March 2021 Summaries

The introduction of manual navigation and multimodal visuals within Voiceflow's testing tool aims to empower designers, developers, and creators to prototype faster and more efficiently while getting the user experience right. This enables them to test specific parts of their voice design at any moment, navigate forward and backward with ease, and experiment with graphics, images, and videos for a wide array of Alexa-enabled devices.

The Resume Assistant is a conversational AI tool that allows job applicants to have a conversation with hiring managers before applying, injecting creativity into the traditional application process. This approach enables the hiring team to ask questions and get to know the applicant's qualifications, culture fit, and personality in a more engaging way. The tool uses voice UI design and conversation design principles to facilitate this dialogue, making it an innovative solution for job seekers. By building a simple general assistant using conversational AI, applicants can create a unique and impactful application that stands out from traditional resumes and cover letters.

Flows and reusable components are a powerful function for increasing speed and maintaining quality as conversation designs expand. They allow designers to break down complex conversations into re-usable parts, making it easier to access and reuse functions. This tactic creates a natural experience for the end-user and eliminates excess work in the design phase. Automated dialogues and conversation repairs help tackle customer response ambiguity, while managing errors and repair paths ensure that the conversation flows smoothly even when users don't provide required information. Handling flexibility is also crucial, as designers can create paths for users to share information at their convenience. Canvas markup allows designers to build while documenting their experience in one place, making it easier to communicate work effectively. Designing context is essential, using four types of context design: dialog context, context switching, nested contexts, and situational context. Shared workspaces enable teams to manage their workflow with a built-in Kan-ban system, while exporting projects provides flexibility for stakeholders and other designers. The desktop app allows designers to work at 25% faster speed than the web-based version.