Writing every single line of code grounds up in every project you work on is reductio ad absurdum. Often times we need to look at and understand code written by our team members or some employees who no longer work on that project.
So if you are new to a project, here is what you could do before you ask one of your colleagues for assistance and try to increase your skills to debug existing code.
Read Product documentation
This is mostly the best place to start because this is where your customers start. For you to know a feature from end to end, this should give references or content that your customers actually go through to set up or use the feature. If you don’t find this, just imagine how a customer who doesn’t even have access to the code would be using the feature!
Try the feature in a lower environment
After you read up the documentation and you have some context, always try the feature yourself in a test account in one of the lower environments (something that’s your Continuous Integration environment). This will always give you the ability to be comfortable with some network calls and also with some interactions happening from the client which can help you kick start looking at code.
Go through the Technical Documentation
Every project ought to have some technical design document or some form of documentation for the feature that you are about to venture into. Going through the technical documentation will give you an idea of why a particular feature is developed in a particular way. It might answer some questions like `What were the design drivers, considerations, challenges?`, `What’s still to be done for the project?
Endpoint Identification
This section is only applicable if your application has HTTP (RESTful, GraphQL, SOAP, or such) Endpoints, Asynchronous Messaging Endpoint, Scheduler-based Endpoint, etc exposed that the client invokes to achieve a business functionality. Once you have the endpoint, you have to look for the endpoint pattern in the codebase of your application gateway (if you have a multi-tiered application) or the codebase of the microservices.
This may seem weird to a few people, but unit test cases, if well written, can easily act as a guide to understand the business functionality and the output of a specific core business functionality for a given set of inputs
Specifically, as you write code and if you are debugging your application, always try to ensure that you have the call stack and its arguments written at each level. This gives an idea of which stack was invoked with what values to arguments. And NEVER PRESUME ANYTHING. One should make no presumptions around the code and start debugging every stack and every code within a method.
For example, let’s take a sample code where you are trying to start a group call with a participant where you first validate if a group call already exists with the participant, if not fetch the participant detail and then start group call.
public GroupCallDTO startGroupCall(GroupCallRequest request) {
final GroupCall groupCall = getExistingGroupRequest(request.getRequestId());
if (groupCall != null && groupCall.alreadyExists()) {
log.error(“Group call already exists for request: {}”, request.getRequestId());
throw new GroupCallExistsException(“Group call already exists”);
}
final Optional<CallParticipant> optionalParticipant =
log.error(“Participant: {} does not exist”, request.getParticipantId);
throw new ParticipantException(“Participant does not exist”);
}
final CallParticipant participant = optionalParticipant.get();
final GroupCall groupCall = groupCallService.startGroupCall(participant);
return convertToDTO(groupCall);
}
The code is a core logic and you would’ve gone through a lot of cases to understand each step. But what truly helps is something like
Dividing the code into logical chunks
So always try to break the methods into smaller logical chunks based on the business workflow. Always understanding code based on business use-case mapping is easier.
Voice technology has been around us for quite a long time, yet its biggest developments in usability have been made only in recent years. This has expanded the voice technology applications, therefore reaching more consumers.
However, these steps of development are often considered only as the tip of the iceberg, compared to what the potential of voice technology really is.
Voice recognition technology puts computers in direct communication with humans, which creates a new relationship between us and digital devices. It helps us talk to our devices, which makes them more intelligent and responsive.
We are having computers think like humans and interact with us in the same way that we interact with humans. It’s a different way of interacting with technology, in integration with voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa.
Smart speakers have also amplified the technological disruption, as we’ve seen how they can make our lives easier.
Smartphones, smart speakers, and other IoT devices are no longer just electronic boxes. Now they’re becoming full-fledged companions that enrich our lives in a multitude of ways.
This development is both exciting and empowering.
Voice technology uses we can access already
Here are some of the most common voice technology use cases we can identify all around us and that are available for use.
Voice-enabled Smart Home devices
One of the most common examples of voice technology applications is Smart Home devices.
We are starting to see them gain more and more terrain as more people start to adopt voice technology in their life.
From thermostats, fridges, ovens, and microwaves to vacuum cleaners, doorbells, and smart lamps. People are starting to use them considering the simpleness they require in use and the convenience they offer since you can control them hands-free just by using voice commands.
A fine example, in this case, are the smart devices labeled as Alexa-enabled smart devices with Alexa Built-in tag. These smart devices or appliances, you can connect with Alexa, and then use it to control them. But, these are not built by Amazon like Echo, Echo Dot, or Show.
Another trend expanding a lot lately is the one of using voice assistant technology incorporated into a business software for the result of a voice assistant for its employees.
