AI Associate Data for AI Practice Question
Exhibit
2024-05-10 14:32:15 ERROR PipelineRunner - Stage: DataTransformation 2024-05-10 14:32:15 ERROR PipelineRunner - Exception: Column 'age' not found in schema Schema: name string, income float, region string
Refer to the exhibit. A data pipeline fails during the DataTransformation stage. What is the most likely root cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Salesforce often tests the distinction between pipeline stages (ingestion vs. transformation) and the specific type of error (missing column vs. data quality issue) to see if candidates understand that a missing column causes an immediate failure, while nulls or type mismatches may be handled differently depending on the pipeline configuration.
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
✓
A transformation step references the 'age' column, but it is not present in the input data.
The error occurs during the DataTransformation stage, which processes data after it has been successfully ingested. If a transformation step references the 'age' column but that column is missing from the input data, the pipeline will fail with a column-not-found error. This is a common schema mismatch issue in data pipelines, distinct from connectivity or data quality problems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The pipeline has a network connectivity issue.
Why it's wrong here
No network error in the log.
- ✗
The data type for 'income' is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
No type mismatch error shown.
- ✓
A transformation step references the 'age' column, but it is not present in the input data.
Why this is correct
The error clearly states 'age' column not found.
- ✗
The 'age' column contains null values.
Why it's wrong here
The error says column not found, not null values.
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