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Control dialog management in Lambda functions

Control Dialog in Lambda


For slots of high consequence &mdash; money, dates, values with multiple meanings, hard-to-hear words &mdash; we need to confirm the user-provided value. Making a mistake with these types of values could be costly or just annoying to users.

How does the Lambda function know when to confirm a slot? It must check the confirmation status of the desired slot(s). The function can then direct the conversation based on that information.

Here's an example slot confirmation:
```
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: Horror!
ALEXA: Horror movies are rated R. Do you still want that genre?
USER: Yes.
```

At every turn of the conversation, the confirmation status for each slot is included in the JSON request sent to your skill. It can be accessed with: 
```js
this.event.request.intent.slots.YOUR_SLOT_NAME.confirmationStatus
```

When Alexa confirms a slot value, as in the example above, we expect the user to give a yes or no answer. 
- If the user responds affirmatively, `confirmationStatus` for that slot will be `'CONFIRMED'`
- If the user responds negatively, it will be `'DENIED'`
- If the user hasn't confirmed or denied the slot yet, it will be `'NONE'`





Confirmation Status: Slots

_"Change the slot elicitation prompt based on the available options using the `:elicitSlot` directive"_

```
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: German Expressionism.
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: I'd like German Expressionism.
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: German Expressionism, please.
```

This conversation is not ideal. It's fine if the skill doesn't support "German Expressionism", but it doesn't guide the user towards a successful dialog by providing them available options. With the `:elicitSlot` directive, we can write code for our skill that dynamically generates the available genres.

```
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: German Expressionism.
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: I'd like German Expressionism.
ALEXA: I'm not familiar with that one, but you can say  action, horror, comedy, and drama.
USER: Drama.
```

You can use the `:elicitSlot` directive like this in your Lambda function: 
```js
this.emit(':elicitSlot', slotToElicit, speechOutput, repromptSpeech, updatedIntent);
```
- The `:elicitSlot` directive is used to prompt the user for the value of a slot
- `slotToElicit` is the name of the slot to be filled, like `genre`
- `speechOutput` is the string that will be used as the prompt, like "I'm not familiar with that one, but you can say  action, horror, comedy, and drama."
- `repromptSpeech` is the prompt used if the user takes longer than 8 seconds to reply or if the response was incomprehensible for Alexa. It is optional, but it's good practice to use this parameter to provide context and guidance towards a valid response.
- `updatedIntent` is used to update the state of the conversation. This will be explained later in the lesson. Optional.





Overriding Slot Elicitation


_"Deliver a specific confirmation prompt for each slot value using the `:confirmSlot` directive"_

Now that we understand `confirmationStatus`, we can write custom slot confirmations!

```
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: Horror.
ALEXA: I heard horror, correct?
USER: Yes.
```

We can use the directive `:confirmSlot` to create a custom confirmation for the `horror` genre. In this case, we'd like to warn users about the R rating of available horror movies.

```
ALEXA: What genre would you like?
USER: Horror.
ALEXA: Horror movies are rated R. Do you still want that genre?
USER: Yes.
```

Use the `:confirmSlot` directive in your Lambda function like this:
```js
this.emit(':confirmSlot', slotToConfirm, speechOutput, repromptSpeech, updatedIntent);

```
- The `:confirmSlot` directive is used to confirm the slot value the user has provided
- `slotToConfirm` is the name of the slot to confirm, like `genre`
- `speechOutput` is the string that will be used as the prompt, like "Horror movies are rated R. Do you still want that genre?"
- `repromptSpeech` is the prompt used if the user takes longer than 8 seconds to reply or if the response was incomprehensible for Alexa. It is optional, but it's good practice to use this parameter to provide context and guidance towards a valid response.
- `updatedIntent` is used to update the state of the conversation. This will be explained later in the lesson. Optional.



Overriding Slot Confirmation

Remember the `updatedIntent` parameter in our directives? Here's one example:```jsthis.emit(':confirmSlot', slotToConfirm, speechOutput, repromptSpeech, updatedIntent);```We can use this parameter to overwrite values or set default values for the intent. For example, if a user doesn't provide a value for the optional `decade` slot, we can set it to `'90s'` by default.  First, capture the current intent with:```jsconst updatedIntent = this.event.request.intent;```Then add a default slot value with:```jsupdatedIntent.slots.decade.value = '90s';```Include `updatedIntent` in our call to `emit`:```jsthis.emit(':confirmSlot', 'decade', "I'll look for something in the 90s. Is that okay?", 'Is the decade 90s alright?', updatedIntent);```The conversation would go something like this:```ALEXA: What genre would you like?USER: Action.ALEXA: I can find movies or tv shows. Which would you like?USER: I'd like a movie.ALEXA: I'll look for something in the 90s. Is that okay?USER: Yes.ALEXA: You might like Die Hard.```

Setting Default Values


In addition to slots, `confirmationStatus` can be used with intents. Intent confirmation is useful for confirming actions of high consequence. These actions
-  are publicly visible (like social media), 
- affect another person (like sending a message), 
- or involve money. 

