NDX:Try AWS Scenarios

Zero-cost AWS evaluation platform for UK local government. Try before you buy.

Overview

NDX:Try AWS Scenarios is a free platform helping UK councils explore AWS cloud solutions through hands-on evaluation. Deploy real AI and cloud scenarios in 15 minutes, test with realistic council data, and generate committee-ready evidence packs.

Part of the LGA AI Hub ecosystem.

Features

• 6 Pre-built Scenarios: Council Chatbot, Planning AI, FOI Redaction, Smart Car Park, Text to Speech, QuickSight Dashboard
• One-Click Deployment: CloudFormation templates for instant AWS provisioning
• Innovation Sandbox: Isolated evaluation environment with automatic cleanup
• Evidence Packs: Generate committee-ready PDFs with ROI analysis
• GOV.UK Design System: Fully accessible (WCAG 2.2 AA compliant)
• Completely FREE: Provided by AWS as part of NDX:Try programme

Technology Stack

• Static Site Generator: Eleventy (11ty) v3.x
• CSS Framework: GOV.UK Frontend v5.13
• Infrastructure: AWS CloudFormation templates
• Testing: Vitest, Playwright, Pa11y, Lighthouse CI
• Node.js: v20+

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20 or higher
• npm (included with Node.js)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/co-cddo/ndx_try_aws_scenarios.git
   cd ndx_try_aws_scenarios

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the development server:

   npm start

4. Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Available Scripts

Script	Description
npm start	Start development server with hot reload
npm run build	Build production site to _site/
npm run validate:schema	Validate scenarios.yaml against JSON schema
npm test	Run unit tests (Vitest)
npm run test:a11y	Run accessibility tests (Pa11y)
npm run test:lighthouse	Run Lighthouse CI
npm run test:playwright	Run Playwright E2E tests

Project Structure

ndx_try_aws_scenarios/
├── src/                    # Source files
│   ├── _data/             # Data files (scenarios.yaml, quizConfig.yaml)
│   ├── _includes/         # Nunjucks templates
│   ├── assets/            # CSS, images, static files
│   ├── scenarios/         # Scenario detail pages
│   └── walkthroughs/      # Step-by-step walkthrough pages
├── cloudformation/        # AWS CloudFormation templates
│   └── scenarios/         # Per-scenario deployment templates
├── schemas/               # JSON schemas for validation
├── scripts/               # Build and utility scripts
├── tests/                 # Test files
├── docs/                  # Project documentation
└── eleventy.config.js     # Eleventy configuration

AWS Scenarios

Scenario	Difficulty	Time	Primary Use Case
Council Chatbot	Beginner	15 min	24/7 AI resident support
Planning AI	Intermediate	30 min	Planning application processing
FOI Redaction	Intermediate	25 min	Automated sensitive data redaction
Smart Car Park	Advanced	45 min	IoT parking availability
Text to Speech	Beginner	15 min	Accessibility audio generation
QuickSight Dashboard	Intermediate	30 min	Service performance analytics

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community. Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Commit Message Convention

We follow Conventional Commits:

• feat: New features
• fix: Bug fixes
• docs: Documentation changes
• chore: Maintenance tasks

Deployment

The site is automatically deployed to GitHub Pages when changes are merged to main.

Production URL: https://aws.try.ndx.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk

Governance

NDX:Try is governed by the NDX Partnership, with oversight from:

• Local Government Association (LGA)
• Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

• Enquiries: [email protected]
• GitHub Issues: For bug reports and feature requests

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Part of the National Digital Exchange (NDX) initiative.