Product Planning

The following sections provide information to help you determine whether Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) is the correct service for your needs and to help you design your Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) based product.

If you're new to ACK, first make sure you learn what ACK is and how it works:

Decide on a high-level product plan

You can't build your device until you decide on a high-level product plan. As a product owner, you might fall under one of the following device manufacturer categories:

  • You're new to smart home product development. You've built products, but they don't have any smart home features.
  • You're familiar with Alexa and familiar with smart home development. You've built smart home devices with different Alexa services, such as the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK).
  • You aren't familiar with Alexa services, but are familiar with smart home development.
    • You've worked with other smart home vendors.
    • You've built Works with Alexa (WWA) products, but they connect to Alexa though alternative solution providers other than ACK.

For example, you might manufacturer and sell a popular fan, but it doesn't have any smart home features. Using this example, your high-level product plan could be a simple smart fan. You design the fan to use smart home capabilities to power it on and off and cycle through a range of different settings. As your first smart home product, ACK helps you accelerate your development by providing Alexa control without building an Alexa skill or an app.

When you decide on a high-level product design, you determine whether ACK is the appropriate Alexa service to use for your device. For example, if you have your own device cloud, you should build a smart home skill. For other options, see Alexa-Enabled Smart Home Development Options.

More product concept examples

The following list provides more examples of products that you can build with ACK and control with Alexa:

  • Microwave
  • Color-changing lamp
  • Dimmer switch
  • Coffee maker
  • Plug
  • Switch
  • Fan
  • Air conditioner

For examples of actual products built with ACK, see Example Products Built with Alexa Connect Kit.

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Last updated: Jul 01, 2024