The answer is to configure a Cloud Build trigger on the source repository, such as Cloud Source Repositories or GitHub, because this directly maps a git push event to a build invocation without requiring polling, custom services, or additional messaging infrastructure. Cloud Build’s native trigger system listens for commit push events and automatically starts the pipeline, making it the simplest and most event-driven approach for CI/CD in ML workflows. On the Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer exam, this tests your understanding of how to automate model training and deployment pipelines with minimal operational overhead, often contrasting with less efficient methods like Cloud Scheduler polling or Pub/Sub workarounds. A common trap is overcomplicating the solution with extra services when a direct trigger is available. Remember the memory tip: “Push to trigger, no poll or rigger”—the trigger fires instantly on the push event, so keep it simple.
PMLE Automating and orchestrating ML pipelines Practice Question
This PMLE practice question tests your understanding of automating and orchestrating ml pipelines. 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.
A team wants to implement CI/CD for their ML models using Cloud Build. They have a pipeline that trains a model and deploys it. What is the best practice for triggering the pipeline when a new commit is pushed to the source repository?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure a Cloud Build trigger on the source repository (e.g., Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub)
Option D is correct because Cloud Build natively supports triggers that automatically start a pipeline when a new commit is pushed to a connected source repository (e.g., Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub, Bitbucket). This is the simplest, most event-driven approach, requiring no polling, custom services, or additional messaging infrastructure. It directly maps the git push event to a build invocation, ensuring near-instantaneous pipeline execution.
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.
✗
Set up a Cloud Scheduler job to poll the repository periodically
Why it's wrong here
Scheduling is not event-driven and is inefficient.
✗
Deploy a custom web service on App Engine to call Cloud Build API
Why it's wrong here
Overly complex; Cloud Build triggers are simpler.
✗
Use Pub/Sub to notify Cloud Build of new commits
Why it's wrong here
While possible, it's not the most direct; Cloud Build triggers natively integrate with repositories.
✓
Configure a Cloud Build trigger on the source repository (e.g., Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub)
Why this is correct
Cloud Build supports triggers that automatically start a build upon a push to the repository.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" 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
The trap here is that candidates may overthink the solution and choose Pub/Sub (Option C) because they know Pub/Sub is used for event-driven architectures, but they miss that Cloud Build triggers already abstract this complexity away, making direct trigger configuration the best practice.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Build triggers use webhooks or polling (for GitHub) to detect new commits; for Cloud Source Repositories, they leverage Cloud Pub/Sub topic `cloud-source-repositories.googleapis.com` internally, but the user configures a simple trigger without managing Pub/Sub. Under the hood, the trigger creates a build resource with the commit SHA, allowing the pipeline to check out that exact revision. In real-world scenarios, this ensures reproducibility, as the same commit always triggers the same build, and you can set branch filters (e.g., only `main`) to control deployment cadence.
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.
Automating and orchestrating ML pipelines — This question tests Automating and orchestrating ML pipelines — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure a Cloud Build trigger on the source repository (e.g., Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub) — Option D is correct because Cloud Build natively supports triggers that automatically start a pipeline when a new commit is pushed to a connected source repository (e.g., Cloud Source Repositories, GitHub, Bitbucket). This is the simplest, most event-driven approach, requiring no polling, custom services, or additional messaging infrastructure. It directly maps the git push event to a build invocation, ensuring near-instantaneous pipeline execution.
What should I do if I get this PMLE 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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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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