PDE Operationalizing machine learning models Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of operationalizing machine learning models. 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.
A Cloud Build pipeline is set up to train a model on Vertex AI. The build fails with the error: 'ERROR: (gcloud.ai-platform.jobs.submit.training) NOT_FOUND: The parent project does not exist.' The project ID and the service account are correctly configured. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
The Cloud Build service account does not have the aiplatform.jobs.create permission on the project.
The error 'NOT_FOUND: The parent project does not exist' indicates that the Cloud Build service account lacks the necessary IAM permission to submit a training job to Vertex AI. Even though the project ID and service account are correctly configured, the Cloud Build service account must have the 'aiplatform.jobs.create' permission (or the 'Vertex AI User' role) on the project. Without this, the API call fails because the service account is not authorized to access the project resource.
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.
✗
The region specified for the training job does not exist.
Why it's wrong here
Invalid region would produce a different error about region, not project.
✗
The training job requires a GPU, which is not available in the specified region.
Why it's wrong here
GPU unavailability would give a resource exhausted error, not project not found.
✓
The Cloud Build service account does not have the aiplatform.jobs.create permission on the project.
Why this is correct
Insufficient permissions can cause the project to appear as not found to the service account.
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.
✗
The training package is not uploaded to Cloud Storage before the pipeline runs.
Why it's wrong here
Missing package would cause a file not found error, not project error.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that a 'NOT_FOUND' error always means a missing resource (like a project ID or region), when in fact it can indicate an IAM permission issue where the service account is not authorized to see or use the project.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the Cloud Build service account (typically <PROJECT_NUMBER>@cloudbuild.gserviceaccount.com) must be granted the 'aiplatform.jobs.create' IAM permission on the project resource. This permission is checked by the Vertex AI API before any job submission is allowed. In real-world scenarios, if the Cloud Build service account is not explicitly added to the project's IAM policy with the 'Vertex AI User' role, the API returns a 404 'NOT_FOUND' error because the service account is not recognized as having access to the parent project.
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.
Operationalizing machine learning models — This question tests Operationalizing machine learning models — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The Cloud Build service account does not have the aiplatform.jobs.create permission on the project. — The error 'NOT_FOUND: The parent project does not exist' indicates that the Cloud Build service account lacks the necessary IAM permission to submit a training job to Vertex AI. Even though the project ID and service account are correctly configured, the Cloud Build service account must have the 'aiplatform.jobs.create' permission (or the 'Vertex AI User' role) on the project. Without this, the API call fails because the service account is not authorized to access the project resource.
What should I do if I get this PDE 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.
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Question Discussion
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