1.4. Reflection Checkpoint

Think of this checkpoint like a pre-flight checklist — unlike skipping it and discovering gaps mid-exam, pausing here surfaces misunderstandings while there's still time to fix them. Consider this scenario: you're deep in Phase 3 when a question about the operations loop stumps you completely. Without that grounding, you'd have to backtrack instead of building forward. Strong exam performance relies on compounding knowledge, not patching holes late.

Before moving to Phase 2, confirm you can answer these without looking:

1. What are the three pillars of observability, and which AWS service covers each?
2. Describe the five steps of the operations loop and name an AWS service for each.
3. What's the difference between a runbook and a playbook?
4. Name three Operational Excellence design principles and give an example of each in AWS.
5. Why does the Well-Architected Framework prefer automation over manual intervention?

If any of these stumped you, re-read the relevant section before proceeding.