PL-900 Practice Question: Demonstrate the capabilities of Power Automate
You are building a Power Automate flow that automatically creates a calendar event in Outlook when a customer booking is confirmed in a third-party system. The flow uses a trigger that polls the third-party system every 5 minutes. Which type of trigger is this?
⚠ Common exam trap
PL-900 often tests whether candidates confuse polling triggers (interval-based checks for new data) with scheduled triggers (fixed-time recurrence), leading them to pick 'Scheduled trigger' when the scenario describes polling.
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
✓
Polling trigger
A polling trigger is one where Power Automate periodically checks the source system for new data at a defined interval — in this case, every 5 minutes. The trigger does not receive a push notification from the third-party system; instead, Power Automate initiates the request on a schedule and evaluates whether new bookings exist. This is the defining characteristic of a polling trigger.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Webhook trigger
Why it's wrong here
A webhook trigger is push-based: the source calls the flow's endpoint when an event occurs, so no polling interval exists. It is tempting because webhooks deliver near-real-time booking notifications, but the stem explicitly describes the flow polling the third-party system every five minutes, which is a recurrence-based pattern.
- ✓
Polling trigger
Why this is correct
A polling trigger repeatedly calls the third-party system at fixed intervals, here every 5 minutes, to check for new booking confirmations. This satisfies the stem's requirement for a scheduled, interval-based check rather than an event-driven push, which would require the external system to notify Power Automate directly.
- ✗
Manual trigger
Why it's wrong here
A manual trigger requires a user to start the flow on demand, so it cannot poll a third-party system every five minutes unattended. It is tempting because manual triggers suit user-initiated tasks such as running a flow from a button, but the stem describes automatic recurring polling, which needs a recurrence trigger.
- ✗
Scheduled trigger
Why it's wrong here
A scheduled trigger fires on a time recurrence, not by polling an external system for new bookings; it cannot detect a confirmed booking by itself. It is tempting because recurrence flows run every five minutes, but the stem's trigger polls the third-party system, which is a polling trigger, not a schedule.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 701 original PL-900 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
This PL-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 PL-900 exam.