Here is a detailed summary of the video transcription in markdown format, broken into sections for better readability:
Overview
- The session aims to discuss how AWS is looking to accelerate application maintenance and upgrades using Amazon Q.
- The speakers include Adani (Principal Specialist, AWS), Amber Bird (AVP Engineering, Canada Life), and Eliot Dio (Product Owner, Amazon Q).
Understanding Application Layers and Maintenance
- Applications can be divided into four layers: infrastructure, operating system, frameworks/programming languages, and application code.
- Upgrades and maintenance are handled differently for each layer, with varying frequency and complexity.
- Infrastructure and OS layers have more automated update processes, while framework and application code layers require more manual effort.
- Delaying maintenance can lead to a larger modernization project down the line.
Current Practices for Application Maintenance
- Developers use a mix of automation and manual work to handle application maintenance and upgrades.
- Automation is used for major framework/dependency upgrades, while manual work is required for deprecated code, adding unit tests, and documentation.
- A typical Java 8 to Java 17 upgrade workflow involves automated scripting, manual changes, compilation, testing, and a repetitive cycle of fixing issues.
Introducing Amazon Q Code Transformation
- Amazon Q Code Transformation aims to accelerate this upgrade process by leveraging generative AI.
- It analyzes the project, applies the necessary changes, compiles, tests, and provides a transformation summary with details on the changes made.
- The solution is not a "magic button" that completes the entire upgrade, but rather a tool to accelerate the process and reduce manual effort.
Canada Life's Experience with Amazon Q
- Canada Life faced stability issues with its legacy platforms and decided to undergo an application modernization project, with a budget of $5 million.
- The initial plan to lift-and-shift the APIs to the cloud was estimated to take until the end of 2025 and increase costs by 50%.
- Canada Life partnered with AWS and ran a pilot to evaluate how Amazon Q could help speed up the Java 8 to Java 17 upgrade process.
- The pilot resulted in an average of 40% productivity improvement across the three APIs tested, with individual improvements ranging from 30% to 50%.
- Canada Life plans to scale the adoption of Amazon Q for its API modernization initiatives and integrate it into their software development lifecycle.
Upcoming Improvements to Amazon Q
Getting Started with Amazon Q
- Developers can evaluate the transform for Java applications today to jump-start their upgrades, with expected productivity gains of 30-40%.
- It's important to consider Amazon Q as part of a planned maintenance and upgrade cycle, not as a "magic wand" solution.
- Leveraging Amazon Q across the software development lifecycle, not just for maintenance and modernization, can further enhance productivity.