- A
Remove the editor role and grant each developer the roles/owner role on the project.
Why wrong: Option A is incorrect; owner is the most permissive role and violates least privilege.
- B
Remove the editor role and create a custom role with the required permissions, then assign the custom role to each developer individually.
Why wrong: Option C is incorrect; while the custom role is good, assigning individually is less efficient than using a group, but it is still a valid approach. However, the question asks for the recommended approach, which is to use a group for manageability.
- C
Remove the editor role and grant each developer the roles/iam.securityReviewer role.
Why wrong: Option B is incorrect; securityReviewer only allows read access to IAM policies, not resource creation.
- D
Remove the editor role, create a custom role with the required permissions, and assign the custom role to a Google Group containing all developers.
Option D is correct; this follows least privilege and operational efficiency by using a group for assignment.
PCSE Practice Question: Configuring access within a cloud solution environment
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access within a cloud solution environment. 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 startup company has a single Google Cloud project with multiple developers. To simplify identity management, they created a service account for each developer and granted them the roles/editor role on the project. However, the security team is concerned about the over-privileged access. They want to implement a more secure approach while maintaining operational efficiency. The developers need to: create Compute Engine instances, manage Cloud Storage buckets, and deploy App Engine apps. The company has a small team and does not require fine-grained access control per developer. What is the recommended approach to reduce privileges while meeting the developers' needs?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Remove the editor role, create a custom role with the required permissions, and assign the custom role to a Google Group containing all developers.
Option D is correct because it removes the overly permissive Editor role and replaces it with a custom role containing only the specific permissions needed for Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, and App Engine. Assigning this custom role to a Google Group that contains all developers simplifies identity management and ensures consistent, least-privilege access without per-user assignment overhead.
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.
- ✗
Remove the editor role and grant each developer the roles/owner role on the project.
Why it's wrong here
Option A is incorrect; owner is the most permissive role and violates least privilege.
- ✗
Remove the editor role and create a custom role with the required permissions, then assign the custom role to each developer individually.
Why it's wrong here
Option C is incorrect; while the custom role is good, assigning individually is less efficient than using a group, but it is still a valid approach. However, the question asks for the recommended approach, which is to use a group for manageability.
- ✗
Remove the editor role and grant each developer the roles/iam.securityReviewer role.
Why it's wrong here
Option B is incorrect; securityReviewer only allows read access to IAM policies, not resource creation.
- ✓
Remove the editor role, create a custom role with the required permissions, and assign the custom role to a Google Group containing all developers.
Why this is correct
Option D is correct; this follows least privilege and operational efficiency by using a group for assignment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think creating a custom role is unnecessary and choose a predefined role like Editor or Owner, failing to recognize that custom roles are the correct way to implement least privilege when no predefined role matches the exact set of needed permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Google Cloud IAM custom roles are collections of permissions from a predefined set (e.g., compute.instances.create, storage.buckets.update, appengine.versions.create). Assigning a custom role to a Google Group rather than individual users allows for centralized membership management; when a developer joins or leaves the team, only the group membership needs updating, not the IAM policy. This approach also avoids hitting IAM policy size limits (currently 1,500 bindings per project) and simplifies audit logging by showing group-based assignments.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCSE question test?
Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — This question tests Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Remove the editor role, create a custom role with the required permissions, and assign the custom role to a Google Group containing all developers. — Option D is correct because it removes the overly permissive Editor role and replaces it with a custom role containing only the specific permissions needed for Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, and App Engine. Assigning this custom role to a Google Group that contains all developers simplifies identity management and ensures consistent, least-privilege access without per-user assignment overhead.
What should I do if I get this PCSE 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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.
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