diff --git a/agw.tf b/agw.tf
index d29d313..10717bf 100644
--- a/agw.tf
+++ b/agw.tf
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 resource "azurerm_public_ip" "main" {
   count               = (local.app_gateway.enabled && local.app_gateway.public_ip_id == "") ? 1 : 0
   name                = local.names.agw
-  resource_group_name = local.global_settings.resource_group_name
-  location            = local.global_settings.location
+  resource_group_name = local.resource_group_name
+  location            = local.location
   allocation_method   = "Static"
   sku                 = "Standard"
   zones               = local.zones != [] ? local.zones : null
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ resource "azurerm_application_gateway" "main" {
 
   count               = local.app_gateway.enabled ? 1 : 0
   name                = local.names.agw
-  resource_group_name = local.global_settings.resource_group_name
-  location            = local.global_settings.location
+  resource_group_name = local.resource_group_name
+  location            = local.location
   zones               = local.zones != [] ? local.zones : null
   sku {
     name     = local.app_gateway.sku_name
diff --git a/aks.tf b/aks.tf
index 9bfc391..50e6b1f 100644
--- a/aks.tf
+++ b/aks.tf
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ resource "azurerm_kubernetes_cluster" "main" {
     ]
   }
   name                              = local.names.aks
-  location                          = local.global_settings.location
+  location                          = local.location
   dns_prefix                        = replace(local.names.aks, "-", "")
   resource_group_name               = data.azurerm_resource_group.source.name
   sku_tier                          = local.aks.sku_tier
diff --git a/data.tf b/data.tf
index 36ef90b..223819d 100644
--- a/data.tf
+++ b/data.tf
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 # data "azurerm_client_config" "current" {}
 
 data "azurerm_resource_group" "source" {
-  name = local.global_settings.resource_group_name
+  name = local.resource_group_name
 }
 
 data "azurerm_container_registry" "list" {
diff --git a/identity.tf b/identity.tf
index 916c095..381148e 100644
--- a/identity.tf
+++ b/identity.tf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 #  and DNS updating
 
 resource "azurerm_user_assigned_identity" "main" {
-  resource_group_name = local.global_settings.resource_group_name
-  location            = local.global_settings.location
+  resource_group_name = local.resource_group_name
+  location            = local.location
   name                = local.names.aks
   tags                = local.tags
 }
diff --git a/main.tf b/main.tf
index 5a5fd3d..340ea48 100644
--- a/main.tf
+++ b/main.tf
@@ -26,9 +26,6 @@ locals {
     sku_tier     = "WAF_v2"
     subnet_id    = ""
   })
-  global_settings = defaults(var.global_settings, {
-    name_prefix = "aks-baseline"
-  })
   node_user_pool = defaults(var.node_user_pool, {
     enabled             = true
     enable_auto_scaling = true
@@ -52,12 +49,14 @@ locals {
 
   # generate the resource names for everything based on the values offered
   names = {
-    aks = coalesce(local.aks.name, "${local.global_settings.name_prefix}-aks")
-    agw = coalesce(local.app_gateway.name, "${local.global_settings.name_prefix}-agw")
+    aks = coalesce(local.aks.name, "${var.name_prefix}-aks")
+    agw = coalesce(local.app_gateway.name, "${var.name_prefix}-agw")
   }
 
   # these are unmodified, just dropped into locals for cconsistency
-  acr_list        = var.acr_list
-  tags            = var.tags
-  zones           = var.zones
+  acr_list            = var.acr_list
+  location            = var.location
+  resource_group_name = var.resource_group_name
+  tags                = var.tags
+  zones               = var.zones
 }
diff --git a/test/main.tf b/test/main.tf
index b0407fc..f4c545f 100644
--- a/test/main.tf
+++ b/test/main.tf
@@ -41,11 +41,9 @@ module "aks" {
   depends_on = [
     azurerm_resource_group.test
   ]
-  global_settings = {
-    location            = azurerm_resource_group.test.location
-    name_prefix         = "testaks"
-    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.test.name
-  }
+  location            = azurerm_resource_group.test.location
+  name_prefix         = "testaks"
+  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.test.name
   aks = {
     subnet_id       = module.myvnet.vnet_subnets["aks_nodes"].id
   }
diff --git a/variables.tf b/variables.tf
index 52263c3..b6dd02c 100644
--- a/variables.tf
+++ b/variables.tf
@@ -2,13 +2,21 @@
 # global variables
 ######
 
-variable global_settings {
-  type       = object ({
-    location            = string
-    name_prefix         = optional(string)
-    resource_group_name = string
-  })
-  description = "collection of global variables common to every resource"
+variable location {
+  type        = string
+  description = "region to build all resources in"
+}
+
+variable name_prefix {
+  type        = string
+  description = "the prefix used in any generated resource name, if no overriding name is specified"
+  nullable    = false
+  default     = "aks-baseline"
+}
+
+variable resource_group_name {
+  type        = string
+  description = "name of the resource group to provision in"
 }
 
 variable app_gateway {