Next Steps

01. Displaying Recipes

If I were to develop Sous further I would consider leveraging the functionality of smart displays like the Echo Show to convey information like the recipe name, and URL rather than solely through SMS. Doing so would allow me to sidestep the Twillio processes but calls into question how to surface the step by step information. One possibility is that once Sous suggests a recipe, another skill that focuses on delivering step by step information via voice would take over to complete the cooking process.

02.  Fail states

While I was able to introduce the ability to find alternative recipes, I did not have the time to integrate as many fail or help states into the systems as I would have liked. For instance, I was unable to address the scenario whereas a user provided an ingredient or cuisine that was not recognized by the bot. Introducing these fail states would greatly reduce confusion when errors surface throughout the recipe search process

03. User Profiles

Finally, in order to streamline the conversation, I would have liked to user profiles into the conversation. Doing so would allow me to have a different user flow for first time users/experienced users. By maintaining user profiles I would be able to already understand a user's name and allergies without having them provide them during each interaction.