The answer is Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews. This feature is correct because it provides a built-in mechanism to schedule recurring quarterly access reviews for role assignments and automatically removes any assignments that reviewers do not approve, directly fulfilling the requirement for both periodic review and automated cleanup. On the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of identity governance and how to enforce least-privilege access at scale, often appearing as a distractor against manual review processes or Privileged Identity Management (PIM) alone—remember that PIM handles just-in-time activation, not recurring reviews with automatic removal. A common trap is choosing “Entra ID Privileged Identity Management” because it also manages roles, but PIM lacks the native recurring review and auto-removal workflow for unapproved assignments. Memory tip: think “Access Reviews = Review + Auto-Remove,” while “PIM = Just-in-Time + Approval.”
AZ-305 Practice Question: Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions. 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.
Your company uses Microsoft Entra ID and has a custom application that requires users to have specific roles assigned. You need to ensure that role assignments are reviewed quarterly and automatically remove assignments that are not approved. Which feature should you use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews
Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews enable you to create recurring reviews of role assignments, with automatic removal of assignments that reviewers do not approve. This directly meets the requirement for quarterly reviews and automatic removal of unapproved assignments, making it the correct choice.
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.
✗
Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management
Why it's wrong here
PIM provides time-bound and approved access, but access reviews are part of Entra ID Governance.
✗
Microsoft Entra Identity Protection
Why it's wrong here
Identity Protection detects and responds to identity risks, not role reviews.
✓
Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews
Why this is correct
Access reviews allow periodic review of role assignments and automatic removal.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Microsoft Entra Conditional Access
Why it's wrong here
Conditional Access controls access based on conditions, not review of assignments.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Privileged Identity Management (PIM) with access reviews, but PIM handles just-in-time activation and approval, not recurring reviews with automatic removal of unapproved assignments.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Access reviews in Microsoft Entra ID Governance leverage the Azure AD Graph API and Microsoft Graph to evaluate group memberships and application role assignments against a defined schedule. The automatic removal action uses a 'remove assignment' setting that triggers a background job to delete the assignment from the directory, which is logged in the audit logs for compliance. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for organizations subject to regulations like SOX or GDPR, where stale privileged access must be periodically certified and revoked.
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-305 question in full detail.
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — This question tests Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews — Microsoft Entra ID Governance access reviews enable you to create recurring reviews of role assignments, with automatic removal of assignments that reviewers do not approve. This directly meets the requirement for quarterly reviews and automatic removal of unapproved assignments, making it the correct choice.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 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.
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Question Discussion
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