After collecting all of the slot values for the Video Match skill (`genre`, `videoType`, and optionally `decade`), the intent confirmation would sound like:

```
ALEXA: So you're looking for an action movie from the 90's, right?
```

Access the intent confirmation status in the JSON request with:
```js
this.event.request.intent.confirmationStatus
```

Like the `confirmationStatus` for slots, this `confirmationStatus` for intents can take any one of these values:
- If the user responds affirmatively, `confirmationStatus` for that slot will be `'CONFIRMED'`
- If the user responds negatively, it will be `'DENIED'`
- If the user hasn't confirmed or denied the intent yet, it will be `'NONE'`





Confirmation Status: Intent

With Dialog Management you can set prompts and confirmations in the Developer Console, then delegate the slot collection and status tracking to Alexa. This approach is easy to setup, but not flexible enough to create custom or complex dialogs.

For more customization and complexity, we can direct the conversation programmatically in our <a href="https://aws.amazon.com?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs
" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lambda function</a> instead of delegating everything to Alexa. This approach offers us more flexibility and control over the dialog. 

We may need this to tailor our prompts to certain conditions, or to have more control over Alexa's interaction with the user. For example: our skill must check availability of a request before responding, or it uses complex conditions like requiring either city and state or zip code.

In this lesson you will learn how to handle these custom scenarios in Lambda:
- change the slot elicitation prompt based on the available options using the `:elicitSlot` directive
- deliver a specific confirmation prompt for each slot value using the `:confirmSlot` directive
- personalize the intent confirmation message using the `:confirmIntent` directive


 


Introduction

_"Personalize the intent confirmation message using the `:confirmIntent` directive"_Just like slot confirmation, we can make our intent confirmations custom as well. Custom intent confirmations can be used to personalize a prompt, present the availability or cost of an intent, or initiate another intent. To show the syntax for intent confirmations, imagine that we want to tailor our confirmation to comedy movie requests:```ALEXA: Aha. I love comedy movies. I’ve got a really good recommendation for you. Do you want me to tell you the comedy movie I found for you?USER: Yes.```Remember that intent confirmations can be tedious for users, so, when building your own skills, only use them for actions of high consequence &mdash; actions that are publicly visible (like social media), affect another person (like sending a message), or involve money. To confirm an intent, use the `:confirmIntent` directive in your Lambda function:```jsthis.emit(':confirmIntent', speechOutput, repromptSpeech, updatedIntent);```- The `:confirmIntent` directive is used to confirm the intent the user has provided- `speechOutput` is the string that will be used as the prompt, like "So {user}, you're looking for a {genre} {video} from the {decade}, right?"- `repromptSpeech` is the prompt used if the user takes longer than 8 seconds to reply or if the response was incomprehensible for Alexa. It is optional, but it's good practice to use this parameter to provide context and guidance towards a valid response.- `updatedIntent` is used to update the state of the conversation. This will be explained later in the lesson. Optional.

Overriding Intent Confirmation

Congrats on finishing <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/docs/custom-skills/dialog-interface-reference.html?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs
 " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dialog Management</a>! You've come a long way and learned a lot. 

Dialog management is a great way to elicit and confirm the set of required slots and the intent needed to perform a task, since it greatly reduces the necessary coding in the Lambda function.

You can write prompts and user utterances in the <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/alexa/console/ask?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs
 " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Developer Console</a>. If you'd like to customize the prompts or perform complex logic, you can use properties in the JSON request and directives in your <a href="https://aws.amazon.com?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs
 " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lambda function</a>.

This specific lesson focused on the properties and directives in your Lambda function:

#### Confirmation Status 
- `confirmationStatus` is the confirmation status of slots:
```js
this.event.request.intent.slots.YOUR_SLOT_NAME.confirmationStatus
```
- and intents:
```js
this.event.request.intent.confirmationStatus
```
- It can take one of three values: `'COMPLETED'`, `'DENIED'`, or  `'NONE'`

#### Directives
- The `:elicitSlot` directive is used to prompt the user for the value of a slot
- The `:confirmSlot` directive is used to confirm the slot value the user has provided
- The `:confirmIntent` directive is used to confirm the intent the user has provided
- Use directives with this general form:
```js
this.emit(directive, [slotName,] speechOutput, reprompt, updatedIntent);
```
- `slotName` is not included when using `:confirmIntent`

#### Updated Intent
- `updatedIntent` is the last parameter in calls to `this.emit`
- We can use this parameter to overwrite values or set default values for the intent
- Capture the original intent using:
```js
const updatedIntent = this.event.request.intent;
```
make changes to its values, then pass it as the last argument to `this.emit`


#### More Alexa Resources
- For more Alexa news, <a href="https://build.amazonalexadev.com/alexa-developer-newsletter-subscription-ww.html?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">subscribe</a> to the Alexa developer newsletter to stay up-to-date on new features, tutorials, and events.
- <a href="https://forums.developer.amazon.com/spaces/165/index.html?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexa Developer Forums</a>
- <a href="https://alexa.design/guide?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexa Voice Design Guide</a>
- <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/tag/Dialog%20Management?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=DialogManagement&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_detail=Design_Course&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_DialogManagement_Codecademy_Content_Design_Course_Visit_WW_AdvancedDevs&sc_segment=AdvancedDevs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexa Blogs on Dialog Management</a>
- <a href="https://github.com/alexa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexa code samples and templates</a> on GitHub
- <a href="https://twitter.com/alexadevs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AlexaDevs</a> on Twitter
