Voice ServicesSpeaking About the Next User Interface…

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MIKE HINESDEVELOPER EVANGELIST, AMAZON

@MikeFHines mikehines45mihines@amazon.com

Imagine ordering food at a fast food restaurant, and the automated server asks you:

“Do you want chips or salad with your order?”

You say: “Yes I would!”

The server stops and throws and error…

This is what the developer of the automated server was starting from.

Why?NOT ALL UI IS CREATED EQUAL

Fire TV and Echo taught Amazon a lot aboutVOICE INTERACTIONSVoice Recognitionis notNatural Language Understanding

The key is in the interactions

Interactions are how you talk to your customer.

They invite your customers to a conversation.

Conversations create experiences.

Key Design Principles forVOICE INTERACTIONS Interactions Should Provide High Value   An Interaction Should Evolve Over Time

Users Can Speak to Your Service Naturally and Spontaneously

The Service Should Understand Most Requests to Your Interface

An Interface Should Respond in an Appropriate Way

Interactions Should Provide High Value 

High Utility Low Utility

DoingPerforms a Task

“Alexa, ask Scout to arm away mode.”

“Away mode armed. You have 45 seconds to leave the house.”

SearchingIdentifies specific info

“Alexa, ask Vendor if there are Madonna tickets available for this weekend.”

“There are a limited amount of tickets, ranging from $49 to $279.”

TellingProvides a quick reference point

“Alexa, tell me a cat fact.”

“It is well known fact that cats are smarter than dogs.”

BrowsingGives info on a broad subject

“Alexa, ask Amazon what’s on sale.”

“The following items are on sale right now...”

Interactions Should Provide High ValueVoice is conversational. Very different than touch driven experiences. Less is more.

A large majority of the types of interactions submitted today can grow with the user over time. Aim for interactions that perform tasks on behalf of the user and learn as time goes on. This will provide a much better experience and lead to more interactions that can do more.

Customer secureACCOUNT LINKING• Allow your customers to link

their accounts to your service. • Platform may provide this.• Developer may have to provide.

An Interaction Should Evolve Over Time 

An Interaction Should Evolve Over TimeVoice user interfaces work well when they are focused, and give quick responses.

Start with a primary use case that both communicates your business case, but is also a clear winner for a voice user interface.

Let’s do one thing well, and add in capabilities allowing it to get smarter over time.

Evolve shorter, more focused interactions by learning about the customer.

Example of Adaptive DesignVOICE INTERACTIONLaunch Travel BuddyHi, I’m travel buddy. I can easily tell you about your daily commute. Let’s get you set up. Where are you starting from?UtrechtOk, and where are you going?AmsterdamGreat, now whenever you ask, I can tell you about the commute from Utrecht to Amsterdam. The current commute time is forty three minutes. There is a 15 minute delay from Utrecht Central.

Launch Travel BuddyYour commute time is currently twenty two minutes.

Users Can Speak to Your Interface Naturally and Spontaneously

 

Users Can Speak to Your Interface Naturally and Spontaneously

The experience of using your voice interaction should allow users to not have to think about what to say and allow them to not remember how to say it.

They should be able to converse with your interface just as they would another human.

All they need is a rough idea of what your service can do (e.g. playing music, placing a call, etc.), and they just ask the service to do it.

This is the real value of voice interface, but this value can quickly erode in an interaction that forces users to interact in unnatural ways.

Users Can Speak to Your Skill Naturally and Spontaneously

You should try to remove artificial interaction syntax and make interactions as natural as possible.

Allowing your users to make simple requests without having to think about the format those requests should be in, will create a much better experience.

Starting a Conversation inVoice InteractionsInvocation options:An invocation is how you start your voice service.

With Amazon Alexa, you can say:“Alexa, [ask | tell | play | launch | use | start | begin] MyService [for | to | and | for][variable]”

Alexa, ask [scheduleUpdate] for [dailyUpdate].Alexa, start [scheduleUpdate].

Example of awkwardVoice InteractionsOdd Phrasing: Very odd and/or lengthy invocations that inhibit using the skill in a conversational and spontaneous way.

“Order [boots], [hiking], [size 12]”“Order [size 12] [hiking] [boots].”

Lengthy Invocations: The combination of service name with the task is often difficult to remember the exact syntax .

“Ask [transportation service alerts] for the [current status] of [train] [train_number].” “Ask [trafficbuddy] about [the train][to Amsterdam]”

•

Your Service Should Understand Most Requests

Your Service Should Understand Most Requests

In a natural voice interaction, most requests are understood and acted on.

Your service should endeavor to do the same.

Requiring numerous attempts to invoke your service will be frustrating for your customer.

Building a Voice InterfaceCUSTOMER INTENT• The mappings between a

customer’s intents and the typical things they say that invoke those intents should be enumerated.

An Interactions Should Respond in an Appropriate Way 

Appropriate responses areTIMELYChallenge:• Pauses while the service looks up data are a

much bigger deal for voice that screen

Solution:• Keep APIs fast• Leverage Service Session data• Keep explanations terse…but not rude

An Interaction Should Respond in an Appropriate WayAppropriate responses are timely.

Provide adequate error handling for unexpected or unsupported input. A user should never be exposed directly to error handling. (Instead respond with a request for more information.)

Check for missing variables or values in your service.

If you find any missing information you should respond to the customer with a reprompt.

Can any interface become a VOICE INTERFACE

Maybe not.

Having a Good Conversation in aVOICE INTERFACE

Makes It Clear that the User Needs to Respond

Clearly Presents the Options Keeps It Brief Avoids Overwhelming Offers Help for Complex Skills Asks Only Necessary Questions Uses Confirmations Selectively Obtains One Piece of Information at a

Time Makes Sure Users Know They are in the

Right Place Avoids Technical and Legal Jargon

Write for the Ear, not the Eye!

Digging Deeper into Voice DesignAlexa Skills Kit Voice Design Best Practices - http://bit.ly/voicedesignAlexa Skills Kit Voice Design Handbook - http://bit.ly/voicehandbookWired for Speech: How Voice Activates and Advances the Human-Computer Relationship, by Nass and BraveThe Elements of VUI Style: A Practical Guide to Voice User Interface Design, by Bouzid and MaDon’t Make Me Tap!: A Common Sense Approach to Voice Usability, by Bouzid and MaThe Voice in the Machine: Building Computers That Understand Speech, by PieracciniVoice User Interface Design, by Cohen, Giangola, and Balogh

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