The answer is a Microsoft Entra ID security group. This is correct because Azure RBAC supports assigning roles to groups rather than individual users, allowing the group itself to hold the role assignment while contractors are dynamically added or removed from the group membership. When a contractor leaves, you simply remove them from the group, and when a new contractor joins, you add them—the underlying role assignment on the group never needs editing. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure RBAC’s group-based access control for managing dynamic teams, and a common trap is choosing to assign the role directly to each contractor or using a service principal. Remember the memory tip: “Group the role, not the person”—the group is the anchor for the role, so membership changes don’t break access.
AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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 contractor team changes every few weeks. The administrator wants Azure access to stay the same when individual contractors leave or join, without editing role assignments for each person. What should be assigned the Azure role?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Microsoft Entra ID security group
Assigning the Azure role to a Microsoft Entra ID security group allows the administrator to manage access by adding or removing contractors from the group, rather than editing individual role assignments. This approach ensures that role assignments remain unchanged when contractors leave or join, as the group itself retains the role. It leverages Azure RBAC's support for group-based access control, which is the recommended method for dynamic teams.
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.
✗
Each contractor user account individually
Why it's wrong here
This gives access directly to each person, so changes to staff require manual role updates.
✓
A Microsoft Entra ID security group
Why this is correct
Role assignment to a group keeps permissions stable while membership changes handle joiners and leavers.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
A device group
Why it's wrong here
Device groups are for device targeting, not for assigning Azure access to people.
✗
An Azure subscription
Why it's wrong here
A subscription is a scope, not an identity, so it cannot be used as the assignee.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think assigning roles to individual user accounts is simpler, but the question specifically requires a solution that avoids editing role assignments when contractors change, making group-based assignment the only correct answer.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Azure RBAC evaluates role assignments at the scope (e.g., subscription, resource group) and checks the security principal's group membership via Microsoft Entra ID. When a contractor is added to or removed from the group, the change propagates to Azure RBAC within minutes, as group membership is cached and refreshed. In a real-world scenario, using a group also simplifies auditing, as you can track group membership changes rather than individual role assignment modifications.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A Microsoft Entra ID security group — Assigning the Azure role to a Microsoft Entra ID security group allows the administrator to manage access by adding or removing contractors from the group, rather than editing individual role assignments. This approach ensures that role assignments remain unchanged when contractors leave or join, as the group itself retains the role. It leverages Azure RBAC's support for group-based access control, which is the recommended method for dynamic teams.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 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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Variation 1. You need to assign the same RBAC role to 15 administrators so they can manage backups for several virtual machines. You want to minimize ongoing administrative effort when membership changes. What should you use?
easy
✓ A.A Microsoft Entra group and a single role assignment to the group.
B.A separate custom role assignment for each administrator.
C.A resource lock on every virtual machine.
D.A policy exemption for the administrators.
Why A: Option A is correct because assigning a single RBAC role to a Microsoft Entra group allows you to manage permissions centrally. When membership changes, you only need to add or remove users from the group, and the role assignment automatically applies to the new members. This minimizes ongoing administrative effort compared to managing individual role assignments.
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Question Discussion
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