One of the examples we can mention is Alexa for Business, which allows businesses to create a voice-enabled assistant that can help with communication and organization processes within the company.
In-car voice assistants
Having your car equipped with a really capable voice assistant has become a very common thing lately. This is because more and more brands have started incorporating them in their car model’s digital system.
Manufacturers like Toyota, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, and others too, are starting to see the use of inbuilt voice assistants as a way to increase sales while improving the customer’s experience. We can even find supercar models like Ferrari FF equipped with Apple’s CarPlay in-vehicle infotainment system built-in and Lamborghini HURACÁN EVO equipped with Alexa.
These in-car assistants allow the user to control through a voice command not only simple entertainment features. You can also use it for even more complicated actions like unlocking the car.
Voice technology uses in transcribing and dictation
Another interesting use of voice technology is for transcribing and dictation cases. You can use its voice recognition capabilities in taking interview notes, transcribing meetings, podcasts, and other types of conversations.
Also, it can be used for dictation where a good example is a built-in feature in Microsoft Word which allows you to dictate the content, and Microsoft’s voice recognition tech translates it into written words.
The use of voice tech in education
Interesting and innovative use of voice technology in Education. In recent years, many universities have shown high interest in incorporating voice technology as part of their education system and curriculum. This is a way to help students learn better and improve their performance.
Voice technologies like Amazon Alexa can help them have faster access to the information they need about university resources, curriculum information, and many other needs students may have.
This integration, already proved by many universities, is an effective way to improve students’ experience as one of our recent studies has shown.
Voice Technology Applications in Health
A very positive impact voice technology has had in healthcare. It has created better means to take care of elderly people. Such tech allows elderly people’s kids and caregivers to take better care of them, be more in touch with them or assist them with their treatment. It has also assisted patients during the pandemic and allowed doctors to maintain constant observation of their patients even when in distance.
However, as voice technology develops more, it is creating more ways to assist people regarding more different health cases.
Security and privacy through voice tech
Voice technology is evolving more year after year and becoming more accurate and sophisticated. This further development has created possibilities for voice technology use cases in security and privacy matters. Abilities like accurate voice recognition allow the integration of it in security systems for both in-house and office uses. Also, abilities like detecting the voice of a kid compared to the voice of a grown-up allow the parents to have better control of what their kids can access through smart speakers they have in their houses.
Voice technology and the growth of Voice Marketing
Last but not least important, what has caught the eyes of many businesses and marketing agencies lately, is the use of voice technologies. It is being used as a means for improved marketing campaigns.
The widespread use of voice-enabled devices and voice assistants have created a new channel to reach their desired audience and customers.
It allows for the creation of truly new and unique experiences for both the customer and the brand. This, along with the challenges it holds as we explain in one of our articles about voice marketing.
Other interesting voice tech applications
Voice Bots as an improved Customer Service
More companies have started to explore the possibilities of lowering the cost of customer care service while maintaining the same quality. This is where voice technology comes in as the fittest solution. Their customization and conversational capabilities make it the best choice. In integration with AI, it becomes even better at understanding the customer’s request and providing the most suitable answer.
Voice Commerce
As voice technology grows more attention and interest so does its use in eCommerce. Many platforms and brands have started integrating it, allowing their customers to buy through voice. We take as an example Amazon Alexa. With Alexa, many Skills allow you to make in-skill purchases and buy certain brands’ products.
Voice technology in Public Transportation
Taxi companies like Uber are already offering voice-activated ordering systems. However, a new Alexa feature lets consumers ask for information on buses and trains. This will give the digital assistant more information about bus and train stations, how to navigate them, and how to use public transit to commute.
What is the future of voice technology?
Said in simple words, the future of voice tech seems to be a bright one. A future with new voice technology applications expected to emerge.
As larger tech companies like Amazon and Google battle for consumer loyalty, the technology behind voice interfaces is evolving at a rapid pace. Companies are investing in innovative technologies and apps that respond to customers’ needs.
This gets driven in part by more direct competition. But, also by the fact that many consumers are switching from touch to voice-enabled services and products.
Even as voice technology is increasingly incorporated into our lives, it’s more than a novelty. As we approach the future of “no touch” user experience, there is no doubt that voice offers brands an abundance of opportunities. Opportunities to stay competitive in what is increasingly becoming a fully digital world.
Another emerging technology that is changing our lives is artificial intelligence (AI). This tech is making its way into our daily lives in a variety of ways. Such tech is being used a lot in IoT and other voice-activated devices, making voice technology more widely used than ever before. Experts predict that the number of voice assistants will increase significantly in the coming years. Probably it will reach almost every application in daily life.
