Code Examples: https://github.com/mikecallahan/cfalexa  Learn how super simple it can be to create custom "Skills" with ColdFusion to use on Amazon Alexa devices. Walk away with an understanding of how Alexa voice technology works and, most importantly, how you can utilize ColdFusion to easily build your own custom skills. This session will cover everything from using CommandBox to initiate your development using a ForgeBox package to consuming utterances, intents and slots and creating custom voice responses that engage and interact with your user. Learn how to use the Amazon Developer portal in conjunction with ColdFusion to rapidly build your own custom Alexa skills. At the end of the session you will walk away with everything you will need including a ColdFusion framework and template to immediately get started. Voice technology is the future and ColdFusion is the tool that can deliver rapid results. Join this session to see just how super easy it can be.

1. Easily Build
Amazon Alexa Skills
with
ColdFusion

3. hello!
I’m Mike Callahan
: www.linkedin.com/in/mike-callahan/
mike@cfalexa.com

4. SMART SPEAKERS
Today 18% of households have one or more smart speakers.
By 2020 it's estimated that this number will rise to 75%.

5. VOICE COMMERCE
Voice commerce accounts for $2 billion of revenue today.
By 2022 it is estimated that voice commerce will grow to
$40 Billion

6. Amazon has 70% of the Smart Speaker Market
MARKET SHARE

7. HUGE OPPORTUNITY EXISTS

8. ColdFusionAmazon
Alexa

9. You will walk away with…
a fairly good understanding of how the alexa process works
know what intents, utterances, slots and invocation names are
know how to define those and your endpoint in the developer dashboard
understand how to use cfalexa and the voice template
how to easily create Alexa skills in ColdFusion

10. In addition, you will…
learn how CommandBox dramatically enhances
your development and testing process with the
use of “modules” to automate tasks

12. 1st Understand the process at a high level

13. 1. The user asks Alexa to start a skill
Alexa, open
my voice
template

14. 2. The audio is sent to Amazon cloud
where it is converted to text
Alexa, open
my voice
template

15. 3. The cloud determines the destination
endpoint and sends a JSON packet to it
{JSON}
https://{your web site}/{your .cfc}

16. 4. Your ColdFusion code consumes the
data in the JSON packet and determines
what the user is asking it to do

17. 5. The “intent” requested is performed by
your CF code and a script for Alexa to
speak is packaged up and returned in a
JSON packet

18. 6. The JSON goes back to Amazon cloud
{JSON}

19. 7. The cloud converts the “output speech”
from text to audio and sends the audio to
the Alexa device

20. 8. The Alexa device speaks the results
back to the user

21. Let’s take a more detailed look
That’s the high level view

22. How does all this hook together?
(developer dashboard)
How do you define your skill to Alexa?
(invocation name)
How do you map the user request to an action?
(intents)
How are parameters passed?
(slots)
How does Alexa know where to send the JSON?
(endpoint)

23. And of course, here’s the big question…
How do we do this in ColdFusion?
<cfalexa>

24. Let’s first walk through the non ColdFusion stuff

25. developers dashboard
=
https://developer.amazon.com

31. Quick Tip
Bookmark this:
https://developer.amazon.com/alexa/console/ask?

35. Alexa, open my voice template
wake
word
launch invocation name
alexa, echo, amazon, computer
open, start, launch, load, use, begin, run
defined in the developers dashboard
Alexa, open
my voice
template
Invocation: the name the user refers to when asking
Alexa to activate your skill.

38. Intents: An intent represents an action that
is called based on what the user says or
“utters”. Essentially, intents represent
functions and can optionally have
arguments that are referred to as “slots”.

43. Endpoint: the URL to the entry point of
your skill.
https://{your website}/alexaskills/{skill
folder}/{skillname.cfc}?method=start

48. <cfalexa>
Let’s move in to the ColdFusion code

50. Unzip the alexaskills folder to your web root

51. - OR -
CommandBox> install cfalexa

52. “Alexa, Open my voice template”

54. Quick Tip
Convert to script using:
https://cfscript.me

67. Let’s look at
cfalexa.cfc

83. Let’s Review

88. FTP your code up to your publically available web server

90. But Wait!
We can make it even easier!
CommandBox> cfalexa install

91. Quick Tip
Modules
https://commandbox.ortusbooks.com/
developing-for-commandbox/modules

92. CommandBox> install mikecallahan-cfalexacommands

94. What is ngrok?
ngrok exposes our local server to the public internet over secure channels
which means we can use ColdFusion on our laptop or desktop to serve
up our Alexa skill while we’re developing and testing.
How it works: you download and run a program on your machine and
provide it the web server port. ngrok gives you a url that connects to the
ngrok cloud service which accepts traffic from the public and relays that
traffic to your laptop or desktop.

96. Alexa Skills Kit CLI
Requirements

98. install.cfc

102. thanks!
You can reach me at
mike@cfalexa.com

103. https://developer.amazon.com/alexa/console/ask?
https://cfscript.me
CommandBox> install mikecallahan-cfalexacommands
CommandBox> cfalexa install
CommandBox> cfalexa stop
CommandBox> cfalexa start
https://amzn.to/2DDZ5zZ (alexa skills kit CLI)
https://www.cfalexa.com