts are not intended for human users; key management is burdensome.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
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 misconception that organization policies can replace IAM roles for user-level permission control, but organization policies are for resource constraints, not identity-based access control.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `compute.instanceAdmin` role is a predefined IAM role that includes permissions like `compute.instances.create`, `compute.instances.start`, and `compute.instances.stop`, but notably excludes `compute.instances.delete`. When using service accounts, each developer authenticates as their own identity, allowing fine-grained audit logging and revocation. In a real-world scenario, if a developer needs to deploy instances for testing, this role ensures they can spin up and manage instances without risking accidental or malicious deletion of production resources.
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 GCDL question in full detail.
Trust and security with Google Cloud — This question tests Trust and security with Google Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a service account for each developer and grant it the compute.instanceAdmin role. — Option D is correct because creating a service account for each developer and granting the `compute.instanceAdmin` role provides the precise permissions needed to deploy instances (via `compute.instances.insert`) without granting the ability to delete them (the `compute.instanceAdmin` role does not include `compute.instances.delete`). This follows the IAM best practice of least privilege, ensuring developers can perform only the required actions.
What should I do if I get this GCDL 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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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