Which list correctly names the AWS Well-Architected Framework's six pillars?
A.Security, reliability, performance, cost, speed, agility
Speed and agility are cloud benefits, not pillars.
B.Operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization, sustainability
Correct — the official six pillars.
C.Compute, storage, database, networking, security, compliance
Those are service categories, not pillars.
D.Design, build, test, deploy, monitor, iterate
That's a delivery lifecycle, not the framework.
Why this answer
The six pillars are Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization, and Sustainability — added as the sixth pillar in 2021. The exam loves distractors that sound plausible but aren't the official names.
Correct answer: B · Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Official AWS references
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