During my deep dive into voice design, I explored various voice assistants available in the market and their functionalities. I concentrated on Amazon's Alexa voice assistant and learned how to develop several skills using the Amazon Developer console. This project involved market research, voice persona creation, user flows, wireframes, usability testing, multimodal interaction, and a strong emphasis on user privacy, safety, and accessibility. I developed my first skill, a haiku reader, followed by a more comprehensive skill, Recipe Expert – a voice app that helps users find quick recipes, identify ingredients in their smart pantry, suggest recipes, and add ingredients to a user's Prime Fresh cart.
Designing a voice assistant capable of distinguishing users' ages from their voice profiles and restricting age-inappropriate content is crucial for creating a reliable voice assistant. To prevent inappropriate requests and chit-chat, especially when designing for children, responses should be reviewed by a diverse team of conversational designers. These designers play a significant role in refining responses from voice assistants, enabling them to interact with children in an educational and casual manner when addressing serious subject matters.
In summary, this project provided me with valuable insights into voice design from a developer's perspective. I learned about the significance of voice intents, programming a voice skill, and the critical factors of privacy and accessibility when designing a reliable voice assistant. To access a downloadable version of my project, click on the link below.