Solving my own real-world problem

Source: Dev.to

Background

I’ve been working in software development and DevSecOps long enough to learn solid patterns, solve complex problems, and build cool things. However, it wasn’t until recently that I found the mental space to connect the dots and see how I could use my technical skills to solve personal problems.

During the summer, my kids are home with me all day. I searched online for hacks, how‑to guides, and tools that could help me manage this test of time and resources. Everything I found either cost more than I was willing to pay, required more effort than I wanted to invest, or wasn’t suitable for my kids’ age range. This led me to the personal problem I’ll be tackling: building a website to help solve it.

Solution Overview

Inspired by my studies in generative AI and AWS, I decided to create a site that leverages generative AI (GAI). The site will:

• Generate engaging educational content for my kids while they are home.
• Store grades so they can track their progress over time.

Below is a quick visual of the initial design I plan to build.

Tools and Technologies

While charting new territory, I’m taking the recommendation of a co‑worker to try a modeling solution called IcePanel for diagramming the architecture. If you’re interested in learning more about the tool, check them out. I’m not an expert on this platform—I’ve only known about it for about 48 hours—but it’s been cool to experiment with and tap into the solution architect toolbox.

Call for Feedback

If you have kids, what features would you value most in a website that helps generate content to keep them fresh on their learning and moving ahead?