Training reminder bot
A small system that works out which training each person needs from their role, assigns it when they join or when the role changes, chases what is outstanding, and reports the gap while it is still small. It never marks anything complete on somebody’s behalf. Seven posts on the same system — one diagram at a time — with a cost breakdown and an engineering reference at the end.
- 01
A training reminder bot on AWS for a few dollars a month
The whole system on one page — a requirements engine, an assigner and a chaser — built so that a role change and a refresher both happen without anybody remembering.
- 02
How training requirements are derived
Why requirements come from a role plus attributes rather than a role alone, the person-level override that is still necessary, and what happens when a requirement is removed.
- 03
How a training assignment is created
The three causes of an assignment, why the grace period belongs to the requirement rather than to the person, and how a new starter’s first week avoids becoming a wall of overdue items.
- 04
How a completion gets recorded
Who may confirm a completion, why the system never marks anything itself, how an external qualification satisfies a requirement, and what evidence is kept.
- 05
How the training gap reads
A weekly report organised by requirement rather than by person, the single number worth watching, and why an overdue list sorted by name produces the wrong response.
- 06
What the training reminder bot costs
About $1 a month. One Bedrock read per assignment is the only line that grows; the queue, the table, the mail and the storage are rounding errors. Plus the three ways the bill could surprise you.
- 07
Engineering reference: the training reminder bot architecture
Same system, drawn purely for engineers. Service names, region, Lambda inventory, IAM scopes, the schemas and the exact model id.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a training reminder bot?
- A small serverless system that derives each person’s required training from their role, assigns it on joining or on a role change, chases what is outstanding, and reports gaps weekly. It records completions that somebody confirms; it never marks anything complete itself.
- Does it deliver the training?
- No. It has no opinion about how training is delivered — a course, a video, a toolbox talk, a conversation. It tracks that a requirement exists, that it was assigned, and that somebody confirmed it was done.
- What happens when a role changes?
- The requirements are recomputed. New requirements are assigned; ones no longer needed are marked not-required rather than deleted, because the record of what somebody completed still matters after they move.
- Does it handle refresher training?
- Yes, and that is most of the ongoing value. A completion with a validity period generates the next assignment automatically, so annual refreshers do not depend on anybody remembering a date.
- What does it cost to run?
- A couple of dollars a month. See part six.