PCDOE Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of building and implementing ci/cd pipelines. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 DevOps team uses Cloud Build and Cloud Deploy to deploy to GKE. They want to implement a gated deployment where a manual approval is required before promoting from staging to production. What two resources should they configure? (Select TWO)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Cloud Deploy approval rule in the delivery pipeline
Option C is correct because a Cloud Deploy approval rule in the delivery pipeline defines a manual gate that pauses the pipeline at a specific stage (e.g., before promoting to production) and requires explicit approval to proceed. Option D is correct because setting the `requireApproval` attribute to `true` on a Cloud Deploy target enforces that any rollout targeting that environment must receive manual approval before the deployment proceeds.
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.
✗
A Cloud Pub/Sub topic to notify approvers
Why it's wrong here
Pub/Sub is not required; notifications can be configured via Cloud Deploy.
✗
A Cloud Deploy rollout with a pre-deploy hook
Why it's wrong here
Pre-deploy hooks run actions before deployment, not approvals.
✓
A Cloud Deploy approval rule in the delivery pipeline
Why this is correct
Approval rules define stages where manual approval is needed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
A Cloud Deploy target with a requireApproval attribute set to true
Why this is correct
Setting requireApproval to true on a target enforces manual approval before deployment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
A Cloud Build trigger with a manual approval step
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Build does not have native manual approval; this is not the recommended approach.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between Cloud Deploy's native approval mechanism (approval rules and `requireApproval` on targets) and Cloud Build's manual approval steps, which are separate and apply to build pipelines, not deployment pipelines.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Deploy approval rules are defined in the delivery pipeline YAML under `stages[].strategy.approval` and can be set to `requireApproval: true` on a target. When a rollout reaches a target with `requireApproval: true`, Cloud Deploy creates an `ApprovalRequest` resource that must be approved via the `gcloud deploy rollouts approve` command or the Cloud Console; the rollout remains in a `PENDING_APPROVAL` state until action is taken. In a real-world scenario, this ensures that production deployments are reviewed by a release manager or security team, preventing accidental or unauthorized changes.
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.
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.
Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines — This question tests Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A Cloud Deploy approval rule in the delivery pipeline — Option C is correct because a Cloud Deploy approval rule in the delivery pipeline defines a manual gate that pauses the pipeline at a specific stage (e.g., before promoting to production) and requires explicit approval to proceed. Option D is correct because setting the `requireApproval` attribute to `true` on a Cloud Deploy target enforces that any rollout targeting that environment must receive manual approval before the deployment proceeds.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE 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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Question Discussion
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