AWS DevOps Project Checklist

Project Setup

• Repository Structure
  • Create GitHub repository with standardized folder structure
  • Implement branch protection rules
  • Set up .github folder with workflows, CODEOWNERS, and SECURITY.md
• Collaboration Setup
  • Configure conventional commit standards (commitlint)
  • Implement Semantic Versioning for releases
  • Create issue and PR templates with security review checklists
• Security Foundations
  • Set up pre-commit hooks for secret detection
  • Configure Dependabot for automated dependency updates
  • Enable CodeQL for automated code scanning
  • Implement code signing with GPG keys

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)

• AWS Resource Organization
  • Configure AWS Organizations with separate accounts (dev/staging/prod)
  • Set up AWS Control Tower for governance
  • Establish landing zone with security guardrails
• Terraform Implementation
  • Configure remote state with S3 + DynamoDB locking
  • Create reusable modules and environment-specific configs
  • Implement Terraform validation in CI pipeline
  • Configure security scanning for IaC (checkov, tfsec)
• Security Controls
  • Implement Policy as Code with HashiCorp Sentinel
  • Set up secure networking with VPC endpoints and tight security groups
  • Configure KMS for encryption and secrets management

CI/CD Pipeline

• GitHub Actions Workflows
  • Create infrastructure deployment workflow
  • Set up application build and deploy pipeline
  • Implement PR validation workflow
• Security Measures
  • Configure OIDC for GitHub Actions to AWS authentication
  • Implement secret scanning in repositories
  • Set up security scanning (SonarQube, OWASP dependency checks)
  • Configure container image scanning

Security and Compliance

• Infrastructure Security
  • Enable AWS GuardDuty and Security Hub
  • Set up AWS Config for compliance
  • Configure CloudTrail for audit logging
• Application Security
  • Implement WAF for API protection
  • Set up VPC with private subnets
  • Configure AWS Shield for DDoS protection
• Compliance Documentation
  • Map controls to compliance frameworks (SOC 2, NIST 800-53, OWASP Top 10)
  • Set up automated evidence collection
  • Create compliance dashboard for visibility

Monitoring and Observability

• Infrastructure Monitoring
  • Set up CloudWatch for logging and metrics
  • Configure CloudWatch Alarms for critical components
  • Implement AWS X-Ray for distributed tracing
• Alerting and Response
  • Create PagerDuty integration
  • Establish on-call rotation and escalation policies
  • Document incident response runbooks

Operations and Optimization

• Cost Management
  • Configure AWS Cost Explorer and Budgets
  • Implement resource tagging for cost allocation
  • Set up cost anomaly detection
• Disaster Recovery
  • Define RPO and RTO objectives
  • Implement automated backups and cross-region replication
  • Create and test disaster recovery procedures
• Continuous Improvement
  • Monitor success metrics (deployment frequency, MTTR, etc.)
  • Conduct regular security assessments
  • Implement feedback loop for process improvements