The process to develop and publish a custom Alexa skill in Germany involves several important steps, from initial planning and skill creation to testing, localization, certification, and final publication in the Alexa Skills Store. Here is a comprehensive guide detailing this process:
Planning and Designing Your Skill
First, you need to clearly define the purpose and value proposition of your Alexa skill. Consider who the target users in Germany are and what experience you want to provide through voice interaction. Design a voice user interface (VUI) that is intuitive and natural for German-speaking users. This involves defining how users will invoke the skill, the intents (commands or questions), slots (variables), and sample utterances (phrases users say). Alexa supports German (de-DE) as a locale for voice interaction, so your voice model should be designed specifically for the German language to ensure good recognition and user satisfaction.
Creating the Skill in the Alexa Developer Console
Sign in to the Amazon Alexa Developer Console with your Amazon developer account. Create a new skill by choosing the "Custom" model option and set the primary locale to German (Germany) - de-DE. This locale selection is crucial because Alexa only publishes skills in a given country if they support that country's primary language. You will build your interaction model on top of this locale setting.
Building the Interaction Model
Define your skill's interaction model which includes intents, slots, and sample utterances all in German. The developer console provides tools and templates to speed up this process. Creating an effective interaction model requires understanding German language nuances and how German users might phrase requests.
Developing the Backend Logic
Write the backend code for your skill, usually hosted on AWS Lambda. The backend processes user requests, interacts with external data sources or services if needed, and returns responses that Alexa will speak. This code can be written in Node.js, Python, or Java. AWS Lambda in the Europe (Frankfurt) region is recommended for latency and compliance purposes.
Testing the Skill
You should rigorously test your Alexa skill using the Developer Console's built-in testing tools and an Alexa-enabled device configured to use German as its language. Testing includes verification of correct intent handling, slot filling, error handling, and user experience flow.
Preparing Skill Metadata for Germany
Update the skill metadata to German, including the skill's public name, description, category, keywords, and example phrases. This metadata helps users find and understand your skill in the German Alexa Skills Store. For example, skill descriptions should be provided in German to meet the localization requirements.
Meeting Privacy, Compliance, and Legal Requirements
You must complete the "Privacy & Compliance" section in the developer console. This involves indicating whether your skill collects personal user data, supports in-skill purchases, includes advertisements, or targets children under 13. You should also ensure the skill complies with German and European data protection laws such as GDPR. If applicable, provide URLs for your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use in German.
Certification and Submission
Submit your skill for certification by Amazon. The certification process involves automated and manual testing by Amazon to ensure your skill meets quality, security, and policy requirements. For Germany, your skill must pass German language tests and comply with local guidelines. You may receive feedback to make corrections before final approval.
Setting Availability and Distribution
During publication, specify that your skill is available in Germany and any other markets you want to support. Skills must offer German language support to be published specifically for the German market. Users in Germany will only see skills that support German language in their Alexa Skills Store by default. However, if a device's language is set to English or another supported language, the skill's other language versions will be accessible.
Publishing and Marketing
Once certified and published, your Alexa skill becomes available in the Alexa Skills Store in Germany. You can actively promote your skill through social media, websites, and other channels popular in Germany to increase adoption.
Summary of Localization Requirement in Germany
A key takeaway for publishing in Germany is that your Alexa skill must support the German language. Alexa's store policies prevent listing skills for a country if the skill does not support that country's primary language. If your skill is only in English, German users need to change their device language settings to English to access your skill.
Additional Resources and Support
Amazon provides detailed multilingual development guides and resources to help you develop skills for German-speaking users. This includes tooling for voice model translation and locale-specific skill metadata customization.