Linux Foundation CNPA Exam - Topic 3 Question 13 Discussion

Actual exam question for Linux Foundation's CNPA exam

Question #: 13
Topic #: 3

In a scenario where an Internal Developer Platform (IDP) is being used to enable developers to self-service provision products and capabilities such as Namespace-as-a-Service, which answer best describes who is responsible for resolving application-related incidents?

AA separate team is created which includes people previously from the platform and application teams to solve all problems for the organization.

BPlatform teams delegate appropriate permissions to the application teams to allow them to self-manage and resolve any underlying infrastructure and application-related problems.

CPlatform teams are responsible for investigating and resolving underlying infrastructure problems whilst application teams are responsible for investigating and resolving application-related problems.

DPlatform teams are responsible for investigating and resolving all problems related to the platform, including application ones, before the app teams notice.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: C

Platform engineering clearly separates responsibilities between platform teams and application teams. Option C is correct because platform teams manage the platform and infrastructure layer, ensuring stability, compliance, and availability, while application teams own their applications, including troubleshooting application-specific issues.

Option A (creating a single merged team) introduces inefficiency and removes specialization. Option B incorrectly suggests application teams should also solve infrastructure issues, which conflicts with platform-as-a-product principles. Option D places all responsibilities on platform teams, which creates bottlenecks and undermines application team ownership.

By splitting responsibilities, IDPs empower developers with self-service provisioning while maintaining clear boundaries. This ensures both agility and accountability: platform teams focus on enabling and securing the platform, while application teams take ownership of their code and services.

--- CNCF Platforms Whitepaper

--- Team Topologies (Platform as a Product Model)

--- Cloud Native Platform Engineering Study Guide

by Hershel at Apr 09, 2026, 07:22 AM

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Anabel

8 days ago

Option D seems too centralized; I feel like it could lead to bottlenecks if platform teams handle everything.

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Edda

13 days ago

I'm leaning towards option C as well, but I wonder if there are scenarios where platform teams might need to step in more often.

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Kenda

18 days ago

I remember practicing a question similar to this, and I think option B makes sense since it emphasizes self-management for app teams.

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Dan

23 days ago

I think option C sounds familiar, but I'm not entirely sure if application teams really have the authority to resolve their own issues.

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