Some simple examples : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/101986/what-are-the-othe... and https://ivan.sh/make/

A good detailed example; Using GNU Make to Manage the Workflow of Data Analysis Projects (pdf) here : https://www.jstatsoft.org/article/download/v094c01/1368

More generally, also take a look at how to use Unix Tools effectively, see; Unix : Concepts and Applications by Sumitabha Das and The Unix Programming Environment by Kernighan & Pike.