- A
Deny
Why wrong: The Deny effect blocks resource creation or update if the policy condition is met. This would prevent deployment of VMs with non-approved sizes, which contradicts the requirement to only track compliance.
- B
Audit
The Audit effect logs a compliance event in the activity log and marks the resource as non-compliant, but does not block deployment. This allows the team to generate a compliance report without interfering with existing deployments.
- C
Append
Why wrong: The Append effect adds additional fields (such as tags) to the resource during creation or update. It does not generate compliance reports or identify non-compliant VMs based on VM size.
- D
DeployIfNotExists
Why wrong: The DeployIfNotExists effect deploys a specified resource (like a monitoring agent) if it is missing. It is used for remediation, not for tracking compliance with VM size policies.
Quick Answer
The answer is Audit. The Audit effect is the correct choice because it enables Azure Policy to evaluate resources against your corporate rules and log any non-compliant VMs—such as those using unapproved sizes—directly into the Azure Activity Log, all without blocking or denying the deployment. This gives you a clear compliance report for tracking purposes while allowing operations to continue uninterrupted. On the AZ-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Policy effects, specifically the difference between Audit (warn and log) and Deny (block). A common trap is choosing Deny because it sounds stricter, but the question explicitly says “must not block.” Remember the memory tip: “Audit alerts, Deny defends”—if the goal is only to track, Audit is your go-to effect.
AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure management 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 company has deployed hundreds of virtual machines in Azure across multiple subscriptions. The governance team wants to generate a compliance report that identifies which VMs are using approved VM sizes and which are not, according to a corporate policy. The team must not block the deployment of non-compliant VMs; they only want to track compliance. Which Azure Policy effect should they use in the policy definition?
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
Audit
The Audit effect is the correct choice because it enables the governance team to log non-compliant resources (such as VMs using unapproved sizes) in the Azure Activity Log without blocking their deployment. This effect generates a compliance report while allowing the deployment to proceed, exactly matching the requirement to track compliance without enforcement.
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.
- ✗
Deny
Why it's wrong here
The Deny effect blocks resource creation or update if the policy condition is met. This would prevent deployment of VMs with non-approved sizes, which contradicts the requirement to only track compliance.
- ✓
Audit
Why this is correct
The Audit effect logs a compliance event in the activity log and marks the resource as non-compliant, but does not block deployment. This allows the team to generate a compliance report without interfering with existing deployments.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Append
Why it's wrong here
The Append effect adds additional fields (such as tags) to the resource during creation or update. It does not generate compliance reports or identify non-compliant VMs based on VM size.
- ✗
DeployIfNotExists
Why it's wrong here
The DeployIfNotExists effect deploys a specified resource (like a monitoring agent) if it is missing. It is used for remediation, not for tracking compliance with VM size policies.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Audit with Deny, assuming that compliance tracking requires blocking non-compliant resources, but Azure Policy separates auditing (logging) from enforcement (denying) to allow flexible governance scenarios.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy effects are evaluated during resource creation and update operations. The Audit effect writes a warning event to the Activity Log but does not prevent the resource from being created, making it ideal for compliance tracking without enforcement. In contrast, the Deny effect returns a 403 Forbidden response to the API call, and Append modifies the resource request by adding specified fields before submission. For compliance reporting, Audit entries can be queried via Azure Policy's compliance dashboard or exported to Log Analytics for custom reporting.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
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Describe Azure management and governance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Audit — The Audit effect is the correct choice because it enables the governance team to log non-compliant resources (such as VMs using unapproved sizes) in the Azure Activity Log without blocking their deployment. This effect generates a compliance report while allowing the deployment to proceed, exactly matching the requirement to track compliance without enforcement.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-900 exam.
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