DP-900 Real-time processing Practice Question
A retail company operates an online store. When a customer places an order, the system immediately updates inventory and payment records. Separately, the company's business analysts run weekly reports that aggregate sales data to identify trends. Which two terms correctly describe these workloads?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think that only one term describes each workload, but the question asks for two terms. They may focus on the workload type (OLTP/OLAP) and overlook the processing mode (real-time/batch), or vice versa. The key is to recognize that both categorizations are valid: real-time processing corresponds to OLTP, and batch processing corresponds to OLAP.
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
✓
Batch processing and real-time processing
Option A is correct because the order-placement workload that immediately updates inventory and payment records is real-time (transactional) processing, while the weekly aggregate sales reports run on a schedule over accumulated data, which is batch processing. Option B is correct because the immediate, row-level insert/update of inventory and payment records is classic OLTP (Online Transaction Processing), whereas the weekly aggregation of sales data for trend analysis is classic OLAP (Online Analytical Processing). Option C is not correct because the scenario describes operational and analytical processing patterns, not a contrast between structured and unstructured data formats. Option D is not correct because data ingestion and data transformation are pipeline stages (extract/load and convert/clean), not the workload categories being contrasted here.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Batch processing and real-time processing
Why this is correct
Batch processing refers to processing data in large batches, while real-time processing handles data as it arrives. The order processing is transactional, not necessarily real-time analytics, and the weekly reports are batch, but 'batch' and 'real-time' are not the precise terms for workload types.
- ✓
OLTP and OLAP
Why this is correct
Immediate order processing that updates inventory and payment records is OLTP, characterised by short transactional reads and writes. Weekly aggregated sales reporting is OLAP, characterised by analytical queries over large historical datasets. Both terms correctly describe the two workloads.
- ✗
Structured and Unstructured data
Why it's wrong here
Both workloads handle structured data: order records in relational tables and aggregated sales figures. Unstructured data means images, video or free text with no fixed schema, which neither workload involves. The pairing is tempting because unstructured data is a genuine DP-900 category, but it does not describe transactional processing versus analytical reporting.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asks: 'A company stores customer orders in a relational database and social media posts in a document store. Which two terms describe these data types?' Then 'Structured and Unstructured data' would be correct.
- ✗
Data ingestion and data transformation
Why it's wrong here
Ingestion and transformation are data-processing activities, not workload classifications; the question asks which terms describe transactional versus analytical workloads. The scenario's order capture is OLTP and the weekly reports are OLAP. It is tempting because analysts do transform and ingest data, but those steps are not the axis the question tests.
When this WOULD be correct
A question that asks: 'Which two terms describe the processes of loading raw sales data into a data warehouse and then cleaning it for analysis?' would make data ingestion and data transformation correct.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The DP-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Batch processing and real-time processingCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Batch processing refers to processing data in large batches, while real-time processing handles data as it arrives. The order processing is transactional, not necessarily real-time analytics, and the weekly reports are batch, but 'batch' and 'real-time' are not the precise terms for workload types.
✗Structured and Unstructured dataWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question describes two specific workload types: real-time transaction processing (OLTP) and batch analytical reporting (OLAP). 'Structured and Unstructured data' refers to data formats, not workload types, and is irrelevant to the described operations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asks: 'A company stores customer orders in a relational database and social media posts in a document store. Which two terms describe these data types?' Then 'Structured and Unstructured data' would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse data characteristics (structured vs. unstructured) with workload characteristics, or think that inventory updates involve structured data and reports involve unstructured data, but the question is about workload types, not data formats.
✗Data ingestion and data transformationWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The question asks for terms that describe the workloads (order processing and weekly reporting), not the data processing stages. Data ingestion and data transformation are steps within a data pipeline, not workload types.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question that asks: 'Which two terms describe the processes of loading raw sales data into a data warehouse and then cleaning it for analysis?' would make data ingestion and data transformation correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the steps of a data pipeline (ingestion, transformation) with the overall workload types (OLTP, OLAP) because both involve data movement and processing.
Analysis generated from the official DP-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Power BI: Reports vs Dashboards vs Datasets
Key term
OLTP
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is a data processing system designed to manage and record high volumes of real-time transactions, such as bank deposits or online purchases, quickly and reliably.
Key term
Data ingestion
Data ingestion is the process of moving data from various sources into a storage system where it can be accessed, analyzed, and used.
About these practice questions
This DP-900 question is part of Courseiva's 851-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-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 DP-900 exam.