PCD Managing application performance monitoring Practice Question
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of managing application performance monitoring. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. The following error group is shown in Cloud Error Reporting:
Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.example.OrderService.checkout(OrderService.java:45)
What is the first step to resolve this error?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Refer to the exhibit. The following error group is shown in Cloud Error Reporting:
Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.example.OrderService.checkout(OrderService.java:45)
A
Roll back the deployment.
Why wrong: Rolling back may be unnecessary if the fix is straightforward.
B
Restart the service.
Why wrong: Restarting is a temporary fix and does not prevent recurrence.
C
Increase memory for the service.
Why wrong: Memory increase does not fix a null pointer bug.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add a null check on line 45.
Option D is correct because the error is a NullReferenceException, which occurs when code attempts to access a member of a null object. Adding a null check on line 45 prevents the exception by ensuring the object is not null before use, which is the standard first step in debugging such runtime errors in managed code environments like .NET or Java.
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.
✗
Roll back the deployment.
Why it's wrong here
Rolling back may be unnecessary if the fix is straightforward.
✗
Restart the service.
Why it's wrong here
Restarting is a temporary fix and does not prevent recurrence.
✗
Increase memory for the service.
Why it's wrong here
Memory increase does not fix a null pointer bug.
✓
Add a null check on line 45.
Why this is correct
This directly resolves the NullPointerException.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" 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
Cisco often tests the misconception that infrastructure changes (like restarting or scaling) can fix code-level bugs, tempting candidates to choose operational fixes instead of debugging the actual null reference in the application logic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A NullReferenceException in .NET or NullPointerException in Java is thrown when the runtime attempts to dereference a null object pointer. Under the hood, the JIT compiler generates code that checks for null before accessing instance members; if the check fails, the exception is raised. In real-world scenarios, this often occurs when a method returns null unexpectedly, such as from a database query or API call, and the result is used without validation.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Managing application performance monitoring — This question tests Managing application performance monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a null check on line 45. — Option D is correct because the error is a NullReferenceException, which occurs when code attempts to access a member of a null object. Adding a null check on line 45 prevents the exception by ensuring the object is not null before use, which is the standard first step in debugging such runtime errors in managed code environments like .NET or Java.
What should I do if I get this PCD 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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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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