This workshop teaches you how to build your first voice skill with Alexa. You bring a skill idea and we’ll show you how to bring it to life. This workshop will walk you through how to build an Alexa skill, including Node.js setup, how to implement an intent, deploying to AWS Lambda, and how to register and test a skill. You’ll walk out of the workshop with a working prototype of your skill idea. Prerequisites: Participants should have an AWS account established and available for use during the workshop. Please bring your own laptop.

1. © 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Nov 29, 2016
ALX203- Creating Voice Experiences
with Alexa Skills- From Idea to
Testing in Two Hours
@alexadevs

2. Welcome
Before we code
1. developer.amazon.com
2. aws.amazon.com
3. Check-in for the training:
• Bit.ly/alexacheckin – event name #Re:Invent

3. Today’s agenda
• Skill building fundamentals
• Voice User-Interface
• Advanced skill building
• Idea Challenge

4. 70s 80s 90s 00s Present
mode
GUI
web
mobile
character
VUI

7. Skill Building Fundamentals
Before we code
1. developer.amazon.com
2. aws.amazon.com
3. Check-in for the training:
• Bit.ly/alexacheckin – event name #Re:Invent

8. 8
The Alexa Service
Alexa
Skills
Kit
Alexa
Voice
Services
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.

9. 9
Alexa Skills Kit: Processing a request
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Audio
Request
Response
Your
service
Speech Recognition
Machine Learning
Natural Language Understanding
Text to Speech
Cards

10. 10© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Cards
Alexa Skills Kit: Utterances and Intents
Response
Your
service
Audio
Speech Recognition
Machine Learning
Natural Language Understanding
Text to Speech
Request
Intents
Utterances

11. ASR – Automatic Speech
Recognition
fȯr tē tīmz
• Forty Times?
• For Tea Times?
• For Tee Times?
• Four Tee Times?

12. Alexa, ask Anime Facts for a fact
wake word utteranceskill namelaunch
Utterances and Intents

13. One more please
utterance
Utterances and Intents
Alexa, ask Anime Facts for a fact
wake word utteranceskill namelaunch

14. GetFactIntent
Intent
utterance slot value
Utterances and Intents
One more please
utterance
Alexa, ask Anime Facts for a fact
wake word utteranceskill namelaunch

15. 15© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Audio
Speech Recognition
Machine Learning
Natural Language Understanding
Text to Speech
Cards
Alexa Skills Kit: Requests and Responses
Request
Response
Your
service

16. 16
Alexa Skills Kit: Request and Response
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
“Help”

17. 17
Using Lambda for Processing the
Request & generating the response
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.

18. 18
Time to code: Build a fact of the day skill
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
developer.amazon.com
Skill information
Interaction model
End to end testing
aws.amazon.com
Skill logic
Lambda
Lamdba testing
Check in for the event:
Bit.ly/alexacheckin – event name #Re:Invent

19. Break
Next up:
Advanced VUI topics
Local Search Skill
@alexadevs

20. AnswerIntent {value: “one”}
slot valueIntent
one is the answer
slot value
Slots in the utterances
The answer is one
slot value
one
slot value

21. 21
Utterances and Intent Schema
Utterances Intent Schema

22. 22
Utterances and Intent Schema
Utterances Intent Schema

23. 23
Built-in and Custom Slot Types

24. 24
Session Attributes
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.

25. 25
Session Persistence
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
exports.handler = function (event, context, callback) {
var alexa = Alexa.handler(event, context);
alexa.appId = appId;
alexa.dynamoDBTableName = 'YourTableName'; // That's it!
alexa.registerHandlers(State1Handlers, State2Handlers);
alexa.execute();
};
this.attributes['yourAttribute'] = 'value';
var yourVariable = this.attributes['yourAttribute']
Add dynamoDB
table name in
your index.js
put
get

26. 26
State Management
Define states
Event handlers
for “Trivia” state
Event handlers
for “Help” state

27. 27
Time to code: Build a local search skill
© 2016, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
developer.amazon.com
Skill information
Interaction model
End to end testing
aws.amazon.com
Skill logic
Lambda
Lamdba testing
Check in for the event:
Bit.ly/alexacheckin – event name #Re:Invent

28. Break
Next up:
Idea challenge
@alexadevs

29. Idea Challenge
1. Logistics
2. Rules
1. You have 30 seconds to pitch your BIG idea to the room We
don’t need a fully defined idea. We want your idea pitched in
the form of an Alexa conversation.
For example:
“Alexa, how much milk do we have left?”
“Alexa, what time will UPS arrive today?”
“Alexa, send me a list of backpacks that fit my laptop.”
“Alexa, delete my browser history.”
3. Prizes
1. The winner will receive $300 in AWS Credits

30. Thank you!
@alexadevs
Bit.ly/alexacheckin – event name #Re:Invent