The Google Professional Cloud Architect exam covers six broad sections, plus case studies. Unlike some exams, Google does not publish a percentage weight for each section, so study all six and assume they are roughly comparable. Confirm the current exam guide on the Google Cloud certification page.
| # | Section | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Designing and planning a cloud solution architecture | Turning requirements into architecture; compute, storage, networking, migration |
| 2 | Managing and provisioning a solution infrastructure | Networks, storage systems, deploying resources |
| 3 | Designing for security and compliance | IAM, least privilege, data protection, regulatory needs |
| 4 | Analysing and optimising technical and business processes | Cost, performance, continuous improvement |
| 5 | Managing implementation | Deploying and integrating with development and operations |
| 6 | Ensuring solution and operations reliability | Monitoring, logging, reliability, incident response |
The case studies
A portion of the exam references published case studies - fictional companies with business and technical requirements that Google releases in advance. Read each one before exam day and think through the architecture it implies. This is some of the highest-value preparation available.
How to study it
Practise turning requirements into architecture rather than memorising service descriptions. For each section, ask what a scenario actually requires - cost, security, reliability or performance - and which Google Cloud services satisfy it. The exam assumes real GCP experience, so build hands-on time in the free tier. Confirm the current exam guide on the Google Cloud certification page, since it is updated periodically.