Design Principles

Conversely, the hallmarks of an experience that may not be appropriate for a conversation are:

• low repetition
• large number of complicated choices with which the customer is unfamiliar
• high range of variability on how a customer might prefer to complete the task

Any task where getting information that is dense or requires verbose explanation, or situations where lots of imagery or in-person experience are necessary, such as making a large purchase, is one where a customer probably won’t prefer to speak to an Alexa skill to accomplish it. 

Signs your task or feature would make a great conversation experience:

▢  Speech (both the customer’s and Alexa’s) Includes low information density

▢  It would be faster and/or easier with Alexa than the available alternatives

▢  It would be more fun with Alexa than the alternative

▢  The answers to a customer’s questions would be specific and brief

▢  The task is commonly repeated

▢  Choices are simple and restricted in number OR complex but known to the customer ahead of time

▢  The conversation to complete the task would follow predictable patterns with low variability

Create more natural conversations (Be natural):

▢  Alexa asks a leading question so the customer knows that it's their turn to speak, and what information the skill needs next

▢  Don’t ask multiple questions in the same prompt

▢  Don’t tell the customer explicitly what to say

▢  Don’t tell the customer how to use global controls (“help,” “repeat,” or “exit”)

▢  Support a wide range of utterances a customer can use to tell the skill what they want

▢  Listen to the prompts in the skill read in Alexa's voice (or another Amazon Polly voice) to ensure that they don't sound unintentionally awkward or confusing

Create brief conversations (Be brief):

▢  Take the minimal amount of steps to complete a task; Use the least amount of simple statements possible to communicate accurately and clearly

▢  Speak in active voice, not passive voice

▢  Responses can be read out by a human in one or two breaths

▢  Omit unnecessary asides and redundant information

▢  Give only one to a few options at a time, depending on the length or complexity of the options

▢  Send a card to the customer’s Alexa app when it needs to share information that’s easy to forget if it’s only read out verbally

Create more contextually relevant conversations (Be contextual):

▢  Help new customers understand the skill’s functions; Adapt your messaging to the needs of customers along their journey

▢  Taper messaging down over time as the customer gains more experience

▢  Present options to the customer in order of most relevant

▢  Don’t present options that aren’t relevant to the customer

▢  Don’t bait and switch: Don’t offer options that will result in an error

Create multimodal experiences (Be multimodal):

▢  A customer can use the core functions of the skill without need of a screen

▢  Each touch (or remote) target on screen has a voice command analog (not every voice command needs a target)

▢  Leverage touch interactions where voice may not be ideal (such as displaying long lists to scroll)

▢  Differentiate voice responses to surface to devices with screens

▢  The core voice functions of the skill have corresponding touch interactions

▢  Offer on-screen shortcuts or hints to expedite the experience for tasks the customer will complete most often

▢  The most significant “moments” in the skill experience are punctuated with useful, delightful on-screen interactivity

▢  Clearly display important, contextually relevant data (such as the score of a game, answer to a question, etc.) when the customer most needs it

▢  Offer a variety of imagery based on customer history, seasonality, or other dynamic context on static screens the customer will see often

Design trustworthy skills (Be trustworthy):

▢  Where there are potentially multiple customers or accounts, confirm the intended listener, and/or that there aren’t other people present, before revealing potentially sensitive information

▢  Follow the requirements for protecting sensitive information with a PIN code

▢  Surface only relevant messages to the customer

▢  Don’t surface options that will result in an error if selected

▢  Don’t interrupt an experience with an offer to take an unrelated action

▢  State a clear value proposition for actions your skill asks the customer to perform

▢  Ask customers to confirm actions that have a high consequence for error

▢  Use implicit and contextual confirmations

▢  Don’t reveal sensitive customer information on the screen

▢  Display information on-screen that is relevant to the context of the verbal responses

▢  Test your skill on a range of devices with a screen, without a screen, and on the go

▢  You skill name should be an accurate representation of its functions

▢  Your skill’s description, in the skill store and actual experience, should be an accurate representation of its functions

▢  Don’t explicitly or implicitly promise future functionality

▢  Don’t require additional confirmation from the customer to exit when they use the stop/exit command unless significant data or progress will be lost

▢  The skill does not change Alexa’s name or personality, and is not treated as a brand representative

▢  Alexa uses “we”/“us” pronouns to refer to herself and the customer, not herself and a third party