diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 064ce5f..12c6636 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,38 +1,77 @@
 export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID ?= test
 export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY ?= test
+export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
 SHELL := /bin/bash
 
-include .env
+## Show this help
+usage:
+		@fgrep -h "##" $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | fgrep -v fgrep | sed -e 's/\\$$//' | sed -e 's/##//'
 
-usage:				## Show this help 
-		@grep -F -h "##" $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | grep -F -v grep -F | sed -e 's/\\$$//' -e 's/##//'
+## Check if all required prerequisites are installed
+check:
+	@command -v docker > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Docker is not installed. Please install Docker and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v localstack > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "LocalStack is not installed. Please install LocalStack and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v aws > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "AWS CLI is not installed. Please install AWS CLI and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v awslocal > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "awslocal is not installed. Please install awslocal and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v python > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Python is not installed. Please install Python and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v jq > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "jq is not installed. Please install jq and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@echo "All required prerequisites are available."
+	
+## Install dependencies
+install:
+	@echo "Installing dependencies..."
+	pip install virtualenv
+	virtualenv venv
+	bash -c "source venv/bin/activate && pip install -r requirements-dev.txt"
+	@echo "Dependencies installed successfully."
 
-install:			## Install dependencies
-		@pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+## Build the Lambda functions
+build-lambdas:
+	@echo "Building the Lambda functions..."
+	bash -c "source venv/bin/activate && bin/build_lambdas.sh"
+	@echo "Lambda functions built successfully."
 
-build: 				## Build lambdas in the lambdas folder
-		bin/build_lambdas.sh; 
+## Deploy the application locally using `awslocal`, a wrapper for the AWS CLI
+deploy:
+	@echo "Deploying the application..."
+	@make build-lambdas
+	deployment/awslocal/deploy.sh
+	@echo "Application deployed successfully."
 
-awslocal-setup: 		## Deploy the application locally using `awslocal`, a wrapper for the AWS CLI
-		$(MAKE) build
-		deployment/awslocal/deploy.sh
+## Deploy the application locally using `tflocal`, a wrapper for the Terraform CLI
+deploy-terraform:
+	@command -v terraform > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Terraform is not installed. Please install Terraform and try again."; exit 1; }
+	@which tflocal || pip install terraform-local
+	@echo "Deploying the application..."
+	@make build-lambdas
+	deployment/tflocal/deploy.sh
+	@echo "Application deployed successfully."
 
-terraform-setup:		## Deploy the application locally using `tflocal`, a wrapper for Terraform CLI
-		$(MAKE) build
-		cd deployment/terraform; \
-		tflocal init; \
-		echo "Deploying Terraform configuration 🚀"; \
-		tflocal apply  --auto-approve; \
-		echo "Paste the function URLs above to the WebApp 🎉";
+## Run tests locally
+test:
+	@echo "Running tests..."
+	bash -c "source venv/bin/activate && pytest tests"
+	@echo "Tests completed successfully."
 
-terraform-destroy:		## Destroy all resources created locally using terraform scripts
-		cd deployment/terraform; \
-		tflocal destroy --auto-approve;
+## Start LocalStack
+start:
+	@echo "Starting LocalStack..."
+	@LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=$(LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN) localstack start -d
+	@echo "LocalStack started successfully."
 
-start:				## Start the LocalStack Pro container in the detached mode
-		@LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=$(LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN) localstack start -d
+## Stop LocalStack
+stop:
+	@echo "Stopping LocalStack..."
+	@localstack stop
+	@echo "LocalStack stopped successfully."
 
-stop:				## Stop the LocalStack Pro container
-		localstack stop
+## Make sure the LocalStack container is up
+ready:
+		@echo Waiting on the LocalStack container...
+		@localstack wait -t 30 && echo LocalStack is ready to use! || (echo Gave up waiting on LocalStack, exiting. && exit 1)
 
-.PHONY: usage install build awslocal-setup terraform-setup terraform-destroy start stop
+## Save the logs in a separate file
+logs:
+		@localstack logs > logs.txt
+
+.PHONY: usage install start ready build-lambdas deploy test logs stop