When you leverage the Cloud as a framework, your infrastructure simply reflects your architecture! CDK makes this very evident.

When you leverage the Cloud as a framework, your infrastructure simply reflects your architecture! CDK makes this very evident.

Infrastructure is Architecture (with CDK)

AWS acts increasingly like a framework. And if you can understand how this framework is meant to be used, the better you can harness its potential.

AWS acts increasingly like a framework. And if you can understand how this framework is meant to be used, the better you can harness its potential.

AWS as a Framework

In order to successfully go Serverless, and use AWS as a framework, you need to be ready for these structural differences and challenges.

In order to successfully go Serverless, and use AWS as a framework, you need to be ready for these structural differences and challenges.

Going Serverless (on AWS)

Training requires “system thinking” and acknowledging that knowledge and talent do not randomly appear.

Training requires “system thinking” and acknowledging that knowledge and talent do not randomly appear.

Developing Talent in R&D

How to use Terraform to not only set up your orchestration platform, but also to deploy code updates as part of Continuous Delivery.

How to use Terraform to not only set up your orchestration platform, but also to deploy code updates as part of Continuous Delivery.

Docker Deployments using Terraform

Organizations should apply the same skill-building rigor they use for AI systems to their human teams. Skills should be the unit of management for both people and machines.

Organizations should apply the same skill-building rigor they use for AI systems to their human teams. Skills should be the unit of management for both people and machines.

Skills are for People too

Managing by exception inadvertently extinguishes high performance by failing to recognize good work. Specific recognition reinforces desired behaviors, while ignoring hard work causes effort to fade over time.

Managing by exception inadvertently extinguishes high performance by failing to recognize good work. Specific recognition reinforces desired behaviors, while ignoring hard work causes effort to fade over time.

Stop Extinguishing High Performance

Deadlines incentivize only the minimum, conditioning teams to finish just in time to avoid punishment. Reframing them as Required Completion Dates and prioritizing techniques that achieve high performance creates incentive to finish sooner.

Deadlines incentivize only the minimum, conditioning teams to finish just in time to avoid punishment. Reframing them as Required Completion Dates and prioritizing techniques that achieve high performance creates incentive to finish sooner.

Deadlines are not for High Performance

At <a href="https://www.cloudsummit.ca">Vancouver's Cloud Summit 2024</a>, I presented on how to develop directly in the cloud (particularly AWS) and the numerous benefits it has, including which architectural layer can benefit most from it. I was one of three community speakers and this talk was labeled the "Advanced" talk.

At [Vancouver's Cloud Summit 2024](https://www.cloudsummit.ca), I presented on how to develop directly in the cloud (particularly AWS) and the numerous benefits it has, including which architectural layer can benefit most from it. I was one of three community speakers and this talk was labeled the "Advanced" talk.

Develop Directly in the Cloud

In <a href="https://www.meetup.com/vancouver-full-stack-web-developers/">Vancouver Full Stack Developers Meetup</a> group, I presented on the importance of emphasizing product development speed as a key trait of your application's architecture and the team's mindset. The slides can be found <a href="https://www.skillsensei.io/presentations/2024-prioritize-product-development-speed/#/">here</a>.

In [Vancouver Full Stack Developers Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/vancouver-full-stack-web-developers/) group, I presented on the importance of emphasizing _product_ development speed as a key trait of your application's architecture and the team's mindset. The slides can be found [here](https://www.skillsensei.io/presentations/2024-prioritize-product-development-speed/#/).

Prioritize Product Development Speed

Use Terraform to easily deploy your Lambda functions while supporting multiple AWS environments, AWS integrations, CloudWatch metrics, secrets, and more.

Use Terraform to easily deploy your Lambda functions while supporting multiple AWS environments, AWS integrations, CloudWatch metrics, secrets, and more.

AWS Lambda Deployment using Terraform

Your infrastructure, just like the real world, is constantly changing. But differentiating between an expected and an unexpected change can be difficult. How can you tell them apart?

Your infrastructure, just like the real world, is constantly changing. But differentiating between an expected and an unexpected change can be difficult. How can you tell them apart?

State Drift Detection using Terraform

We need to step back and ask what the “Cloud” offers and agree on a set of definitions and concepts; in particular, the concepts of Deployment, Immutable Infrastructure, and Blue-Green Deployments. Once we have a strong grasp of these concepts, we can then apply them using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

We need to step back and ask what the “Cloud” offers and agree on a set of definitions and concepts; in particular, the concepts of Deployment, Immutable Infrastructure, and Blue-Green Deployments. Once we have a strong grasp of these concepts, we can then apply them using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Modern Cloud Infrastructure — Concepts & Definitions

AWS SDKs have their particular challenges. This post deep dives into those challenges when SDKs are used to directly setup your infrastructure. Our learnings from using SDK directly justified why we needed Terraform instead.