CLF-C02 - Cloud Concepts (24% of the exam) - Section 1.3

Identify the six pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework and distinguish the design principles each pillar promotes.

Identify the six pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework - operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimisation, and sustainability - and the key design principles each promotes. Apply the framework to evaluate trade-offs between pillars when assessing an architecture.

AWS Well-Architected FrameworkOperational excellenceCost optimisationSustainability

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleCloud Conceptsmedium

A finance lead is planning a new workload and wants to follow design principles that the cost optimisation pillar of the AWS Well-Architected Framework specifically promotes. Which two approaches reflect cost optimisation design principles? (Select TWO.)

AAdopt a consumption model, paying only for the computing resources the workload actually uses and scaling capacity up or down with demand. Correct
BTest recovery procedures regularly so the team has practised restoring the workload before a real failure happens in production.
CAnalyse and attribute expenditure so each workload's running cost is measured and assigned to the team or business unit that owns it. Correct
DProtect data in transit and at rest by encrypting it and tightly controlling who and what can access the stored information.
EEstablish a long-term goal to reduce the energy and resources each unit of work consumes so the workload's environmental impact falls over time.

Recognise that cost optimisation promotes adopting a consumption model and analysing and attributing expenditure, distinct from reliability, security and sustainability principles. The cost optimisation pillar aims to deliver business value at the lowest price point; paying only for resources consumed removes spend on idle capacity, while measuring and attributing expenditure gives teams the visibility they need to find and cut waste.

Why A is correct: Adopting a consumption model and paying only for what is used is a core cost optimisation design principle that avoids paying for idle capacity.

Why B is wrong: Regularly testing recovery is valuable but it is a reliability pillar design principle, so it does not belong to cost optimisation.

Why C is correct: Measuring and attributing expenditure is a cost optimisation design principle because visibility of who spends what drives accountable, efficient spending.

Why D is wrong: Encrypting and controlling access to data is important yet it is a security pillar design principle, not a cost optimisation one.

Why E is wrong: Reducing energy per unit of work is a real aim but it is a sustainability pillar design principle, so it does not belong to cost optimisation.

See more CLF-C02 practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Cloud Concepts

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the CLF-C02 bank for this domain.

Stop guessing capacity by monitoring demand and adding or removing resources automatically to match the load the workload actually receives.
Why it is wrong: Stopping guessing about capacity is tempting as good practice but it is a reliability pillar design principle, not an operational excellence one.
Apply the principle of least privilege so that every identity holds only the permissions its tasks genuinely require
Why it is wrong: Least privilege is a sound idea but it is a security pillar design principle, so it does not belong to the operational excellence pillar in this question.
Reliability, which guides workloads to recover from failure and meet changing demand
Why it is wrong: Reliability is a genuine pillar of the framework, so listing it is correct and it cannot be the entry that fails to name a real pillar.

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