The answer is to grant the Application team the Compute Network User role on the host project or the specific subnets. This is required because in a shared VPC service project setup, subnet permissions are inherited from the host project, not the service project; the Compute Network User role (roles/compute.networkUser) allows a user to attach instances to existing subnets without granting any ability to modify network resources. On the Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of shared VPC IAM inheritance—a common trap is assuming that granting compute instance roles at the service project level is sufficient, when in fact the network-level permission must come from the host project. Remember the memory tip: "Host project holds the net, service project holds the compute"—the network user role must be on the host side for any team to use the subnets.
PCDOE Practice Question: Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of bootstrapping a google cloud organization for devops. 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.
You are a DevOps engineer tasked with bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for a company that develops a SaaS product. The company has three teams: Platform, Application, and Data. Each team needs to manage their own projects, but the network should be centrally managed. You decide to use a shared VPC. You create a host project 'shared-vpc-host' and attach three service projects: 'platform-service', 'app-service', and 'data-service'. You grant the Network Admin role to the Platform team for the host project. The Application team needs to deploy Compute Engine instances in their service project, but they should not be able to modify network resources. You grant them the Compute Instance Admin role at the service project level. However, the Application team reports that they cannot create instances because they don't have permission to use the subnets in the shared VPC. What is the most likely missing step?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Grant the Application team the Compute Network User role on the host project or the specific subnets.
The Application team needs the Compute Network User role (roles/compute.networkUser) on the host project or the specific subnets to use the shared VPC subnets. This role allows them to attach instances to existing subnets without granting permission to modify network resources. Granting it at the service project level (Option B) is insufficient because the subnet permissions are inherited from the host project in a shared VPC setup.
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.
✗
Grant the Application team the Compute Network Admin role on the host project.
Why it's wrong here
This would give too much permission; they only need to use subnets.
✗
Grant the Application team the Compute Network User role on the service project.
Why it's wrong here
The subnet permissions are on the host project, not the service project.
✓
Grant the Application team the Compute Network User role on the host project or the specific subnets.
Why this is correct
Compute Network User allows using subnets without managing them.
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.
✗
Grant the Application team the roles/compute.subnetUser on the subnet.
Why it's wrong here
The role is Compute Network User, not subnetUser.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that granting a role on the service project is sufficient for shared VPC subnet access, when in fact the Compute Network User role must be granted on the host project or the specific subnets to allow instance attachment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In a shared VPC, service projects consume subnets from the host project, and the Compute Network User role (roles/compute.networkUser) must be granted on the host project or individual subnets to allow instance creation. This role is distinct from Compute Instance Admin (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1), which only covers instance lifecycle but not network attachment. A common real-world scenario is when teams need to deploy instances without managing VPCs, requiring precise IAM binding at the host project level.
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.
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.
Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps — This question tests Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant the Application team the Compute Network User role on the host project or the specific subnets. — The Application team needs the Compute Network User role (roles/compute.networkUser) on the host project or the specific subnets to use the shared VPC subnets. This role allows them to attach instances to existing subnets without granting permission to modify network resources. Granting it at the service project level (Option B) is insufficient because the subnet permissions are inherited from the host project in a shared VPC setup.
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.
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.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for a DevOps team. You need to set up a shared VPC host project that will be used by multiple service projects. What is the minimal set of roles required for the DevOps team to create and manage service projects in the host project?
easy
A.Project Creator and Service Project Admin
✓ B.Compute Network Admin and Service Project Admin
C.Compute Shared VPC Admin
D.Owner and Service Project Admin
Why B: Option B is correct because the minimal set of roles required for a DevOps team to create and manage service projects in a shared VPC host project is Compute Network Admin (roles/compute.networkAdmin) on the host project and Service Project Admin (roles/compute.xpnAdmin) at the organization or folder level. Compute Network Admin grants permissions to manage networking resources, while Service Project Admin allows attaching service projects to the host project. Without both, the team cannot configure shared VPC networking or associate service projects.
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
Question Discussion
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This PCDOE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCDOE exam.
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