Azure web app with Terraform tutorial

Project narrative

For my PTW310 portfolio project, I created an instructional document in a Docs-as-Code environment. I wanted it to be an in-depth blog-style tutorial, like other tutorials you see on Medium or other software source documentation.

My project is an end-to-end instructional guide for a cloud-based product. I wrote the entire deliverable in Markdown and HTML. I used GitHub as my deliverable’s version control system. Then I deployed my content to a web app with GitHub Actions, an industry-standard continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tool.

Some of the most interesting decision points during this project involved how and when to create reusable content. I wrote HTML templates for figures, callout boxes, and sets of related links that I needed to repeat across many pages. I also wrote data files with common definitions that I referenced in different locations. I used this project as an opportunity to practice thinking about my work as chunks of content rather than a single, monolithic document.

While I’m happy with the project and the tools I used to create it, the final product is not as in-depth as it could have been. There are topics that I could have deconstructed further. I spent far more time configuring the platform than I expected. The table of contents, the homepage layout, and the callout boxes each monopolized large chunks of time that I could have spent writing. When I first thought of my project, I thought the platform would be the simplest step. The inverse turned out to be true: the platform was the most complex component.

Now, the platform ready for me to use. I can use this same app for the rest of the Professional Technical Writing program and beyond. I’m looking forward to continuing to add to this site as I flesh out my portfolio.