diff --git a/deployments/aws.yml b/deployments/aws.yml
index 8b10116..6a6643c 100644
--- a/deployments/aws.yml
+++ b/deployments/aws.yml
@@ -5,29 +5,40 @@
 #
 # 1. Create an ECR repository to store your images.
 #    For example: `aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-ecr-repo --region us-east-2`.
-#    Replace the value of `ECR_REPOSITORY` in the workflow below with your repository's name.
-#    Replace the value of `aws-region` in the workflow below with your repository's region.
+#    Replace the value of the `ECR_REPOSITORY` environment variable in the workflow below with your repository's name.
+#    Replace the value of the `AWS_REGION` environment variable in the workflow below with your repository's region.
 #
 # 2. Create an ECS task definition, an ECS cluster, and an ECS service.
 #    For example, follow the Getting Started guide on the ECS console:
 #      https://us-east-2.console.aws.amazon.com/ecs/home?region=us-east-2#/firstRun
-#    Replace the values for `service` and `cluster` in the workflow below with your service and cluster names.
+#    Replace the value of the `ECS_SERVICE` environment variable in the workflow below with the name you set for the Amazon ECS service.
+#    Replace the value of the `ECS_CLUSTER` environment variable in the workflow below with the name you set for the cluster.
 #
 # 3. Store your ECS task definition as a JSON file in your repository.
 #    The format should follow the output of `aws ecs register-task-definition --generate-cli-skeleton`.
-#    Replace the value of `task-definition` in the workflow below with your JSON file's name.
-#    Replace the value of `container-name` in the workflow below with the name of the container
+#    Replace the value of the `ECS_TASK_DEFINITION` environment variable in the workflow below with the path to the JSON file.
+#    Replace the value of the `CONTAINER_NAME` environment variable in the workflow below with the name of the container
 #    in the `containerDefinitions` section of the task definition.
 #
 # 4. Store an IAM user access key in GitHub Actions secrets named `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`.
 #    See the documentation for each action used below for the recommended IAM policies for this IAM user,
 #    and best practices on handling the access key credentials.
 
+name: Deploy to Amazon ECS
+
 on:
   release:
     types: [created]
 
-name: Deploy to Amazon ECS
+env:
+  AWS_REGION: MY_AWS_REGION                   # set this to your preferred AWS region, e.g. us-west-1
+  ECR_REPOSITORY: MY_ECR_REPOSITORY           # set this to your Amazon ECR repository name
+  ECS_SERVICE: MY_ECS_SERVICE                 # set this to your Amazon ECS service name
+  ECS_CLUSTER: MY_ECS_CLUSTER                 # set this to your Amazon ECS cluster name
+  ECS_TASK_DEFINITION: MY_ECS_TASK_DEFINITION # set this to the path to your Amazon ECS task definition
+                                               # file, e.g. .aws/task-definition.json
+  CONTAINER_NAME: MY_CONTAINER_NAME           # set this to the name of the container in the
+                                               # containerDefinitions section of your task definition
 
 jobs:
   deploy:
@@ -44,7 +55,7 @@ jobs:
       with:
         aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
         aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
-        aws-region: us-east-2
+        aws-region: ${{ env.AWS_REGION }}
 
     - name: Login to Amazon ECR
       id: login-ecr
@@ -54,7 +65,6 @@ jobs:
       id: build-image
       env:
         ECR_REGISTRY: ${{ steps.login-ecr.outputs.registry }}
-        ECR_REPOSITORY: my-ecr-repo
         IMAGE_TAG: ${{ github.sha }}
       run: |
         # Build a docker container and
@@ -68,14 +78,14 @@ jobs:
       id: task-def
       uses: aws-actions/amazon-ecs-render-task-definition@v1
       with:
-        task-definition: task-definition.json
-        container-name: sample-app
+        task-definition: ${{ env.ECS_TASK_DEFINITION }}
+        container-name: ${{ env.CONTAINER_NAME }}
         image: ${{ steps.build-image.outputs.image }}
 
     - name: Deploy Amazon ECS task definition
       uses: aws-actions/amazon-ecs-deploy-task-definition@v1
       with:
         task-definition: ${{ steps.task-def.outputs.task-definition }}
-        service: sample-app-service
-        cluster: default
+        service: ${{ env.ECS_SERVICE }}
+        cluster: ${{ env.ECS_CLUSTER }}
         wait-for-service-stability: true