Trainer’s Handbook

SDLC with Jira + GitHub + AWS SAM — Build and deliver an Employees Info API on AWS in 20 hours (5 weeks × 4 hrs/week × 1 hr/day).

Approach: 95% hands‑on Audience: Devs / PMs / DevOps Stack: Jira · GitHub · AWS SAM

Employees Info API — Scope

A small serverless API for employee records managed via Jira + GitHub SDLC and deployed with AWS SAM.

  • Endpoints: POST /employees, GET /employees/{{id}}, GET /employees?department=Sales, PUT /employees/{{id}}, DELETE /employees/{{id}}
  • Core fields: employee_id (UUID), first_name, last_name, email, department, title, hire_date, status

DynamoDB Data Model

  • Table: employees — PK: employee_id
  • GSI #1: gsi_department — PK: department, SK: employee_id (query by department)
  • GSI #2 (optional): gsi_email — PK: email (lookup by email)

Week 1 · Jira Foundations & SDLC Setup

Create Jira projects, map workflows, and plan the Employees Info API.

Outcome: Jira project + backlogArtifacts: Epics, stories, workflow
Day 1 Jira Account & Project
  • Create Jira account; create Scrum project EMP; set roles and members.
  • Checkpoint: Team can create/assign a story.
Day 2 SDLC in Jira
  • Draft Epics (API, Data Model, CI/CD, Observability) and stories (CRUD, GSI, tests, deploy).
  • Checkpoint: Backlog ready; DoD agreed.
Day 3 Boards & Workflows
  • Customize workflow: To Do → In Progress → In Review → Done; set validators.
  • Checkpoint: Board reflects workflow and columns.
Day 4 Sprint Planning
  • Start Sprint 1; estimate; define capacity; acceptance criteria for POST/GET.
  • Checkpoint: Sprint board active with owners and due dates.

Week 2 · GitHub Integration with Jira

Connect repos, enforce branch strategy, and link code to issues.

Outcome: linked PRs & workflowsArtifacts: branch policy, PR template
Day 5 Link Jira ↔ GitHub
  • Install Jira GitHub app; authorize org/repo; connect project EMP to repo employees-api.
  • Checkpoint: Jira shows recent PRs/commits.
Day 6 Smart Commits & Branch Naming
  • Create branch EMP-12-create-employee; use smart commit messages (EMP-12 #in-progress).
  • Checkpoint: Jira status auto-updates from commits.
Day 7 PR Reviews & Gates
  • Open PR referencing EMP-12; require approvals; add PR template.
  • Checkpoint: PR merged; Jira transitions to Done.
Day 8 Actions Status to Jira
  • Configure workflow checks (build/test) as required; surface run status in Jira panel.
  • Checkpoint: Failed checks block merge; status visible in Jira.

Week 3 · AWS SAM Basics & Local Dev

Initialize SAM project, emulate locally, and define DynamoDB.

Outcome: local API workingArtifacts: template + local tests
Day 9 Setup & Init
  • Install SAM CLI; sam init for Employees API; add GET /health Lambda.
  • Checkpoint: Repo pushed; Jira linked.
Day 10 Build & Local Invoke
  • sam build; sam local invoke with sample event; add validation & errors.
  • Checkpoint: Function runs locally with correct payload.
Day 11 Local API & Routing
  • sam local start-api; implement POST /employees, GET /employees/{{id}}.
  • Checkpoint: curl works; logs inspected.
Day 12 DynamoDB Integration
  • Add table & GSI to template; CRUD lambdas read/write items.
  • Checkpoint: Local calls read/write to DynamoDB (local or dev).

Week 4 · CI/CD & AWS Deployment

Automate build, test, and deploy with GitHub Actions; adopt OIDC to AWS.

Outcome: auto deploy to devArtifacts: pipeline YAML, role trust
Day 13 First Deploy
  • Configure creds or OIDC role; sam deploy --guided to dev.
  • Checkpoint: API Gateway endpoint returns 200.
Day 14 CI for Build & Tests
  • Add workflow to build, run unit tests, and lint on PR; require green checks.
Day 15 CD to AWS with OIDC
  • Configure GitHub → AWS OIDC trust; deploy to dev on main merges; gate with environments.
Day 16 E2E SDLC Flow
  • Jira issue → branch/PR → CI → CD → Jira status update; publish release notes.

Week 5 · Capstone & Wrap‑Up

Deliver the Employees Info API end‑to‑end with demo and retrospective.

Outcome: production‑like demoArtifacts: runbook, demo script
Day 17 Capstone Kickoff
  • Create Epic; stories for each endpoint + tests; acceptance criteria & non‑functional checks.
Day 18 Build & Review
  • Implement remaining endpoints; PRs referencing Jira keys; ensure checks pass.
Day 19 Deploy & Validate
  • Merge to main; pipeline deploys; smoke test POST/GET/PUT/DELETE; show logs/metrics.
Day 20 Demo & Retro
  • Demo: create employee, update title, list by department, delete; retrospective & next steps.

Assessment & Rubric

Pass

  • Jira project with workflow; backlog managed through a sprint.
  • GitHub linked to Jira; PRs reference issues; checks required.
  • SAM local works; DynamoDB CRUD functions.
  • CI builds/tests; CD deploys via OIDC to dev; environment protections set.
  • Employees API endpoints function; basic runbook exists.

Stretch

  • IaC refinement (parameters, outputs, multiple stages).
  • Auth (Cognito/JWT), request validation, error taxonomy.
  • Observability (structured logs, metrics, dashboard).

Resources

  • Jira Cloud: Projects, Workflows, Smart Commits.
  • GitHub: Branch protection, PR templates, Actions.
  • AWS SAM: CLI, local invoke, start-api, deploy.
  • AWS: DynamoDB, API Gateway HTTP APIs, IAM OIDC roles.

Keep theory ≤5 minutes/hour. Prioritize hands‑on labs, pairing, and debriefs.