Absolutely! Here’s a README.md for your diploma thesis repository, covering the whole project and connecting all subfolders. This version introduces your motivation, context, structure, and practical usage for new users, contributors, or examiners.
This repository accompanies the diploma thesis “Sustainable Design and Operation of Serverless Applications in Cloud Environments,” and provides a hands-on, upgradeable catalogue of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) templates, patterns, and best practices for building serverless applications on AWS.
The project is rooted in real experience from Vertice, a SaaS procurement platform that grew from startup to scale-up, running almost entirely on serverless infrastructure. The aim is to help teams accelerate their cloud adoption while ensuring maintainability, security, and cost transparency as their products evolve.
The repository is organized into three main phases, each with its own folder:
cloudformation/ ├── startup/ ├── scale-up/ └── enterprise/ Each folder contains:
- IaC templates (CloudFormation, SAM, Terraform)
- Architecture diagrams (Mermaid + PNG)
- Sample code (Lambda handlers)
- Deployment instructions
- Test scripts snippets/ repository where you can find code snippets for various AWS services and use cases. screenshots/ repository where you can find screenshots as assets for the thesis. terraform/ repository where you can find terraform for showcasing as mentioned in thesis.
front-end/ repository where you can find the front-end which is not working with aws stack due to CORS problems.
Each phase comes with:
- A CloudFormation template (
template.yaml) - Mermaid + PNG architecture diagrams (
.mmd,.png) - Example Lambda code and integration points
- Step-by-step instructions in subfolder README files
-
AWS CLI v2 (configured with sufficient IAM permissions)
-
Node.js v20+ (if using the Next.js frontend)
-
PowerShell or Bash/zsh for CLI operations
-
Optional: Terraform (for alternate deployments)
See subfolder READMEs for specific commands.
- Inspect outputs: Find API endpoints, User Pool IDs, resource names in AWS Console or via CLI.
- Extend as needed: Add triggers (API Gateway, S3, EventBridge), integrate with CI/CD, or plug in your own code.
- Reference Architectures: Startup → Scale-Up → Enterprise, with easy upgrade path.
- IaC Templates: All infrastructure is described using CloudFormation/SAM for repeatability.
- Documentation: Step-by-step instructions, visual diagrams, parameter descriptions, and test scripts.
- Sample Code: Lambda handler samples (Python), ready to be customized.
- Real-world-tested: Based on challenges and lessons learned at Vertice, including log visibility, canary deployments, analytics performance, and vendor lock-in.
- Adaptable: Start simple and scale up as requirements grow.
- Educational: Meant as a learning tool for engineers, students, and teams entering the world of serverless.
For detailed explanations, see the thesis text in /docs/, or individual READMEs in each phase folder:
cloudformation/startup/README.mdcloudformation/scale-up/README.mdcloudformation/enterprise/README.md
Architecture diagrams (.mmd, .png) in each folder help visualize the deployed stack.
MIT License. Feel free to fork, adapt, or use these templates for research, prototyping, or production—contributions welcome!
Keywords: serverless, AWS, cloud computing, infrastructure as code, sustainability, architecture, automation, DevOps, microservices, Vertice, SaaS, best practices