A few months ago, my mom missed her flight. She’d been swamped all week, errands, and work. She thought the flight was later, got to the airport, it was too late her flight had gone. When she told me, I felt that gut drop of “we could’ve avoided this.”
This wasn’t just about building a reminder service. It was about my journey into DevOps learning AWS resources one by one, connecting them, and seeing how cloud skills can solve everyday problems.
From a missed flight to a working solution, this project shows that even small ideas can become powerful learning experiences.
That one moment turned into this project.
🛠️ stack
- Data: Appointments saved in DynamoDB (name, date, time).
- Compute: AWS Lambda scans appointments and decides who needs reminders.
- Notify: Amazon SNS sends email/SMS notifications.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Create the DynamoDB Table
-
Table name:
Appointment
-
Primary key: Partition key =
Name(String) -
Attributes:
-
Name: e.g., “Dentist Visit” -
Date: ISO string, e.g., “2025-12-29”
-
Create the SNS Topic and Subscribe
-
Topic name:
AppointmentReminders(Standard)
- Copy the Topic ARN — you’ll need this for Lambda.
- Add a subscription:
- Protocol: Email (or SMS)
- Endpoint: Your email address
- Confirm the subscription via the AWS email link.
Create the Lambda Function (Node.js)
- Runtime:** Node.js 18.x
- Handler:**
index.handler - File name:** `index.js
Give Lambda the Right IAM Permissions
Attach a minimal inline policy to your Lambda’s execution role:
** choosing the specific action that the resources in DynamoDB will need.
** And for SNS
** After that is done give a to the policy.
** Review and click create.
Add a test item in DynamoDB:
Run Lambda → Test event
Result I tested with a dentist appointment and received an email reminder no more last-minute panics. .
🚀 what I learned
what this project solve Forgetting is easy; systems aren’t.
24-hour timing gives you enough time to prepare.
The missed flight hurt, but it sparked something useful: a small, dependable system that gives you a 24-hour heads up for what matters. You don’t need a huge platform just a table, a function, a topic, and a schedule.
** Cloud skills solving everyday problems.**
This is my Devops/cloud engineering journey.
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