1. Create a Custom Skill on the Amazon Echo
Emily Lam, DeveloperWeek 2/13/2017

2. About Me Emily Lam UCLA: Linguistics and specialization in Computing
Currently: Frontend developer at Lieberman Software
Skills published: 4
Hackathons won using Alexa: 3
Money 20/20 WorldPay
2nd Mojio Connected Car
1st GA + IBM Watson Workspace

3. Agenda 1. Walk you through how to create a basic trivia skill
2. Discuss In-depth Topics
Built-in and Custom slots
Account linking
SSML Tags

4. Sign into https://developer.amazon.com/
This is the same account that you use to sign into Don’t have an Amazon account? You can create one after you click “Sign In”.

5. https://developer.amazon.com/
Click on Alexa

6. Click on Get Started > under the Alexa Skills Kit
Click on Get Started > under the Alexa Skills Kit

7. Click on “Add a New Skill”
Click on “Add a New Skill”

8. https://developer.amazon.com/

9. Skills Information https://developer.amazon.com/ Skill Type Language
Custom Interaction Model: Gives you the most control over the user’s experience and is the most flexible kind of skill you can build.
Smart Home Skill API: Great for building a skill with smart home devices
Flash Briefing Skill API: Easy for creating flash briefings/RSS feed
Language
You can choose English (U.S.), English (U.K.), or German

10. Skills Information https://developer.amazon.com/ Name Invocation Name
Appears as the title in the Alexa app. Ex. Morning Dose App Name
Must be between 2-50 characters.
Invocation Name
The name you use to tell Alexa to open the skill. Ex. Morning Dose. See Invocation Guidelines.
Global Fields
Audio Player for music related skills ie. Spotify

11. Interaction Model https://developer.amazon.com/
Intent Schema: A JSON structure which declares the set of intents your service can accept and process.

12. Interaction Model https://developer.amazon.com/
Intent Schema: A JSON structure which declares the set of intents your service can accept and process.
trivia/tree/master/speechAssets

13. Interaction Model https://developer.amazon.com/
Custom Slots: Custom slot types to be referenced by the Intent Schema and Sample Utterances
Sample Utterances: What you say to Alexa to trigger an intent

14. Configuration https://developer.amazon.com/
Select AWS Lambda ARN (Amazon Resource Name) and then North America.

15. Go to https://aws.amazon.com
Go to
Sign in to the Console

16. Sign In or Create an AWS Account
Sign In or Create an AWS Account

17. https://aws.amazon.com/
Select US East (N. Virginia) for US skills and EU (Ireland) for UK/DE skills
These are the only two regions currently supported for Alexa skill development on AWS Lambda

18. Type in Lambda and select the Lambda option
Type in Lambda and select the Lambda option

19. Select Create a Lambda function
Select Create a Lambda function

20. https://aws.amazon.com/
Type Alexa in the filter and then select alexa-skill-kit-sdk-triviaskill

21. Click on the gray square
Click on the gray square

22. Select Alexa Skills Kit and then Next
Select Alexa Skills Kit and then Next

23. Type in a function name https://aws.amazon.com/
Function name must contain only letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores.

24. Click on the dropdown menu and select Create a custom role
Click on the dropdown menu and select Create a custom role

25.
Click on “Allow”

26.
Click on “Next”

27. Click on “Create function”
Click on “Create function”

28. Click on “Test” and look at the execution result
Click on “Test” and look at the execution result

29. Click on “Actions and then “Export function”
Click on “Actions and then “Export function”

30. Click on “Download deployment package”
Click on “Download deployment package”

31. Edit index.js and question.js
Edit index.js and question.js

32. Select the two files + node_modules and compress the 3 items.
Select the two files + node_modules and compress the 3 items.

33.
Upload Archive.zip

34.
Click Save and test

35.
Copy the ARN

36.
Paste the ARN in your skill at and the select “Next”

37.
Select a Category and Subcategory if necessary Then, write in testing instructions.

38. Write a short description (160 character max.) about the skill
Write a short description (160 character max.) about the skill

39. Write a full description that will appear in the skill’s detail card
Write a full description that will appear in the skill’s detail card

40.
Write up to three example phrases that appear as aids for users when they see your skill’s detail card.

41. Answer privacy related questions and export compliance
Answer privacy related questions and export compliance

42. Click “Submit for Certification” and you are done!
Click “Submit for Certification” and you are done!

43. In-depth Topics
Built-in and Custom slots
Account linking
SSML Tags

44. Built-in Slots and Custom Slots
Slots are arguments for intents. A built-in slot type such as AMAZON.NUMBER converts numeric words (“five”) into digits (such as “5”). You can view all the built-in slots at: kit/docs/built-in-intent-ref/slot-type-reference A custom slot type is used for items that are not covered by Amazon’s built-in set of types.

45. Built-in Slots and Custom Slots
"intents": [ { "intent": "ReportIntent", "slots": [ "name": "Incident", "type": "LIST_OF_INCIDENTS" }] } You define the slot type in the Intent Schema.

46. Custom Slots
You create a slot type (ie LIST_OF_INCIDENTS) and then you write the values.

47. Custom Slots
You reference the intent and slot name in the Sample Utterances

48. Custom Slots
You can use the value of the custom slot in your lambda code.

49. Account linking
You can link an external account to the Alexa.

50. Account linking
You create an application and link it to Alexa through the Alexa app.

51. Account linking
The client id and client secret are retrieved from the external account

52. Account linking

53. Account linking Token: 59010bf8-4a29-4f59-8bd7-3a59ac383781
Redirects back to

54. Account linking Token: 59010bf8-4a29-4f59-8bd7-3a59ac383781
Redirects back to

55. Account linking
A privacy policy is required for account linking. You also have to disclose if you are collect users' personal information (ie , password, etc)

56. SSML Tags
Speech Synthesis Markup Language provides additional control over how Alexa generates the speech text in your response.
Examples:
<say-as interpret-as="cardinal">12345</say-as> sounds like twelve thousand three hundred forty five
<say-as interpret-as=”ordinal">12345</say-as> sounds like twelve thousand three hundred forty fifth
<say-as interpret-as="spell-out">12345</say-as> sounds like one two three four five
Reference:

57. SSML Tags
Speech Synthesis Markup Language provides additional control over how Alexa generates the speech text in your response.
Examples:
<say-as interpret-as="cardinal">12345</say-as> sounds like twelve thousand three hundred forty five
<say-as interpret-as=”ordinal">12345</say-as> sounds like twelve thousand three hundred forty fifth
<say-as interpret-as="spell-out">12345</say-as> sounds like one two three four five
Reference:

58. Thank you!
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