Why Use Switchboard?

ALPHA RELEASE

Switchboard is currently in preview (v0.1.0-preview.17). We're working toward a stable 1.0 release with your feedback.

The Problem with Traditional Amazon Connect Development

1. Console-First Development is Error-Prone

Building contact flows in the AWS Console:

• ❌ Manual testing required
• ❌ Difficult to replicate across environments if you don't have a pipeline
• ❌ Hard to collaborate with teams
• ❌ Prone to human error

2. JSON/CloudFormation is Verbose and Fragile

Writing flows in JSON or CloudFormation:

• ❌ Hundreds of lines of boilerplate
• ❌ No IntelliSense or type safety
• ❌ Easy to break with typos
• ❌ Hard to maintain and refactor
• ❌ No built-in testing support

Example: A simple "Welcome and transfer to queue" flow requires 50+ lines of JSON.

3. No Code Reusability

• Each flow is built from scratch
• Common patterns (authentication, business hours) duplicated everywhere
• No shared modules or components
• Changes require manual updates across multiple flows

4. Limited Runtime Flexibility

• Infrastructure changes require full redeployment
• Can't update prompts or routing without CDK deploy
• No A/B testing capabilities
• Business users can't make simple changes

How Switchboard Solves These Problems

✅ Code-First with C#

Write contact center infrastructure in type-safe C#:

[ContactFlow("CustomerService")]
public partial class ServiceFlow : FlowDefinitionBase
{
    [Message("Welcome to customer service")]
    public partial void Welcome();

    [TransferToQueue("Support")]
    public partial void Transfer();
}

Benefits:

• IntelliSense and autocomplete
• Compile-time error checking
• Refactoring support
• Easy to read and understand

✅ Version Control Everything

Your entire contact center is code in Git:

• Track every change with commits
• Review changes with pull requests
• Rollback problematic deployments
• Collaborate with teams using standard dev workflows

✅ Reusable Components

Build once, use everywhere:

[FlowModule("Authentication")]
public partial class AuthModule : FlowModuleBase
{
    // Define once, use in multiple flows
}

✅ Dynamic Runtime Configuration

Update settings without redeployment:

// Change queue timeout in DynamoDB
await config.UpdateAsync("SupportFlow", new {
    maxQueueTime = 600  // No CDK deploy needed
});

Next call uses the new value automatically.

✅ Testing Built-In

Write unit and integration tests:

[Test]
public void SalesFlow_Should_Route_Premium_Customers()
{
    var flow = new SalesFlow();
    var result = flow.Route(new Customer { Type = "Premium" });

    result.Queue.Should().Be("PremiumSales");
}

✅ Multi-Environment Support

Same code, different configs:

// appsettings.Development.json
{ "InstanceName": "dev-call-center" }

// appsettings.Production.json
{ "InstanceName": "prod-call-center" }

Deploy to dev, staging, and production with confidence.

Comparison with Alternatives

Feature	Console	CloudFormation	Terraform	Switchboard
Version Control	❌ Manual	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Type Safety	❌ None	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Limited	✅ Full
IntelliSense	❌ No	❌ No	⚠️ Partial	✅ Yes
Testing	❌ Manual	⚠️ Difficult	⚠️ Difficult	✅ Easy
Runtime Updates	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Code Reuse	❌ No	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Limited	✅ Yes
Compile-Time Validation	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Learning Curve	⭐ Easy	⭐⭐ Medium	⭐⭐⭐ Hard	⭐⭐ Medium

Who Should Use Switchboard?

Perfect For

• ✅ DevOps teams managing contact centers as infrastructure
• ✅ Developers building telephony applications
• ✅ Enterprises requiring version control and CI/CD
• ✅ Teams migrating from console-managed to IaC
• ✅ Projects needing runtime configuration flexibility
• ✅ Organizations with multiple environments (dev/staging/prod)

Real-World Benefits

Before Switchboard

Problem: A financial services company managed 50+ contact flows manually in the Console.

• Changes took 2-3 days (dev → staging → prod)
• Frequent production bugs from manual errors
• ** audit trail** of who changed what its possible to check but git blame is faster
• Testing was manual and time-consuming

After Switchboard

• Changes deployed in minutes via CI/CD
• Zero production bugs from typos (compile-time checks)
• Full Git history of all changes
• Automated testing catches issues before deployment
• Instant rollbacks with git revert + deploy

Result: reduction in deployment time, zero manual errors.

Technical Advantages

1. Source Generators

Framework generates boilerplate code at compile-time:

• ✅ Write less code
• ✅ Consistent implementations
• ✅ Zero runtime overhead

2. Roslyn Analyzers

Catch errors before deployment:

• ✅ Validates queue references exist
• ✅ Checks flow structure
• ✅ Ensures proper action ordering
• ✅ Provides code fixes

3. Dependency Injection

ASP.NET Core-style DI:

• ✅ Testable components
• ✅ Swappable implementations
• ✅ Clean architecture

4. CDK Integration

Built on AWS CDK:

• ✅ CloudFormation under the hood
• ✅ All AWS services supported
• ✅ Infrastructure as real code
• ✅ Strong typing

Cost Considerations

You pay for AWS resources consumed:

• Amazon Connect usage (per minute)
• Lambda invocations (if using dynamic config)
• DynamoDB storage (if using dynamic config)

Estimated monthly AWS cost for small contact center:

• Connect: $50-100/month
• Lambda + DynamoDB: $5-10/month (if enabled)

Switchboard framework pricing and licensing terms will be announced before the 1.0 release.

Migration Path

Already have a contact center? No problem.

Switchboard supports incremental migration:

1. Import existing instance (don't rebuild from scratch)
2. Manage new flows with code
3. Leave old flows in console (temporarily)
4. Gradually migrate old flows when ready

See Existing Instance Migration for details.

Community and Support

• 📖 Documentation: Comprehensive guides and examples
• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Direct Support: nicolusmaluleke@gmail.com

Get Started

Ready to modernize your contact center development?

1. Installation Guide - Set up in 5 minutes
2. Quick Start - Build your first flow
3. Examples - Learn from working code

Still Not Convinced?

Try the Single-File Setup example. You'll have a working contact center deployed in under 10 minutes, and you can decide if the code-first approach fits your workflow.

If Switchboard isn't right for you, that's okay! The AWS Console and CloudFormation are proven tools. Use what works best for your team.