How to plan an infrastructure task without losing your mind: a breakdown using an AWS deployment as an example
The ticket fits on one line: "deploy a new web service to AWS and add jobs to deploy it." Inside that line are a network, containers, a database, secrets, a CDN, two workflows and dozens of small steps that an engineer usually keeps in their head. That works while nothing interrupts you. Then you join a call, come back, and can't remember whether you checked the security group. And when someone…
Planning an infrastructure task without losing one's mind requires a systematic approach. This article uses the example of deploying a new web service to AWS as a concrete illustration. The process begins with collecting context about the project, its users, criticality, and existing infrastructure. Engineers then outline the stages involved in the task, such as writing infrastructure code, writing build and deploy workflows, creating resources in AWS, deploying the application, and checking for proper functioning.
Each stage is broken down into basic actions like editing files, running CLI commands, making API calls, or adjusting UI settings. The engineer relies on team rules and their own experience to order these actions and decide which steps to take. The completed plan should include actions, checks for completion, and a rollback plan in case of issues.
Execution involves following the action check cycle, rolling back or fixing problems as needed. The article highlights three common breakdowns in this process: the action list living in the engineer's head and being lost during context switches, skipping checks to save time, and not having a clear estimation of the task's size. A potential solution is to use a tool like nib (Neuro Infrastructure Builder) to break down tasks into stages, write concrete actions with checks, and provide a clear plan that can be handed over to colleagues or measured for size.
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