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Accelerating Migration Projects with Kiro using Spec Driven Development

Speaker: Sanchit Dilip Jain @ AWS Amarathon 2025

Summary by Amazon Nova



What is Amazon Kiro?

  • Compatible with VS Code

  • Utilizes cutting-edge Claude models

  • Enterprise-grade security

Closing the Idea-to-Code Gap

  • Addresses the challenge of product ideas losing fidelity when passed from PM to engineer

  • Kiro acts as an AI co-author, converting informal briefs into living, version-controlled specifications

  • Eliminates ambiguity before coding starts, accelerating delivery cycles

Traditional Static Docs vs. Kiro's Living Specs

  • Traditional static docs are prone to staleness and lead to high rework and surprises

  • Kiro's Living Specs auto-update with code, sync with tests & metrics, and result in measurable gains in velocity

Amazon Kiro Workflow

  • SDLC in Amazon Kiro Way!

  • Ingest: Product brief intake

  • Expand: AI expands user stories

  • Iterate: Collaborative editing

  • Lock & Stub: Spec finalization

  • Every step is traceable, commentable, and under Git control



Prompt Engineering for Precision

  • Concise, context-rich prompts yield the most accurate and useful specifications

Fill-in-the-Blank Template:

  • Persona: Who is the user?

  • Problem: What do they need to do?

  • Outcome: What does success look like?

  • Non-Goals: What is out of scope?

Iterative Refinement Process:

  • Human Prompts

  • AI Suggests

  • Human Validates

  • This cycle repeats until the spec passes all internal quality gates



Modernizing Legacy with Amazon Kiro

  • Prescriptive pattern to migrate critical COBOL, PL/I, and Assembler to manage Java on Graviton without rewriting core business logic

  • Automated Transformation: Converts legacy code to modern Java microservices

  • Data Replication: Syncs mainframe data to cloud databases in real-time

  • DevOps Integration: Establishes CI/CD pipelines for rapid, reliable releases

Automated Code Transformation Engine

  • Parse: Legacy source is converted into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST)

  • Refactor: Rule-based transformations are applied to modernize the code structure

  • Emit: Idiomatic Java code is generated as Spring Boot microservices

  • Preserves data formats, transaction boundaries, and audit trails

Data Sync & Mainframe Off-Loading

  • AWS DMS and Kiro agents replicate mainframe data to Aurora PostgreSQL in near-real time

  • Bidirectional Sync: Mainframe remains authoritative during pilot phases

  • Zero-Downtime Cut-Over: Traffic is switched to the cloud via a simple DNS flip

Zero-Trust Security

  • Every microservice is isolated and secured by default

  • Least-Privilege IAM: Unique IAM role with minimal permissions

  • Encryption: KMS encrypts data at rest and in transit

  • Continuous Monitoring: CloudTrail and Guard Duty provide audit evidence for SOX, PCI, and HIPAA

Role-Based Access & Reviews:

  • [ 1 ] Product Manager: Owns the narrative and user-facing requirements

  • [ 2 ] Tech Lead: Owns the system architecture and technical design

  • [ 3 ] QA Engineer: Owns the acceptance criteria and test plans

  • Amazon Kiro tracks approvals, surfaces unresolved comments, and blocks merge until all roles sign off

Real-World Impact Case Study: Global Bank

  • A top-20 bank used Kiro to migrate 14 million lines of COBOL for retail payments

  • Seamless cut-over over a single weekend with zero failed transactions

  • 68% cost reduction in infrastructure

  • 90% reduction in MIPS (Mainframe load)

  • Release frequency rose from quarterly to weekly, freeing budget for AI initiatives

Your Migration Roadmap

  • 6-Week Pilot Blueprint:

    • Week 1-2: Provision & Transform
    • Week 3: Validate Parity
    • Week 4: CI/CD Pipeline
    • Week 5: 5% Traffic
    • Week 6: Metrics & Review


Team:

AWS FSI Customer Acceleration Hong Kong

AWS Amarathon Fan Club

AWS Community Builder Hong Kong

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