7 Key Quality Aspects To Consider When Developing a Voice App

In this article, we will look at the top seven quality factors that must be considered when designing a voice app.

We are living in a world where voice applications have become a significant part of our lives.

Smart speakers nowadays are being used for nearly every occasion. The introduction of voice apps has simplified the process of ordering food, searching for items on websites such as Amazon, and booking tickets for various activities including movies, flights, hotels, and so on. According to voicebot surveys, the use of voice applications is growing over time. This has resulted in the creation of voice applications in a variety of genres. Following the widespread use of voice technologies, every organization has started to consider investing in voice apps. However, only a few organizations are investing time and resources in developing high-quality voice applications.

Voice app quality is becoming a top priority to achieve app success in the competitive smart speaker market. Therefore, skill development companies and developers are highly focused on the designing and maintenance of voice app quality, and the current post is regarding some critical aspects to consider during voice app development.

7 things that Alexa users hate the most about low-quality voice skills/apps

1. Users hate it when voice apps crash while using it.
2. Freezing is another aspect that reduces the quality of a voice app.
3. Users uninstall voice skills that are slow to respond.
4. Too many ads are not appreciated by the users.
5. Not responding to feedback is another problem that the user hates.
6. If the user experience is not up to the mark, the users uninstall it from their smart speakers.
7. Users don’t like it when a voice app is asking for unnecessary permissions.

Keeping these in mind, we’ve compiled a list of seven key quality factors to consider before creating a comprehensive voice app or a skill. Device, functionality, VUI/VUX, capability, platform, skill store, and data privacy are the seven facets we will examine. Every aspect is approached from a different angle, allowing the apps to be tested or reviewed for accuracy. The idea behind this arrangement is, to begin with, the general aspects that affect the quality/ efficiency of the voice app, and then delve into the aspects relevant to the app’s core functionalities.

1. Device

The first aspect we will look at is the device itself, which concerns everything that interacts with the smart speaker from the outside and how the voice app proceeds in response.

How will the voice skill be affected when one of these events happens?
Considering the two main groups: Connectivity & Notifications.

1. Connectivity: This is everything that has to do with the WIFI network or a lack of internet network connectivity.
2. Notifications- It includes mostly the notifications that interrupt the user’s interaction with the app. For example:

• Other app notifications
• Incoming phone calls
• Forced platform or device updates

Use Cases :

• What if Alexa is unable to locate your smart home devices?
• Accidental triggering of other connected apps?
• Or smart speakers disconnecting from Wi-Fi

2. Functionality

This factor pertains to what the voice skill does, basically exploring the core essence of the voice app. What is the core functionality required for it to function efficiently, and how can it be implemented? What happens if a user executes an interaction/action for which the voice app was not designed? Can it fail as a result of the action? Is it possible to prevent it? 

3. VUI/VUX

The first voice apps were developed by developers experimenting with the power of voice interaction, mostly using the existing data and AI. This has resulted in a plethora of “tell me the weather” and “what’s the time” styles of apps. Things are interesting now, as the major brands and enterprises begin to appreciate the power of creating convenient interactive experiences for their customers in their own homes, a new kind of voice-enabled app is emerging. These are creatively curated, designed interactive experiences that are meant to genuinely engage the users. The fresh content of the app always influences the users to keep coming back.

A few of the questions to ponder upon are: Is the voice app VUI friendly? Did you follow quality guidelines and best practices while designing the voice skill to ensure end-user experience and satisfaction?

4. Capability & Compatibility

This element refers to the voice app’s capability and compatibility, i.e. can users successfully download the voice skill onto their devices? Sometimes, the users are unable to access the skills or cannot download due to country restrictions and device compatibility. Therefore, the ideal situations to consider are: What should the app work with? Is the skill compatible with the device platform that the brand is targeting? Is it compatible with their consumer’s device at any given time?

5. Platform

The smart speakers can range from a small-sized speaker or to a blue light that blinks in a car’s stereo when it hears a voice command. In this section, we’re discussing which platform is being used. Here, the platform refers to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The platform denotes the app ecosystem that can be used across multiple platforms, including iOS, Android devices, and so forth. Attempting to answer these questions will assist you in solving critical issues.

• Does the skill use specific VUI platform features/functionality?
• Does it interact with the UI correctly? While designing the voice app, you need to ensure it is versatile and will perform optimally.

6. Voice app store / Skill store

The skill store is the first interaction a user has with any voice app. There needs to be a good description available, as well as a transparent overview of the permissions that the voice skill requires. What user data will it need to work and how will this data be used? There should also be a user guide available and a FAQ section. The users need to be able to see that their comments are being valued and taken into consideration. This is strictly connected to the app quality and it has great importance for the app’s lifecycle and growth strategy.

7. Data security & privacy

Data privacy and security remain a hot topic in the smart speaker industry. Security and privacy are the main topics of every virtual assistant discussion. So what data does your voice app save, collect, process, and send are the most frequent questions asked? What data does it need to track and work reliably?

A few scenarios:

• During in-skill purchases, does the skill ask the user to log into their bank account?
• Are the user’s store information and user position saved?
• Is the data then exposed?

To conclude,
Other key factors include:

• Analytics can help to get a glance into the performance of the app.
• Updating the app to meet new user requirements will help in increasing the skill value.
• Proper maintenance is another factor that determines voice app quality post-deployment.
• Users will start giving feedback once they start using the voice app. The organizations can take that feedback and suggestions into account while planning for an update of the voice skill.

Hiring a dedicated skill development team will be the right choice if you want to create voice apps without affecting quality and efficiency.